Angry students protest cuts to schools, colleges

Anger over rising tuition and school budget cuts boiled over as students across the country staged rowdy demonstrations that led to clashes with police and the rush-hour shutdown of a major freeway in California.

Students, teachers, parents and school employees rallied and marched at college campuses, public parks and government buildings in several U.S. cities Thursday in what was called the March 4 Day of Action to Defend Public Education.

In Oakland, protesters evaded police and walked onto Interstate 880 near downtown Oakland just before 5 p.m., forcing the closure of the freeway in both directions for more than an hour and causing traffic to back up for …

Two guys, an ex-wife and a threesome

Dear Rhona: I live with my ex-wife because I can't afford a placeof my own. We have a 4-year-old son together and she has two otherswho live with her parents. A friend of mine helped us set up acomputer for her and now they want to be together, but she says hewon't pursue the relationship because of our friendship.

He knows I still have strong feelings of love for her, and she hasadmitted to me that they have talked about a three-way interlude withme. This excites and intrigues me because she and I talked about itback when we were together.

We've not had sex in almost three years and we've been divorcedfor one. I have had no one else and I would like to get …

Coroner IDs gunman who stalked Hollywood streets

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities on Saturday identified the gunman who was shot and killed by police after he fired at passing cars on a Hollywood street, wounding one driver while screaming that he wanted to die.

The body of Tyler Brehm, 26, was scheduled to be examined later Saturday, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz said.

Brehm walked down the middle of Sunset Boulevard on Friday, firing on motorists with no clear target until police shot him, authorities said.

In amateur video taken at the scene, the gunman appeared to have short hair and wore jeans and a white tank top. He paced back and forth near the busy intersection with Vine Street, firing close to 20 …

American League Standings

All Times EDT
East Division
	W	L	Pct	GB
New York	86	56	.606	—
Tampa Bay	86	56	.606	—
Boston	79	63	.556	7
Toronto	73	71	.507 …

Unexpected visitor rides into Dome

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The modern-day version of a savior does not rideinto an arena on horseback.

He comes in a cab. The hardships endured are not dusty trails, butsnowy runways and slippery highways in lake-effect land.

Most casting agencies would not make a 61-year-old man such asGale Catlett a savior. Any dark hair is long gone. Does not always domuch for the ladies in a black coat, let alone a black cap and mask.

Yet Catlett, with his sudden return to West Virginia University'sbasketball team, tried the savior role Monday as the Mountaineersprepared to face nationally ranked Syracuse. He even talked hisdoctor into letting him coach in the Carrier Dome, instead …

Tori Spelling, Husband Welcome Baby Boy

LOS ANGELES - Tori Spelling gave birth to a boy Tuesday, her publicist said. The actress and her husband, actor Dean McDermott, welcomed 6-pound, 6-ounce Liam Aaron McDermott at a Los Angeles hospital, said spokeswoman Meghan Prophet.

The …

Parents of imprisoned journalist heading to Iran

The father of an imprisoned American journalist says he and his wife are leaving Fargo for Iran to see his daughter and speed her release.

Reza Saberi says he and his wife Akiko are leaving Monday and hope to be in Tehran by Wednesday.

Reza Saberi says he has been hearing that Iranian officials are going to "speed up the process" of releasing his daughter …

KUP'S CAPTIONS

((PHOTO CAPTION CONTINUED)) others), May 9 at the Chicago Hilton andTowers, where Harvey will be the speaker. WANTED, A HUSBAND - LenaHorne, still glamorous at age 71, confides that she'd like to getmarried again. She has been a widow since her husband, composerLanny Hayton, died in 1971. …

Thousands Protest Airstrike in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Thousands of angry tribesmen and Islamists protested Friday across Pakistan against an airstrike that killed 80 people at a religious school near the Afghan border this week, as state TV aired video footage purportedly showing militants in training there before the attack.

More than 5,000 people rallied in the Bajur tribal region, scene of Monday's airstrike that destroyed a madrassa, or Islamic seminary, run by a Pakistani cleric with alleged ties to al-Qaida No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri. They demanded government compensation for relatives of the dead.

Religious hardliners gathered in other key cities across Pakistan, railing against America and …

Officials: 2 drone strikes kill 13 in NW Pakistan

Two missile attacks killed 13 militants in northwestern Pakistan's tribal belt Tuesday in the latest apparent strikes of a covert U.S. program that American officials are considering intensifying.

Unmanned drones have carried out more than 70 missile attacks in the border region over the last year, but Washington rarely acknowledges the strikes. The United States says the mountainous tribal area is a base for militant attacks on American and other NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan and a stronghold of al-Qaida's senior leadership.

One of Tuesday's attacks targeted a Taliban compound in the South Waziristan tribal region and killed six insurgents, …

CTA budget falls short $8.4 million

The cash-strapped CTA will announce today that it faces at least an$8.4 million hole in its 1996 budget because a new automatic farecollection system is behind schedule, the Chicago Sun-Times haslearned.

New CTA president David Mosena says the fare collection systemslated for a Sept. 1 debut won't be fully operational this year. Theloss of $8.4 million in anticipated savings from the new system -money already budgeted for other uses - is just one of the shortfallsto be discussed at today's CTA board meeting, he said.

"The whole project has fallen behind schedule," because ofsoftware, equipment delivery and construction problems," Mosena said.

With the new …

Democrat David Wu won't seek re-election to House

WASHINGTON (AP) — A spokesman for congressman David Wu says the embattled Oregon Democrat will not seek re-election next year.

Spokesman Erik Dorey said Monday that Wu has not made a final determination about finishing his current term, but Dorey emphasized that Wu is focused on serving his constituents to the best of his ability.

The 56-year-old Democrat is under fire after a …

Google hoping Web surfers will ride its `Wave'

Google Inc. is hatching a new species of e-mail and instant messaging, but the Internet search leader first wants the hybrid service to evolve even more with the help of independent computer programmers.

The free tool, called "Google Wave," runs in a Web browser and combines elements of e-mail, instant messaging, wikis and photo sharing in an effort to make online communication more dynamic. Google hopes Wave simplifies the way people collaborate on projects or exchange opinions about specific topics.

Google offered the first glimpse of its latest offering Thursday during the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's annual conference for software developers who build programs on top of its services. The rest of the Web-surfing public won't be able to hop on Google Wave until later in the year. (Go to http://wave.google.com for a preview.)

By the time Wave rolls out for everyone, Google hopes independent programmers will have found new ways to use the service.

Among other things, Google is counting on outsiders to figure out how to weave Wave into the popular Internet communications service Twitter, social networks like Facebook and existing Web-based e-mail services, said Lars Rasmussen, a Google engineering manager.

Rasmussen and his brother, Jens, helped build Google's online mapping service, which sprouted a variety of unforeseen uses after its 2005 debut because of the ingenuity of external programmers.

Having learned their lesson from the mapping experience, the Rasmussens wanted to give developers ample time to tinker with their newest creation before unleashing it on the rest of the world.

The Rasmussens broke away from Google's mapping service in 2006 to concentrate on building a service that would enable e-mail and instant messaging to embrace the Web's increasingly social nature. They contend e-mail hasn't changed that much since its invention during the 1960s.

"We started out by saying to ourselves, `What might e-mail look like if it had been invented today?'" said Lars Rasmussen, who worked on Wave in Australia with his brother and just three other Google employees.

Wave is designed to make it easier to converse over e-mail by providing tools to highlight particular parts of the written conversation. In instant messages, participants can see what everyone else is writing as they type, unless they choose a privacy control. Photos and other online applications known as "widgets" also can be transplanted into the service.

The service could easily accommodate advertising like Google's 5-year-old e-mail service already does, but Lars Rasmussen said it's still too early to predict how the company might profit from Wave.

LGBTs denounce immigration law

LGBT groups and public figures are speaking out against the draconian immigration law enacted in Arizona on April 23.

The statute requires police to check an individual's immigration status whenever an officer suspects an individual may be in the U.S. illegally. The law has been dubbed, "Papers, please."

Newly out singer Ricky Martin denounced the law April 29 at the Billboard Latin Music Awards.

