Director Robert expresses Luketic ("Legally states Blonde") has made the increasingly rare two-hour movie that actually feels shorter, and the cast -- given the limitations of their characters -- is across-the-board enjoyable. The book's Asian American protagonist (Jeffrey Ma, the book's "Kevin Lewis," has a cameo as a dealer in the movie) has been changed into the generically "all-American" Ben Campbell -- who, with typical Hollywood irony, is played by a Brit, "Across the Universe's" Jim Sturgess. 5]: "And for all the restrained formalism of his approach, [Ken] Burns can be awfully sentimental. Woods, who had started his round with a double-bogey on this hole three times during the tournament, makes a two-putt par to take a one-stroke lead Woods up by one shot. * No. Many in the business world and the financial marketplace are not of the same opinion as the Fed. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the Labor Party chief who is jockeying for Olmert's job and serves as his defense minister, warned against a "withdrawal from Israeli principles that have stood for 40 years, merely to gain favor in the eyes of an American president who is leaving office in a year. "Other critics argued that Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, was too weak to impose any agreement on West Bank militants intent on attacking Israel. "His hold on the West Bank doesn't derive from strength or popularity, but on Israeli bayonets," said Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Israel Our Home party, the right-wing bulwark of Olmert's coalition "Abu Mazen represents no one. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petite Syrah that comes together nicely, with a lovely deep-plum color and aromas of red fruit, chocolate and spice.

were way down in October 2005, after a summer of discount incentive programs drained the buyer pool. This year, lower gasoline prices have helped boost sales of the pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles that have been stacking up on dealers lots all summer -- although Chrysler Group dealers still appear to be up to their necks in unsold vehicles. Industry analysts expect Chrysler to be the only one of the top six automakers to report a sales decline. -- John O'Dell . BAGHDAD — A bomber walked undetected into a funeral Monday evening and blew himself up, killing as many as 17 others and injuring nine in a predominantly Sunni village near Tikrit, police said. The explosion in Hajaj village killed Iraqis attending a funeral for Antar Abdullah, a tribal leader and brother of the Salahuddin provincial governor's security chief. The security officer, Ahmed Abdullah, left the funeral minutes before the attack and was not injured . But the way he's packaged his nominal Asian scrolls in obsessively crafted, clear acrylic boxes turns high art into luscious consumer product . Chevron and Petronas each have 30%. In return, Chad receives about 12. 5% of the profit made on each barrel exported . 2005 2 Shaun Cody, DL Detroit Started some games early in career -- -- -- -- now a reserve. I'm not sure [that's] a hot start. ""Would you take 7-5 right now?" A no-brainer, if someone lets you go 6-3 the rest of the way with this group. "Um, I'm just focused on the Fresno State game The long term will take care of itself," Neuheisel said.

Carney acted after officials failed to approve a $16. 85-million settlement that would have also resolved a $15-million verdict against the city That verdict is now on appeal. . It claims Sharp and Patron were interested in staying with Rahal Letterman next year but in a different racing series, the American Le Mans Series. But in early October Sharp effectively tried to terminate the driver and sponsorship contracts and failed to make a required $1. 2-million payment toward their 2008 sponsorship agreement, according to the suit, which seeks unspecified damages. --james. peltz . PORT KAVKAZ, RUSSIA — More than 30,000 birds and countless fish have been killed in an "ecological catastrophe" wrought by thousands of tons of oil from a tanker that broke apart in a heavy storm near the Black Sea, the governor of the region said Monday. Birds weighed down by thick coatings of the fuel oil hopped weakly along the shore or sat helplessly in the sand . Steve Cooley said a criminal investigation into the clergy sex scandal remains open. Attorneys representing abuse victims said releasing the confidential files would thwart future trouble. "Disclosure of the personnel files of child molesting clergy in these cases . Hamilton, who leads Alonso in the driver standings, 70-68, will take the pole. The last time Eugene Brakke drove his honey-gold 1965 Ford Mustang, he was young and single, and the throaty little sports car "certainly didn't hurt" with the ladies.