"This is not in the script," Martin said. "I want to send a warm greeting to all our Latin American friends who live in the state of Arizona. The SB 1070 is a law that doesn't make sense. You are not alone. We are with you. Stop discrimination. Stop hate. Stop racism. Enough already. Long live love. Long live peace."

Lambda Legal took aim at the law in an April 30 statement.

"As we pursue our lawsuit against the state of Arizona for its elimination of health insurance benefits for the partners of its lesbian and gay employees, we condemn the state government's further manifestation of bias in its new immigration law," said Executive Director Kevin Cathcart.

He added: "LGBT undocumented immigrants are among the most invisible of the invisible. Many inhabit a double closet, afraid of disclosing their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and afraid of disclosing that they are undocumented."

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force also denounced the law.

"Arizona's new immigration law is draconian and inhumane. It has no place on the books anywhere," said Executive Director Rea Carey. "The potential for racial profiling, infringement of civil liberties and violence and harassment against individuals and their families just going about their daily lives is enormous. Comprehensive immigration reform is critically needed, but targeting and demonizing people is not the answer; stripping people of fundamental rights and common humanity is not the answer."

In San Francisco, gay supervisors David Campos and Bevan Dufty are supporting a Board of Supervisors resolution calling for a city boycott of Arizona and businesses based there.

"We in the LGBT community know what it's like to be the target of discrimination, and we have to stand firmly in support of other groups that are also impacted by discrimination," Campos, who introduced the resolution, told the Bay Area Reporter. "I think that's the only way all of us collectively are going to have full rights and full equality, if we make a point of standing together when one group is targeted."

Campos called the law "horrendous" and said "people of good conscience" need to "speak up."

Leading gay news blogger Andy Towle (Towleroad.com) called the law "heinous" and noted that Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the immigration law, also took away domestic partner benefits for state employees, which had been extended by the previous administration.

Leading gay blogger Joe Jervis (Joe. My. God.) called the law "racist," and top gay blogger Andrew Sullivan said: "A society where one minority feels under surveillance is not a truly free society. This is beneath America, in my view."

Boucher Shuts Down Columbus in 1-0 Win

CHICAGO - Brian Boucher stopped 28 shots for his first shutout and victory with the Chicago Blackhawks, a 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night. Defenseman Lasse Kukkonen scored in the second period to help the Blackhawks win their second straight following an eight-game (0-7-1) losing streak.

Boucher, who entered the game with an 0-7-1 record, has 13 career shutouts.

Columbus' Fredrik Norrena made 18 saves. The Blue Jackets have lost two in row and are 1-3-0 in their last four.

Thanks to three power-play chances, Columbus dominated territorially in the scoreless first and outshot Chicago 10-4.

The Blackhawks took the game's first five penalties and were forced to kill two brief 5-on-3 disadvantages early in the second.

Kukkonen scored the only goal at 7:04 of the second.

He fired a shot through a screen from between the circles after taking a centering pass from Bryan Smolinski. Chicago's Martin Lapointe jumped straight into the air to allow Kukonnen's low drive to reach the net and slip between Norrena's pads.

Chicago forward Rene Bourque left the game late in the second period after being cut in the neck with by the Columbus right wing Nikolai Zherdev's skate blade during a pileup in the Blackhawks' crease. According to team officials, Bourque was in stable condition when he was taken to The University of Chicago Hospital.

Notes:@ Top Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, sidelined since Oct. 21 by a broken finger, could return Thursday at Phoenix as Chicago begins a five-game western road trip. ... Chicago F Martin Halvat, out since Oct. 20 with a sprained ankle, has resumed light skating but may not return until December. ... Blackhawks LW Tony Salmelainen missed his fifth game because if a separated shoulder.

Bush moves to ease gas prices: Stops filling reserve; urges clean air repeal, end to oil tax breaks

WASHINGTON -- Under election-year pressure to reduce surginggasoline prices, President Bush on Tuesday halted filling of thenation's emergency oil reserve, urged the waiver of clean air rulesto ease local gas shortages and called for the repeal of $2 billionin tax breaks for profit-heavy oil companies.

Still, experts said Bush's actions wouldn't have much impact onprices at the pump. The president warned that motorists would have todig deep into their pockets all summer long.

Bush urged lawmakers to expand tax breaks for the purchase of fuel-efficient hybrid automobiles, a politically popular measure that'salso supported by environmentalists. He also directed theEnvironmental Protection Agency to use its authority to temporarilywaive air quality laws in states if that would relieve a localgasoline supply shortage.

The White House was unable to say how much Bush's actions couldaffect the price of gas.

Bush said, "Every little bit helps."

'What happened to Iraq oil?'

Wholesale gasoline futures prices for June delivery dropped 8cents a gallon to $2.10 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rightafter Bush's remarks. May gasoline futures settled at $2.1291 agallon, a decline of 4.48 cents.

Democrats, eager to blame Republicans for high gas costs ahead ofthe November congressional elections, said Bush has had five years tofind a way to lower prices and has favored big oil companies overconsumers.

"It's crystal clear that the current spike in gas prices is atleast partly due to an act of greed," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who proposed a 60-day suspension of the federal gas tax. "Greedthat has been enabled, abetted -- even encouraged, I would say -- bythis administration."

The country's three largest oil and gas companies were expected toreport combined first-quarter profits later in the week in excess of$16 billion, a 19 percent surge from last year. Bush, a formeroilman, asked his administration to investigate possible pricegouging and said Congress should revoke about $2 billion in taxbreaks that Congress approved and he signed into law to encourageexploration.

"Cash flows are up," Bush said. "Taxpayers don't need to be payingfor certain of these expenses on behalf of the energy companies."

Menendez spoke at a press conference where Democrats sought toturn gas prices -- like Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war -- into anissue to undermine Bush's standing with voters. "What happened toIraq oil, Mr. President? You said Iraqi oil would pay for the war.Ain't seen no money. Ain't seen no oil," said Sen. Barbara Mikulskiof Maryland.

Covert, 2 other Bears going home

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. Because the Bears have not played inPittsburgh since 1980, this is a homecoming for more than Mike Ditka.

Tomorrow's game against the Steelers marks the first timeoffensive tackle Jim Covert will play at home as a pro, the firsttime linebacker Dan Rains will play at home since high school and thesecond time receiver Brian Baschnagel will play at home in an 11-yearpro career. Game is special

"This is a special game, no doubt," said Rains, who passed out50 tickets to friends and relatives. "Everyone was calling my wifeasking for tickets, people from the store, the gas station."

Rains is the only member of the Bears who still spendsconsiderable time in the Pittsburgh area. He and his wife, Debbie,who also is from the region, maintain homes in the Chicago andPittsburgh areas.

"I've always wanted to play a game there," said Rains, who hasbeen with the Bears since 1982. "I really want to play well for myfriends who haven't seen me play since high school. And having agreat game will help my chances to make this team."

Rains and Covert attended an Aliquippa, Pa., testimonial forDitka in the off-season. They grew up near where Ditka did inAliquippa.

Covert, who like Ditka starred at the University of Pittsburgh,said he wishes the Bears could play the Steelers more often.

"But when I came out of college I wanted to be drafted by anyonebut Pittsburgh," he said. "I grew up seeing and hearing about theSteelers, and it was time to go out in the world somewhere else." Old times recalled

Baschnagel said he and Covert talked about the times their highschools scrimmaged against each other, although Baschnagel and Covertweren't in high school at the same time.

The former Pennsylvanians won't have much time to appreciatetheir roots, as the Bears are not staying overnight.

"It would be nice to stay there for at least a night," saidBaschnagel, who hasn't been back in more than two years.

"I'm not sure I'd be much fun right now anyway," Rains said."I'm pretty caught up in football."

All Blacks stunned at Cooper verdict

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The All Blacks have expressed surprise that Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper escaped suspension for kneeing New Zealand captain Richie McCaw in the face during Saturay's Tri-Nations rugby test at Brisbane.

Cooper was cited over the incident in the 54th minute of the match won 25-20 by Australia but was exonerated by South African judicial officer Jannie Lubbe who found his action was accidental.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry said Monday the outcome of the hearing, which might have seen Cooper suspended for the opening matches of Australia's World Cup campaign, was surprising.

He said "I thought he deliberately kneed Richie McCaw in the face and I think everybody else did too. I'm very surprised at the result of the judicial hearing, let's put it that way."

McCaw said "mate, nothing surprises me with judiciaries these days."

MICHAEL FAISON

After a successful career as a commercial artist and teacher, Michael Faison found his way to the nonprofit world. Bouncing between coasts, he held positions with the Oregon Arts Commission and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts before he decided to take the helm as the new executive director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts.

While he's only been on the job for just more than a month, Faison is already feeling at home. He took some time away from his office in the warden's house at the Old Idaho Penitentiary to talk to B W about the arts, Idaho and his road trip plans.

You started your job on the last day of the fiscal year. Any particular reason?

It was important, symbolically, and for the agency. They had been through a tough year, Dan's [Harpole, former executive director] illness and then his passing. It's just going to be saying a lot to have new leadership in place by the end of the year.

Why Boise?

There were others that came open, and I may be a baby boomer-I'm 49 years old-but I guess in some ways, in lifestyle, I'm more of a gen-Xer. Because, yes, my career is important, but I have to love where I live, and I won't go some place to work there unless it's a place I would be happy. Honestly, I didn't know what was here until 2005, when I came here for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. I was really quite amazed by Boise. It reminded me then, and it reminds me now, of my old hometown of Austin, Texas-just without the traffic that Austin has.

It's young, it's vibrant. People are healthy, out doing things. There are cultural things to do. It's a beautiful physical landscape. It's just a nice-looking town, downtown is hopping. So all of these things added up at the time, so I was like, "Wow, this is a great place."

When I came back for the conference in November, 2005, 1 came back a week early and rented a bike over at High Desert Harley and rode the mountains for a week.

So motorcycling is your other passion?

It is a need. If I don't have a place to ride, there would be diminishment for me.

Road bike or dirt bike?

Road.

How many bikes do you have?

I have two bikes. I have my touring bike, which is a BMW. It's 20 years old, and it still runs like new. And then I have my lovely, 1981 Moto Morini, which is a gorgeous Italian bike. It's 500-twin, bright, bright neon red, gold wheels, black exhaust and motor. It's elegant. It's actually simple, elegant rolling sculpture. Some non-motor-cyclists wouldn't recognize it as something special, except "Wow, that is sure bright red." But because it doesn't have a lot of body work on it, it's a very simple, elegant design in the true Italian fashion. They were basically hand-built bikes. They brought a few thousand of them to the States over the years, and I have one of them, and they're rare as hens' teeth, and I'll never give it up. When it stops running, I'll just polish it up, and it will be sculpture.

What brought you to the arts?

It was my father that actually cultivated arts in the family. He felt that both I and my sister needed to take piano at a young age because it gives us options.

I ended up being in band and continued drawing and painting through youth. When I was actually in high school-up to that point, I had wanted to be a marine biologist-I had a wonderful art teacher that actually suggested that I consider going to art school. And I hadn't [considered it], and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. My father supported it. He just said, "That's great, just remember you'll have to make a living."

I got a studio degree in painting and photography, and I ended up being a commercial artist and illustrator, and being very happy doing it. But then, eventually, I became a teacher and taught commercial art in Austin, Texas. It was extraordinary.

How did you end up in the administrative end?

I decided to go to grad school ... I knew that I wanted more education. I thought that I was, in essence, going to do museum education studies and bring that experience to the classroom. I wound up in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon [University] because, I looked at all my options, and it provided me an education in the area where I felt I was weakest, which was the management, admin, side of stuff.

What shape is the commission in now?

First of all, Dan Harpole did a really good job. He made this a truly well-run, functioning agency that is truly responsive to people and is actually engaged around the state. And that's a feat in itself. I know where he was going with it, because I actually knew the man. Around the country, we had watched him work here. And we had watched him do a really effective job.

What would you like to see happen here?

We're just entering a strategic planning process. From September through the fall, we're going to be engaged in public planning meetings throughout the state at 11 sites. We're in the process of lining all of these up to get perspectives, get their viewpoints about what they need to thrive. Out of that process, we will help the commission identify its strategic goals for the next five years.

What's the commission's job?

To increase the accessibility of public programs in the arts for people. It's our job as a state agency is, in fact, to do exactly that sort of thing, but do it statewide. To make sure that people have access to quality public programs in the arts. I see arts institutions, arts organizations and the like-mom and pop to huge major institutes, to main-street volunteer arts efforts-as partners in that process. Our constituency are the citizens. Likewise, in that process is to foster a healthy environment for a thriving industry, because in fact, creative industry is critical. Certainly for the long-term health of a community, but also for the nation as a whole.

Is Idaho friendly to the arts?

Yes. It's a secret, I didn't know about it until I came here. It was obvious once I was here. But I can say for my peers around the country, it's the same thing. They have no clue. It's going to take awhile to help the country understand what's happening here.

Got a Citizen Boise nomination? Send your ideas to news@boiseweekly.com

Red Wings-Blackhawks Sums

Detroit	1 0 1 1—3
Chicago	2 0 0 0—2

First Period_1, Chicago, Bolland 9 (Hossa, Leddy), 3:35 (pp). 2, Chicago, Sharp 20 (Frolik, Hossa), 4:19. 3, Detroit, V.Filppula 14 (Zetterberg, Hudler), 13:29 (pp). Penalties_Ericsson, Det (slashing), 2:41; Brunette, Chi (roughing), 11:26; Seabrook, Chi (slashing), 13:16.

Second Period_None. Penalties_Detroit bench, served by Bertuzzi (too many men), 6:36; Kronwall, Det (interference), 11:57.

Third Period_4, Detroit, Cleary 10 (Zetterberg, V.Filppula), 15:15. Penalties_Cleary, Det (holding), :48.

Overtime_5, Detroit, Datsyuk 13 (Ericsson, Franzen), 3:08. Penalties_Franzen, Det (roughing), 3:08.

Missed Penalty Shot_Hayes, Chi, 7:53 third.

Shots on Goal_Detroit 9-6-9-3_27. Chicago 9-11-9-2_31.

Power-play opportunities_Detroit 1 of 2; Chicago 1 of 5.

Goalies_Detroit, Conklin 2-4-0 (31 shots-29 saves). Chicago, Crawford 15-10-3 (27-24).

A_21,858 (19,717). T_2:28.

Referees_Mike Hasenfratz, Kevin Pollock. Linesmen_Thor Nelson, Mike Cvik.

SCIENCE A TO Z

Every Sunday on this page the Sun-Times is presentingdefinitions of modern scientific terms, as compiled by the LondonDaily Telegraph and the Science Museum of London.

Antimatter: It was British physicist Paul Dirac (1902-84)who first mathematically predicted the existence of antimatter. Hemade the discovery in the '20s, when he attempted to marry two bigtheories of his day - Einstein's special theory of relativity andquantum physics.

He came up with the "Dirac equation," which predicted thatan antielectron must exist, one with the same mass as an electron butwith an opposite charge. When this particle - called the positron -met an electron, both would be annihilated in a burst of gamma rays.So, if you tried to shake hands with your antimatter alter ego, youwould annihilate each other in a flash of radiation.Carl Anderson independently discovered a particle with thesame mass as the electron but with the opposite charge in 1932.Anderson had discovered Dirac's antielectron, but at the time neitherknew of the other's work.Atoms: It hardly seems possible, but a century ago manyscientists did not believe in the existence of atoms.Modern atomic theory dates to the English natural philosopherJohn Dalton (1766-1844), though it was in 1905 that the matter wassettled by Einstein's explanation of Brownian motion - the dance ofsuspended particles - in terms of collisions with water molecules.Atoms were seen by the Greeks as indivisible units ofmatter. Now they are seen as the smallest units that bear thechemical characteristics of an element, whether hydrogen or uranium.Around a million atoms would fit on a period (.) 1millimeter across. They are mostly empty space: The nucleus, wheremost mass resides, is 100,000 times smaller than the atom. Each atomconsists of a positively charged nucleus orbited by a mist ofnegative charge. The mist consists of one or more electrons; thenucleus consists of positively charged protons, and neutrons, whichhave no charge.The reason we talk about a "mist" is due to the odd pictureof the atom to emerge from quantum mechanics. Physicists think ofelectrons as fuzzy clouds surrounding the nucleus rather than planetsorbiting the sun.A complete atom has the same number of electrons andprotons, balancing overall charge. Variations in the number ofneutrons produce different isotopes, which are chemically similar(chemical properties depend on the numbers of electrons) but weighdifferent amounts.Uranium-238 has 92 protons and 146 neutrons. Uranium-235 hasthree fewer neutrons, an unstable arrangement that tends to fallapart, losing mass that is converted into energy. This is exploitedin nuclear bombs.