Possible foam strikes to the craft became a critical safety issue after the shuttle Columbia was lost in 2003 after a piece of insulating foam hit the left wing during launch, tearing a hole in it . He later said the argument was about Summer taking too much time on her "dates" with other men, which provided income for the couple. RJ Brooks says theft is common among the tent-dwellers, although he mostly blamed outsiders and drug addicts. "It gets treacherous at night I get scared," said Saeeda Brooks . "In the core areas, people will be much less affected than where there was a lot of building and risky lending. "While price appreciation was down or flat in most of Southern California, Los Angeles County posted a 4. 8% increase in its median price, to $545,000. L. A. 's numbers were helped in part by rising values in affluent areas such as Beverly Hills, La Canada Flintridge and Studio City -- where buyers typically aren't fazed by tighter lending standards or higher interest rates. Even so, sales in Los Angeles County fell 32. 5%. Orange County, the region's priciest county, saw its median edge up 0. 4% to $645,000 -- a new record -- while sales declined 31. 6%. San Diego County, where prices have been slipping for the last year, experienced a 1. 9% drop in its median price to $495,000 . A limited budget had Rochas and his crew considering applying vinyl from old billboards, but they couldn't get permission to recycle the used materials because of copyright issues related to the advertised products . Holdings Inc. Born 14 days after Obama, Geithner would be one of the youngest Treasury secretaries in U. S. Nyiragongo exploded in 2002, engulfing half the town in ash and lava and killing as many as 100 people. Today farms lie fallow and 1 in 10 people rely on international food aid. The city made the only bid for the property, designating it for open space, Rodriguez said. Laguna Beach residents Eileen Garcia and her husband, George Rivere, ardently oppose the center and are suing the city.

USC could be forced to forfeit victories from those two seasons and Bush could have his 2005 Heisman Trophy taken away. Bush has repeatedly said that neither he nor his family did anything wrong . Thigpen played the full game, completing 14 of 36 passes for 128 yards with one touchdown. Quoteworthy: "We have stressed since day one we want to be a physical team. " -- Mike Smith, Falcons coach . Tolstoy is safe -- so is Agatha Christie -- but Truman has constructed a decent summer amusement. "Readers embraced the book, making it a bestseller, and eagerly anticipated the "Capitol Crimes" series she began churning out. Utilizing her familiarity with the lofty settings of government power and of the diplomats, politicians and pundits who peopled Washington, she offered entertaining lessons about the federal government. Reviewing her 1992 "Murder at the Pentagon," critic Charles Champlin wrote in The Times that "the plotting indeed is satisfyingly convoluted and the large-scale resolution worthy of [Robert] Ludlum. "A Washington Post reviewer said that Daniel "writes a lively Washington scene with the sure hand of one who knows her way around the streets, institutions people and politics. "Born Feb . It's weird, Schmidt says, to feel their bones crush beneath her palms as she tries to press life into their chests. It's not the sight of someone's blood, or broken body, or last breath that disturbs her . "The benefits offered to public employees in this state are extravagant. So soon after, Kulukundis was racing to another school to see more boys, "very late and very lost," and didn't see the car with the radar gun lurking under a tree. She did hear the siren, though, and dutifully, if unhappily, pulled her rental car to the side of the road, where she encountered a stern female state trooper, who approached and asked, "Ma'am, do you know what you were doing?" It seems she was going 75 in a 25 mph zone, and she might have quibbled about how the speed limit dropped so suddenly (Speed trap! Speed trap!) had not the "very scary" trooper lady examined her driver's license and announced, "I think you're coming to my home tonight. "So that's how she met Dillon's mom, Regina, and wound up with "just a warning," thank you, and with a child actor who she discovered could memorize two pages of dialogue with one reading and didn't fidget or blink or any of that normal kid's stuff. Screenplay: Anthony Minghella. All I could think of was what an exposed position he occupied.