Welcome to BioCycle's RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKETPLACE

Introducing you to the vendors showcasing their equipment and services at the 8th Annual BioCycle Conference on Renewable Energy From Organics Recycling, October 6-8, 2008 in Madison, Wisconsin.

For the full Conference Program, to register for the event and view an up-to-date list of exhibitors, visit www.biocycle.net.

Acterra Group, Inc. provides project development, finance and construction services to energy and clean energy companies. Renewable energy projects include anaerobic digestion, wind and biomass power. Acterra also offers construction services for small to medium sized biofuels facilities (less than 15 mgy) and biofuel distribution systems. The company is working on development of an anaerobic digestion project in western Iowa to process dairy manure with other feedstocks including ethanol solubles and brown grease. Acterra Group is handling all development, engineering and construction activities; the project is in the design and permitting stage with site construction scheduled for late 2008. Project size exceeds $10 million.

ADI Systems, Inc. is a treatment technology and turnkey solutions provider for the industrial wastewater marketplace, covering high-strength wastewater treatment, water reuse/recycling, stillage and waste solids digestion, energy recovery and biogas handling. ADFs technologies are offered in a package or on a design-build basis and include start-up, commissioning, training and aftercare support to ensure optimal performance. Bench- and pilot-scale studies are often done in advance of full-scale installations to confirm treatability. A recent ADI project involved anaerobic digestion of thin stillage from a corn-to-fuel ethanol plant and cheese whey from a nearby cheese factory. Biogas is utilized to generate steam and electricity for the ethanol plant, enabling the facility to become completely energy self-sufficient and improve the overall economics of its production process.

AgrEnergy LLC helps clients "harvest" energy from sustainable sources including wind, sun and biomass. From a successful beginning in the biogas industry, AgrEnergy continues to expand and enter new markets by adapting state-of-the-art technologies and hardware. Its biogas energy installations include above-ground, complete-mix digesters managed by web-based SCADA systems, providing project or plant sustainability while minimizing operating and management costs. AgrEnergy's "market channel" partners include Clear Horizons and Liithe GmbH. The partners are working together to install a Luthe digester at Crave Brothers Farm LLC in Waterloo, Wisconsin. This will be the farm's second digester. Crave Brothers is part of the BioCycle Renewable Energy Conference Tour on Wednesday, October 8th.

Applied Technologies, Inc. (ATI) is a multidiscipline engineering firm specializing in conversion of organic material to biogas and utilization of biogas in both the public and private sectors. It is involved in municipal, industrial and agricultural wastewater treatment and covers all phases of project development, from facilities planning through design and construction management, to start-up and systems operations. Recent ATI projects include permitting, design engineering and start-up assistance with KB Compost Services, Inc.'s installation of a Schmack Biogas digester at the City of Akron, Ohio's biosolids composting plant and design and construction of an expansion project at the City of Burlington, Wisconsin's Water Pollution Control Facility that includes upgrades to the existing biogas handling system and cogeneration engine. The company also works with numerous farm-based anaerobic digestion projects.

Arrow Ecology, Ltd.'s ArrowBio technology is designed to process mixed municipal solid waste (MSW). At the front-end, gravitational separation in water, aided by hydraulic, mechanical, electromagnetic and pneumatic devices, recovers recyclables and removes nonprocessible materials. Biodegradables dissolve or are reduced to fine particulates. At the back end, the isolated organics undergo acidogenic followed by methanogenic digestion of the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) type. Capital cost for a 300 tons/day (tpd) plant is about $29 million. The ArrowBio reference plant at the Tel Aviv (Israel) MSW transfer station has been operating since 2003. A 300 tpd plant in suburban Sydney, Australia is in the commissioning phase and will be fully operational in early 2009. It is the key element of the comprehensive Macarthur Resource Recovery Park, which includes a commingled recyclables MRF, yard trimmings composting, a "swap shop" and an educational center.

Bandit Industries, Inc. manufactures high-quality equipment for the tree care, forestry and waste reduction industries. Its line includes high-powered whole tree chippers as well as versatile, high-efficiency Beast� Recyclers. More recently, Bandit has focused its attention on developing equipment for production of fuel wood for biomass applications. The whole tree chippers produce a dimensional chip for use in wood-fired power plants. Bandit also recently introduced the Beast Knife System, which enables current owners to convert their horizontal grinder into a high-capacity whole tree chipper with a simple exchange of traditional cutterbodies for cutterbodies with knives. Developed in part for the European fuel wood markets, this system produces a screened chip suitable for use in wood-fired power plants and pellet operations.

Boerger, LLC supplies rotating equipment for anaerobic digestion and manure handling solutions. Products include a Rotary Lobe Pump, Multicrusher (twin shaft grinder) and Multichopper (single shaft grinder) and the Powerfeed-SSR, which meters feed of corn silage into digesters. The heavy-duty rotary lobe pump with individually replaceable rotor tips is well-suited for versatile applications including central anaerobic digestion feed pumping stations. The company's macerating technology provides protection of downstream equipment as well as process improvements.

Continental Biomass Industries (CBD, a manufacturer of grinders, shredders and chippers for the wood and waste industries, has developed a heavy-duty drum chipper rotor in response to customers making quality, uniform micro chips for emerging fuel markets (e.g., pellets and boiler fuel). The Magnum Force 6400 Series has four field-swappable rotors - solid steel for contaminated waste streams, forged drum for grinding clean wood and mulch and two drum chippers for making custom-sized chips ranging in size from 1/16-inch to 1.25 inches. Track, stationary and mobile units are available.

Over 20 years ago, a sawmill in New Hampshire partnered in a joint venture to build Hemphill Power and Light - a 16-MW cogeneration facility. Initially by-products from the sawmill were converted to biofuel for the power plant. Eventually, additional biomass was needed, including pallets, dimensional lumber, kiln-dried wood, brush, oversized logs, stumpwood etc. To process this mixed bag of biomass, the company purchased a CBI Magnum Force 4000 grinder to make a consistent biofuel. Today, the power plant consumes 195,000 green tons of wood fuel/year and yields 120,000 MW hours/year of renewable electricity for the Lake Sunapee (New Hampshire) Region.

DODA USA, Inc. is a partner and distributor of all DODA products and services in North America. Equipment distributed ineludes chopper pumps, separators, agitators, biogas mixers and numerous accessories and specialty devices. DODA manufactures and markets its products worldwide, and is known throughout Europe for its waste handling products and solutions.

DODA was instrumental in supplying and developing equipment used in the Rivalta Energy Project in Rivalta, Italy. This 1MW anaerobic digester uses a diverse substrate mix. DODA designed and built the following components: bag opener for municipal bagged garbage; chopper pumps for emulsifying the varied input products; Bio Separator for removing foreign material from the slurry produced from the municipal garbage; Bio Box to allow automatic movement of substrates throughout the four digester cells with one pump; biogas mixers for complete mixing in the digester cells; and liquid/solid separation equipment used on the back end once substrate exits the digester.

Energies Directt, LLC is an environmental engineering and construction company specializing in converting all types of organic waste into energy. Energies Direct constructs and maintains digesters, combined heat and power plants (CHPs), wastewater treatment plants and gas purification units. Its technologies are suitable for a wide range of wet and dry biological waste and byproducts generated by farms, food processing plants, slaughterhouses, local governments, ethanol plants, zoos, etc. Energies Direct is building turnkey Total Mix Biogas Digestion Systems including the CHP plant. These systems produce energy from organic waste. Its dairy manure digester plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin produces 650 kW/h from 2,500 dairy cows. Once a planned expansion is approved, the facility will produce around 900 kW/h, enough energy for 1,080 homes.

FABCO Power Systems is the authorized Caterpillar (CAT) engine distributor for Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. FABCO specializes in packaging CAT engines and/or generator sets into combined heat and power (CHP) systems for operations using renewable energy fuel sources that include landfill gas, digester gas, synthetic biogas from biomass gasification and biodiesel.

Since 1995, Fiber Recovery Corporation has been utilizing landfill gas from the Marathon County landfill to dry wood waste from local Wausau, Wisconsin papermiiis. mis ariea material is processed into pellets and sold back to the papermills as a supplemental boiler fuel source. Because the papermill waste could be processed within a standard 8-hour workday, landfill gas was being flared the remaining 16 hours of the day. FABCO provided Fiber Recovery with three CAT G3516LE biogas generator sets to utilize the landfill gas 24 hours/day, producing renewable electricity for the local utility, recovering thermal energy from the engine jacket water to heat the manufacturing facility, and utilizing the engine exhaust gas to dry the papermill waste.

Focus on Energy works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Its information, resources and financial incentives help implement projects that otherwise would not be completed, or to complete projects sooner than scheduled. The organization's renewable energy initiatives include wind, solar, biomass combustion and anaerobic digestion. Information on Focus on Energy grants, including those available for installing or expanding commercially available biogas digestion systems, is available at www.focusonenergy.com.

GHD, Inc. has been designing and installing its patented mixed plug-flow digesters across the U.S. for almost 20 years. Its digester installations, which require little maintenance, yield odor reduction, marketable biogas, solids utilized as high-quality cow bedding or soil amendment, heat in the form of hot water to supplement dairy operations, and an inorganic liquid that can be applied directly to crops to enhance yield. An anaerobic digester designed by GHD will be installed at Big Sky Dairy, near Gooding, Idaho, to capture manure from 4,700 cows. To be operational by early 2009, it is expected to generate more than 1 MW/hour of electricity from the biogas, which will be sold to the grid. The digester also will create carbon and renewable energy credits. Digestate will be used as either soil amendment or bedding.

Inland Power Group/GE Jenbacher is the authorized dealer in the Midwest for General Electric Energy's Jenbacher gas engines that produce electricity and heat with high efficiency and low emissions. Inland Power Group provides service, training and parts in its equipment package. It offers the complete line of Jenbacher gas engines ranging from 330 kW to 3 MW. To operate a Jenbacher cogeneration plant with an electrical output of 500 kW, manure from about 2,500 cows, 15,000 hogs or 300,000 laying hens is required. More than 1,150 Jenbacher biogas systems with a total electrical output of about 800 MW have been delivered worldwide. Recently, Inland Power sold two 335 kW gas engines to Schmack BioEnergy for its new anaerobic digester in Akron, Ohio.

Integrys Energy Services, Inc. develops, acquires, owns and operates renewable energy projects across the full spectrum of renewable resources, including biogas and landfill gas, throughout the U.S. and Canada. lntegrys also provides gas and electricity off-take services for third-party owned projects, and works with large commercial, industrial and utility customers to design and select economical energy solutions. It collaborates with developers of wholesale energy projects to overcome challenges associated with integrating the technical, regulatory and financial aspects of their projects. Integrys recently completed and owns a 6.4 MW landfill gasto-electricity plant in Rockford, Illinois, located at the Winnebago Landfill. The Winnebago Energy Center was created in partnership with a developer as well as the landfill operator of the landfill. Integrys provided equity financing and monetization and marketing of renewable energy production tax credits.

Kraft Power Corporation provides engineering design and expertise in power generation systems for prime power, cogeneration/CHP, standby power, pump and digester power systems. Kraft Power's products run on gas, diesel, natural gas, propane, biodiesel and biomass, and can be custom-designed to suit the needs of most facilities. Field services include planned maintenance, emergency repair, load bank testing and emissions testing. Kraft Power installed an anaerobic digester system for a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Nashua, New Hampshire. Digester gas is used to generate electricity, making the WWTP, which treats 12 to 18 million gallons/day, nearly energy selfsufficient. A Waukesha VGF series engine/generator package was installed. The dual-fuel, high-speed, continuous-duty, low-emission 12-cylinder engine produces 365 kW of continuous power at 1200 rpm.

Martin Machinery/GEN-TEC, LLC provide products and services for renewable energy plants, from custom generator sets and heat recovery units to process control technologies. Martin Machinery first entered the biogas industry in 1982. It supplies electric biogas generator systems ranging from 50 to over 3,000 kW. In 2004, Martin Machinery started GEN-TEC, a separate company, to build utility paralleling gear and custom designed paralleling switch gear. It designs new and rebuilt electric generator systems to operate using biogas, and services biogas units powered by engines with 460-cubic-inch to 7,040-cubic-inch engine blocks. A skid assembly with a 180 kW electric generator was delivered in the winter of 2007 to Terryland Farms, Inc. in St. Eugene, Ontario. The farm installed a 1,000 m3 Genesys Biogas anaerobic digester to process manure from the dairy farm with about 260 cows. The digester and genset went online last fall.

Mid-State Technical College, one of only two colleges in Wisconsin offering degree-based training in renewable energy, has three new Associate Degree programs available. The Biorefinery Technology program trains technicians to perform operations and maintenance tasks in the expanding biofuel and biogas production and biorefining industries. The Renewable Electricity Technician program prepares students to design, install, operate and maintain solar and wind electricity generating systems, while the Renewable Thermal Energy Technician program focuses on design, installation, operation and maintenance of solar, geothermal and biomass heating systems for residential and light commercial applications. Online and hybrid training opportunities are expanding.

Starting in 2009, students and their instructors, in cooperation with experienced contractors, will begin installation of solar photovoltaic, solar hot water and small wind energy systems on the college campus. These installations will provide students with hands-on training exercises and experience, as well as supply a portion of the energy required to operate the college facility.

Morbank, Inc., based in Winn, Michigan, has been an innovator and manufacturer of durable, high performance equipment for the sawmill, forestry, tree care, bioenergy, and recycling markets for over 50 years. The company produces a full line of Chiparvestors, flails, whole tree chippers, brush chippers, grinders and more to helps customers harvest, process and convert wood and other organic materials into valuable, useful and profitable products. Biomass is most efficiently converted to energy when it has a high level of uniformity across a range of properties such as size, density, surface area and moisture content. Morbark grinders are used to convert wood scraps from a variety of sources into consistently sized, uniform and predictable fuel for its generators. The company is working with a major private electricity producer whose core business is development and operation of power stations that run on renewable energy.

Patz Sales manufactures compost mixers, belt and chain conveyors, mulching choppers, slurry pumps, alley scrapers, material movers and conveying systems. Its largest distributor of the compost mixers in the U.S., BW Organics, recently sold the Patz Model 400 Stationary Single Screw Vertical Mixer with 140 to 180 cubic feet of capacity to an anaerobic digester facility in Washington State as part of a package to blend digestate with amendments prior to composting.

Pneumatech, LLC is a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of compressed air and gas treatment equipment. Pneumatech has been active in the manufacturing of biogas dryers and treatment equipment for nearly 25 years, and brings nearly 80 years of engineering experience to this marketplace. Pneumatech is a subsidiary of Atlas Copco, the world's largest manufacturer of compressed air and gas equipment.

QuestAir Technologies, Inc. is a developer and supplier of proprietary gas purification systems. QuestAir's products, which incorporate its patented fast-cycle Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology, are used in a range of refinery, industrial and fuel cell applications, including a hydrogen fueling station, as well as for methane recovery from biogas. QuestAir Technologies Inc. has supplied PSA systems to upgrade biogas and landfill gas to natural gas quality in a number of installations worldwide, including the Rumpke landfill in Cincinnati, Ohio operated by Montauk Energy, the Scenic View Dairy anaerobic digester system in Fennville, Michigan, and the Widnau farm in Switzerland operated by Biogasanlage Widnau. Upgraded biogas from QuestAir's PSA systems meets the natural gas quality specifications required of gas utilities, or can be used as a renewable fuel for compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

Reynolds, Inc./Entec Biogas USA is a partnership between Entec Biogas, GmbH, a European biogas digester technology firm and Reynolds, Inc., a water specialty firm. Entec Biogas USA offers full performance guarantees on proven digester technology design and full service construction and commissioning implementation. Its first U.S. project is at the den Dulk dairy farm in Ravenna, Michigan, which is processing manure from over 700 cows. The digester generates 55 cfm of biogas continuously, which is fed into a Capstone microturbine. Separated solids are used by the farm as bedding.

Rotochopper, Inc. manufactures a complete line of horizontal grinders available in electric or diesel models with infeed widths ranging from 24 to 66 inches and horsepower ranging from 75 to 750 HP. The 475 HP engine is well-suited for grinding slash into biomass at forestry operations. For greater efficiency, the MC266F is built to match the capacity of trucks and forwarders that bring material to forest landings to be ground, and then haul the material out of the woods. Rotochopper also offers wood chip processors designed for the arborist or anyone with too many chips on their hands. The CP 118 converts low value chips into high value colored or natural landscape mulch in one quick pass through the machine. In addition, Rotochopper manufactures mobile bagging plants.

SCARAB Manufacturing is a pioneer and innovator in customdesign, engineering and manufacturing of windrow composters for 38 years, both domestically and internationally. Although its primary focus is on building the best windrow turners available in the market, SCARAB is working with leading edge technologies in renewable energy and other biomass applications to integrate SC ARAB-designed equipment and composting technologies into economical renewable energy solutions of the future. Recent senior executive additions bring management, chemical production, renewable fuels and sales and marketing expertise to fortify SCARAB's core business and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Somat Company manufactures waste handling equipment for the foodservice industry, specializing in pulpers and food waste dehydrators. Somat's Waste Pulping Systems and eCorect Food Waste Dehydrators are installed at schools, colleges and universities, prisons and a variety of commercial foodservice applications. Its pulpers are being used in ever increasing numbers to shred and dewater food waste as a pretreatment prior to composting. The U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC recently installed a pulper in conjunction with a composting program and annually diverts tons of food waste and compostable products from landfill. Material generated by the pulper also can be processed via anaerobic digestion. Somat introduced the eCorect Food Waste Dehydration Machine this year, which is designed to reduce food waste by 90 percent in weight and volume. Waste Management and Marriott hotels have used the new deyhdrator recently in pilot programs, producing an end product suitable for use as a soil amendment.

Unison Solutions, Inc. biogas conditioning systems have been installed around the world at landfills, wastewater treatment facilities, dairies and food processing plants. The systems are custom engineered and fabricated based on site-specific data. Unison Solutions' in-house shop designs and assembles each UL (Underwriters Laboratory) control panel hand in hand with its gas conditioning equipment. The systems are extensively tested before leaving its facility. Unison Solutions is committed to offering the complete line of renewable energy services, not only from design to start-up, but continuing on through field maintenance and repair.

University of Wisconsin, Platteville (UWP), a liberal arts campus of 7,000 students, initiated a Renewable Energy Minor in 2008 designed to provide an in-depth and interdisciplinary understanding of issues related to energy, products made from traditional and renewable resources, and their associated markets. Students can use the minor to complement their major area of study such as Biology, Business Marketing, Chemistry, Industrial Studies or Engineering.

UWP has a number of projects related to organic recycling and renewable energy. For over five years, it has been working with industrial leaders to develop new products from digested manure solids. This has led to a patent application for potting mixes as well as work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to manufacture particleboard using a mix of sawdust with digested solids. UWP is also carrying out a feasibility study to install a small or large-scale digester either in collaboration with the City of Platteville wastewater treatment plant or in isolation on the university farm.

WesTech Engineering, Inc. supplies equipment for water, wastewater and industrial applications, including mixers and covers for anaerobic digesters. Its DuoSphere(TM) gasholder structures made from highstrength fabrics are a cost-effective biogas storage solution that range in gas-holding volumes from 20 to 5,000m^sup 3^. They also are designed to regulate pressure and flows from digesters as gas is utilized to produce heat and/or electricity. During the past year, the DuoSphere(TM) Digester Cover has been installed at a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Ohio and at a WWTP in Georgia, which mounted the cover on a 100-foot diameter digester to provide gas storage for a cogeneration system. A project in California is relying heavily on the DuoSphere's flexibility to provide buffer storage and pressure regulation through gas scrubbers and into cogenerators.

Williams Engineering Associates provides design services and start-up assistance for anaerobic digester projects on dairy farms and other facilities with suitable organic waste streams. Doug Williams, principal and owner has over 30 years experience in digester design, feasibility studies and pilot plant studies. He was professor of BioResource and Agricultural Engineering at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for 22 years and is responsible for six full-scale commercial digester projects on dairy farms and pig farms in California and Southeast Asia.

One project is at Joseph Gallo Farms in California, where a large-scale manure digestion and power generation system was constructed for its 5,000-cow Cottonwood Dairy in 2004. Approximately 1.5 million gallons of flushed manure and cheese plant wastewater are pumped daily to a seven-acre covered lagoon digester. About 432,000 cf of biogas/day are piped to the company's cheese plant where it is used to fuel two engine generators producing a total of 700 kW/day of electricity. Heat from the generator engines and exhaust system is captured and used to produce steam, saving 300,000 gallons/year of propane.

Wisconsin Distributed Resources Collaborative (WIDRC) is a nonprofit, voluntary organization committed to fostering market-based development of distributed resources and distributed energy generation in Wisconsin. Members include utilities, advocacy groups, academia and government. WIDRC facilitates the successful deployment of economic, efficient and environmentally responsible distributed resources such as small-scale electrie generation, energy storage, load management and efficiency technologies. The Collaborative also promotes the common business interests of the distributed energy resources industry, encouraging use of all environmentally responsible technologies and energy efficiency measures without promoting specific products.

False bomb threat made over Taiwan flight delay

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan's China Airlines says a passenger fretting over a flight delay falsely claimed he had explosives in his luggage.

The airline says the man, in his early 70s, made the claim at a boarding desk at Taoyuan International Airport, near Taiwan's capital, Taipei, after Flight CI512 was delayed for an hour Friday.

It says airport security officials determined there was no bomb on board but detained the man pending investigation.

The plane later departed for Beijing with its 350 passengers.

Tornadoes Rip Through Ala., Killing 18

ENTERPRISE, Ala. - Tornadoes ripped through Alabama and killed at least 18 people Thursday, including 15 at a high school where students became pinned under debris when a roof collapsed, state officials said. As night fell, crews dug through piles of rubble beneath portable lights at Enterprise High School, looking for other victims.

"The number could very well increase as the search effort continues through the night," state emergency management spokeswoman Yasamie Richardson said.

The burst of tornadoes was part of a larger line of thunderstorms and snowstorms that stretched from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. Authorities blamed a tornado for the death of a 7-year-old girl in Missouri, and twisters also were reported in Kansas.

The storm struck at the high school around 1:15 p.m., and Richardson said some students were still trapped three hours later. Erin Garcia, a 17-year-old senior, said students had gathered in hallways around 11 a.m. as a precaution. School officials wanted to send them home around 1 p.m., she said, but the weather turned bad and sirens wailed.

Then, she said, the lights went out.

"I was just sitting there praying the whole time," she said.

After the storm passed, she found the hallway she was in was spared, but a roof and wall collapsed on students in another hallway.

"People didn't know where to go. They were trying to lead us out of the building. I kept seeing people with blood on their faces," Garcia said.

More than 50 people were hospitalized as the violent storm front crossed the state. Two died elsewhere in Enterprise and one in rural Millers Ferry, where a separate storm wrecked mobile homes, Richardson said.

Officials opened shelters for those whose homes were damaged. The state sent in about 100 National Guardsmen, along with emergency personnel, lights and generators.

The high school, about 75 miles south of Montgomery, "appears to have been right in the path," said Paul Duval, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Fla., which monitors southeast Alabama. The force of the storm blew the windows out of cars and buses in the parking lot.

Martha Rodriguez, a 15-year-old sophomore, said she had left the school about five minutes before the storm hit. When she returned, a hall at the school had collapsed, she said.

"The stadium was destroyed and there were cars tipped over in the parking lot and trees were ripped out. There were trees and wood everywhere. It was just horrible," she said.

At Millers Ferry, 66 miles west of Montgomery, trailer homes were flipped over and trees downed, said Bernadine Williams in the Wilcox County emergency management office.

"The clouds were so dark that all the lights out here came on," said Walter Thornton, who works at the airport in Enterprise, 75 miles south of Montgomery.

President Bush was briefed on the tornadoes by senior staff and called Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, White House spokeswoman Dana Perrino said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was working with officials in both states, she said.

In Caulfield, Mo., resident Rick Jarvis heard the storm ripping through his gas station around dawn. His home next door suffered just minor damage, but the twister, described by witnesses as a fat black column, shredded the business, ripping down its roof and back wall.

"It sounded like a herd of horses tearing up stuff. When I came out, it was done," said Jarvis, 48.

As the system pushed eastward Thursday night, tornado watches remained in effect in eastern Alabama and also were posted in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

The tornadoes were the second to devastate a portion of the South this year. In early February, tornadoes ripped through a 30-mile path in central Florida, killing 21 and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.

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Associated Press Writer Marcus Kabel in Caulfield, Mo., contributed to this report.

Mansions, humble homes burn in California wildfire

Winds swirled and homes of all sizes burned as a wildfire descended on the scenic California coastal city of Santa Barbara amid hot, dry conditions that resembled late summer more than the middle of spring.

Firefighters had a brief respite of moderate breezes early Thursday, but expected another day of heat, gusts and potential destruction as they took on a blaze that had swelled to 500 acres (200 hectares) and forced the evacuation of more than 5,000 homes.

TV news helicopters showed at least a dozen homes ablaze as night fell, but authorities had no immediate estimate of how many had been destroyed.

Huge mansions and humble homes alike were reduced to rubble, leaving palm trees swaying over gutted ruins. Aerial footage showed five or more luxury homes burning along one crest-top road, and many flare-ups dotting the residential hills were apparently burning homes.

The fire went from tame to explosive Wednesday afternoon as gusts up to 50 mph (80 kph) in scorching temperatures hurled the fire from north to south into neighborhoods, Santa Barbara County fire Capt. David Sadecki said.

It remained out of control Thursday morning, though temperatures dropped to the 60s (mid- to upper-teens Celsius) and winds had grown calm.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency, and the National Weather Service issued a "Red Flag" warning for fire danger, predicting strong wind danger through Friday morning.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department spokesman Drew Sugars said 5,430 homes were under mandatory evacuation. The estimated population of those homes was 13,575 people, he said.

Some of the evacuated were allowed to return to their homes early Thursday, the county said in a statement, but officials had no estimate of how many people were affected.

Three Ventura County firefighters were injured when their engine was overtaken by flames as they tried to protect a structure, their department said in a statement.

They were airlifted to Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles where two were treated for moderate burns and a third was treated for smoke inhalation, center spokesman Roy Forbes said. All were in serious but stable condition.

Their fire engine was heavily damaged in the incident.

Another firefighter suffered a head injury earlier in the day.

Jeff Zimmerman, a retired fire captain, told KABC-TV he saw two civilians with minor and second-degree burns.

More than 800 firefighters were on the lines, and 20 more strike teams totaling about 1,300 firefighters were requested.

"The firefighters are picking houses and seeing if they can make a stand," Sadecki said.

The blaze bore down on the city at frightening speed, said Chad Jenson, a food server at Giovanni's Pizza.

"The sky is just deep orange and black, pretty much our whole hillside is going down," Jenson said.

In a city that has experienced a number of wildfires, Jenson said this one was as close to the city center as any he had seen. Less than six months ago a fire destroyed more than 200 homes in Santa Barbara and neighboring Montecito and in 1990, a fire killed one and destroyed 641 homes, apartments and other structures in the county.

Santa Barbara rises rapidly from the coastline on the south to the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains to the north. It is subject to "Sundowners" _ strong winds that blow downslope through passes and canyons of the mountain range and offshore.

The city of 90,000 is 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Los Angeles. It dates to the Spanish colonial era and is a major tourist destination on the state's central coast.

Elsewhere, firefighters were battling a blaze in rural southeastern Arizona that destroyed three houses near Sierra Vista on Tuesday and injured a man. The fire charred about 4,200 acres (1,700 hectares) near Fort Huachuca, threatening about 50 homes in a subdivision. Containment was estimated at 15 percent Wednesday.

In southern New Mexico, a wildfire in the mountains near Timberon charred about 100 acres (40 hectares), burning at least three structures. State Forestry spokesman Dan Ware said firefighters hadn't been able to confirm what types of buildings they were.

Fifteen residents have been evacuated, and 70 structures were threatened, Ware said.

Rep. Hall asks Nicaragua for access to kin

WASHINGTON Rep. Tony P. Hall (D-Ohio) said yesterday he hasasked the Nicaraguan government to allow U.S. Embassy officialsaccess to his brother, Sam, who was captured in Nicarague Friday.

Hall said he made the request to Nicaragua's ambassador, CarlosTunnermann, who agreed to send it to the Sandinista government.

Nicaraguan officials say Sam Nesley Hall, 49, was captured in arestricted military zone near the Punta Huete air base, 13 milesnortheast of Managua.

They said he carried maps of areas around the prison whereanother American, Eugene Hasenfus, is serving 30 years for flyingarms to Nicaraguan rebels.

In June, 1985, Sam Hall told the Associated Press he was workingwith Civilian Military Assistance, of Flint City, Ala., to aid therebels. He described himself as a self-employed military adviser andcounterterrorist who wanted to stop communism.

The congressman said he spoke yesterday to Elliott Abrams,assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, and issatisfied that the State Department is doing all it can in thematter.

Hall also said he would not rule out a trip to Nicaragua, butadded that he hopes it won't be necessary.

Hall has strongly opposed U.S. aid to the contras.

However, Hall said he supports his brother personally.

Formula One Team McLaren Is Investigated

PARIS - Formula One team McLaren is being investigated for a possible rule breach at the Monaco Grand Prix.

World motorsport's governing body, FIA, said in a statement Monday that it was reviewing evidence from Sunday's race after Fernando Alonso finished first ahead of McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso finished 4.095 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who said after the race he "was told to take it easy."

"He was obviously close to me, and I was told to take it easy," Hamilton said Sunday. "At the end of the day, I am a rookie. I am in my first season in Formula One and I have finished second in only my first Monaco Grand Prix, so I really can't complain. I've got No. 2 on my car. I am the No. 2 driver."

Hamilton's fifth straight top-three finish in his debut F1 season helped him share with Alonso the top spot in the drivers' standings at 38 points.

Without elaborating, FIA said Monday that McLaren was being investigated for "a possible breach of the International Sporting Code."

The code states it will "never be enforced so as to prevent or impede a competition or the participation of a competitor, save where the FIA concludes that this is necessary for the safe, fair or orderly conduct of motor sport."

British newspapers reported Monday that Hamilton had twice been called in by McLaren to refuel earlier than scheduled.

FIA banned team orders after Rubens Barrichello was told by Ferrari to allow teammate Michael Schumacher to pass him to win the 2002 Austrian GP. Ferrari was fined $1 million.

Barrichello moved aside on the final bend to allow Schumacher to strengthen his lead in the drivers' championship. Schumacher won the championship that year, with Barrichello second.

McCain, Bush take off gloves Foes debate ethanol, finance laws

DES MOINES George W. Bush and John McCain clashed over campaignfinance, taxes and federal subsidies for agriculture Monday night ina televised forum aimed at Republican activists who vote in Iowa'spresidential caucuses.

Bush told McCain that his signature issue, an overhaul of thecampaign finance laws, would help Democrats and amount to "unilateraldisarmament" for Republicans.

McCain retorted that there was no such thing as six-figure laborand corporate contributions in 1980. "How did Ronald Reagan getelected?" he asked Bush.

Orrin Hatch, Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes and Gary Bauer sat bysilently as Bush and McCain engaged in their first back-and-forth ofthe campaign during the 90-minute forum.

Bush also said he favors continued federal subsidies for ethanol,a fuel derived from agricultural products. McCain said he opposes it.

"Ethanol is not worth it," McCain said. "It does not help theconsumer . . . everybody here on the stage - if it weren't the factthat Iowa is the first caucus state - would share my view," he said.

Bush said a few moments later: "I support ethanol and I supportethanol strongly. And I support ethanol whether I'm here in Iowa ornot."

Forbes stuck to a middle position, saying he supports a "fairtest," and at the end of that, "if it can't stand on its two feet, itought to go."

Bush and Bauer clashed sharply at one point as well.

Bauer said he would be a strong defender of Iowa farmers. Bushstepped in to note that the former Reagan administration aide opposesChina's entry into the World Trade Organization.

"Opening up Chinese markets is good for Iowa farmers, yes sir,"Bush said.

Bauer said: "Governor, here's the fallacy. You believe the Chinesewill keep the agreements. They haven't kept their agreements in 20years."

Monday night's forum was the third all-candidates forum in thelast few weeks - and the last before the calendar turns to theelection year. It was televised on MSNBC.

The opening question dealt with the shooting at Columbine HighSchool in Colorado last spring, and each of the six stuck with well-rehearsed answers they have offered many times while campaigning.

Bauer and Keyes both said a ban on abortion is needed to helpreverse a cultural decline that they said is pervasive in the nation.

While Bauer and Forbes have been quick to go after Bush in theearlier debates in New Hampshire and Arizona, McCain has beenrelatively gentle.

Bush has dominated the Republican field in raising money and inthe early polling. While McCain has erased Bush's polling lead in NewHampshire, the Texas governor remains the leader in Iowa's leadoffcaucuses and in other important early states.

Inventor discovers money is the mother of invention

Dear Diane: I am an inventor. I think I have the sameinspiration that people like Thomas Edison had.

But in spite of my good ideas, which address some real needs inthe consumer marketplace, I find there's no money with which todevelop and patent them.

I've written to several large companies, promising to sell 1million of any one item they would manufacture for me, but no luck.

Maybe one day they'll be ashamed when they realize what theymissed out on. (I've already "lost" many inventions by sharing themwith the wrong crook!)

Can you or your readers offer any suggestions, other thanmarketing firms?

M. L. E.,

VICTORIA, VA.

Dear M. L. E.: When Thomas Edison was lighting the way forinventors, manufacturers tripped over each other to beat a path toinventors' doors.

In those days, most inventors worked independently, and it wasrelatively inexpensive for a manufacturer to try out a new product.

In today's complex world, however, many big corporations havetheir own research and development departments.

New products often require sophisticated technology, anddeveloping them can be both risky and costly (expenditures forpatents, engineering, manufacture, packaging and marketing).

As a result, inventors like you can have a tough time getting afoot in anybody's door.

A large corporation may already be developing an inventionsimilar to yours, so they don't even want to hear your sales pitch;knowing about your invention could cause patent problems.

Also, some consider finding money to be the hardest part of theinventor's job. If you don't sell your invention outright, or give amanufacturer licensing rights, you'll find that most independentfinanciers - once you're lucky enough to get them interested - willwant majority control (over 50 percent interest) of the manufacturingand marketing operation.

Is it worth all the effort?

The Inventors Workshop International Education Foundation hasabout 15,000 members who obviously think so.

The foundation, which was founded in 1971, publishes a newsmagazine and sponsors an inventors' exposition. It also providesassistance and guidance on subjects like how to get patentprotection, how to get inventions manufactured, and how to offer themfor sale.

For information, write to Inventors Workshop InternationalEducation Foundation, 3537 Old Conejo Rd., Suite 120, Newbury Park,Calif. 91320.

The next annual Inventors Workshop Expo will be held in Anaheim,Calif., on April 2 to 4. Here's hoping you'll be there with yourlatest "invention"!

Readers, any other advice for "M. L. E."?

Dear Diane: We went waterskiing on our vacation. My husband,wearing new swim trunks that were a bit large on him, went into thewater with his skis on. When the boat started to pull him, histrunks fell to his ankles. We all had a good laugh, and I managed totake a few pictures of the mishap.

Recently, we had a few married couples over for a barbecue. Ishowed them the photos of our vacation - including the swimming-trunkincident. We all had a good laugh - except for my husband, whobecame furious at me.

Is he overreacting to my innocent fun? Or was I wrong to showthe photos in the first place?

CONFUSED WIFE

Dear Confused: Would you have shared in the amusement had youbeen the star of the vacation photos, wearing only a smile and yourswimsuit as an anklet?

Your husband was a good sport to howl with the rest of you whenhis trunks descended. Afterward, you should have done with thephotos what he did with his trunks: dropped them.

Send letters to Dear Diane, Box 3254, Chicago 60654.

Floyd lands on third team this season

When Cliff Floyd joins the Boston Red Sox on Thursday in Texas,the slugging outfielder will be reunited with former teammate PedroMartinez and Red Sox owner John Henry.

"Hopefully, this will be my last stop in terms of trades and allthis junk," Floyd said after Montreal dealt him to Boston for twominor-league pitchers and a player to be named. "Hopefully, I can sitstill and play with a team that's pretty much stacked in every area."

It was Floyd's second move in three weeks. Montreal acquired himafter the All-Star break from the Florida Marlins.

Rather than fly 2,500 miles from Montreal, play Wednesday night inAnaheim and then travel halfway across the country …

Serbia: Over 80 stillborn babies await burial

Hospital officials say over 80 stillborn babies stored in two Serbian maternity clinics have not been buried _ a revelation that has triggered outrage in Serbia.

They say 50 tiny corpses are in a Belgrade hospital morgue, while 32 others are stored in a deep freezer in the central Serbian town of Nis. Some of the corpses have refrigerated for years.

Radica Bulajic, a Belgrade maternity hospital official, said Wednesday the stillborn babies cannot be legally buried without written consent from their parents and money from the parents for the funerals.

She said many parents do not claim the bodies for "emotional reasons" and added that state authorities have been contacted to take care of the problem.

Bobby Holik to miss 3-4 weeks with broken finger

New Jersey Devils center Bobby Holik will be sidelined three to four weeks with a broken pinkie.

He was injured Saturday night in Washington and is scheduled for surgery Tuesday, general manager and president Lou Lamoriello said Monday.

The Devils recalled left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond from Lowell of the AHL to take Holik's roster spot. He is expected to play Wednesday against Dallas, skating with Mike Rupp and David Clarkson.

"The guys that are playing just have to do the job for you," coach Brent Sutter said. "You go through it at different points in the year; every team does. The teams that handle it the right way and deal with it the right way are always the ones that seem to get through it the best."

Letourneau-Leblond is the third rookie to see ice time this season, joining defenseman Anssi Salmela and Petr Vrana. Vrana scored Saturday, becoming the 13th player in club history to score in his NHL debut. Vrana got into the lineup after Brian Rolston sprained an ankle in Atlanta on Thursday.

Lamoriello said an MRI and X-rays on the ankle were negative, but there is no timetable for Rolston's return.

Rolston and Holik were signed as free agents in the offseason, rejoining the franchise where both won Stanley Cup championships.

From the Zoo to the Wild Under Brookfield's Wing

Visiting a zoo may well whet your appetite for seeing animals inthe wild. Brookfield, Chicago's suburban zoo, aims to feed thatnatural-history hunger with a half-dozen escorted trips each year towildlife destinations around the globe.

Three of the more adventuresome itineraries on Brookfield Zoo'scalendar feature Singapore and Thailand (Nov. 8-22, $3,444 perperson, double occupancy); Guatemala (Feb. 11-27, $3,145), and theGalapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador (April 18-May 1, $3,950). Allthose prices include round-trip airfare from Chicago.

The Brookfield trips are always accompanied by a zoo curator ora naturalist who helps tour members understand the fauna and …