Cabrera has 23 walks and 27 strikeouts. "A lot of guys have developed a good two-strike approach," Hatcher said . "Things sometimes work in animals, but then we get side effects in humans, or other things go wrong," he said. thomas. maugh . Sudanese scientists say they already knew about the underground water; the problem is finding the money and political will to drill for it. "Science and resource management are not priorities in a military regime," said Abduljabbar Abdulla Fadul, an El Fasher University senior lecturer in natural-resource management. Experts warn that Darfur's environmental problems are likely to continue long after the conflict ends; in fact, peace may put more strain on resources. Hundreds of villages have been destroyed, and the marauding militias have often poisoned wells and chopped down trees to discourage residents from returning As a result, a massive rebuilding effort will be needed . Plus, the competition level in some countries is getting better. "Meanwhile, Team USA is piling up impressive numbers on its tour, which will stop at UCLA today for a 6 p. m . "Head chopping continued until 1747, when it was thought to be barbaric. He stopped production of his show, except for a special episode chronicling his surgery and fight against the disease. I was allowed to take her to school, the coach allowed her to be at practice, running around and screaming at games.

I was upset, but at the same time, I felt, 'We're America and there will be some type of something that will make this right. ' "Evened OutThe Patriots may be 59-22 with three Super Bowl titles since 2001, but clearly there were some lean years in the past. Sunday's 19-17 victory over the Bills gave New England a . 500 record at 356-356-9 over its 47-year history. Quote of the DaySeattle defensive end Bryce Fisher was asked whether his team's 9-6 victory over Detroit was an ugly win "I've never seen one," Fisher said . In the avid viewers and readers who boosted cable television and new websites to record audiences. Trivia dominated too many news cycles, to be sure. But in the end, two powerful biographies added new chapters: A Navy aviator who survived 5 1/2 years of torment in Vietnam asked for the chance to serve his country "just one more time," and a young senator who carved an unlikely story from roots as diverse as the nation's promised to launch the country on a new journey. Americans can't wait to write the ending But they may miss the story when it's over. --james. rainey . Inouye of Hawaii strongly defended the honor of Republican Sen . 19, 1999, and Bayno, as coach of the Nevada Las Vegas basketball team, had just suffered a gut-wrenching loss to Oklahoma State. Up next were four days off for a Christmas break, and Bayno committed himself to laying off the liquor that had haunted him his entire life. The self-imposed timeout didn't last long . In doing so, he implicitly rejected the long-standing Palestinian demand for refugees' "right of return" to Israel. Bush offered no ideas for resolving conflicting claims to Jerusalem and its holy sites, the issue he said could be the toughest of all. The president's guidelines are not new But his national security advisor, Stephen J. It's a stance that pays off in layered meanings and intricate implications. Godard has in this way set in motion what has been succinctly summed up as an "an existential Bonnie and Clyde," a freewheeling lovers-on-the-lam adventure that is light and lyrical but also dark and contemplative.

It took him to the top of the country chart in 1955 for the first time and remained his biggest hit. He sang with an unadorned, everyman voice, not the booming bass-baritone of a Johnny Cash, the jazz-inflected acrobatics of Willie Nelson or the bluegrass-steeped purity of a Vince Gill. "I don't try to show off a so-called beautiful voice, because I don't feel my voice is beautiful," Wagoner once said . "I wanted something you can plop onto and spread out on instead of thinking you have to sit in one section," he explains . That baby represents the rising up of hope out of darkness and despair," he said. "It made me think about us in this country 15 years later, how not only do we still have scars from that riot, but in many American cities we haven't even taken the bullet out," he said . Most of the slowdown came from the U. S. , where the drop was 9. 4%. "Adjusted preliminary data in the continental United States continue to depict an extremely gloomy picture of oil demand," the agency said. Although demand in China increased in October, the IEA found signs that "the Chinese economy is indeed slowing down, according to diverse indicators on manufacturing, power generation, retail sales and trade . I looked at my patient's still form, lying peacefully among the now-silent machines. Make a small slit in the center of each calzone to form a vent and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

The overflow room was two buildings away and it was muggy outside . to commend the LAPPL for its commitment to the public interest," Feess wrote . The deep flavor of cochinita pibil (pork slow-roasted in banana leaves) contrasts with the tart note of pickled red onions . Because I think if this was the late '90s, I don't believe it would have been the case . That means divesting its remaining stake in Time Warner Cable, most analysts say, and it also may mean finally cutting AOL loose eight years after one of the media industry's biggest merger flops. A union of Microsoft and Yahoo would seem to imply that two of the most promising potential buyers of AOL are out of the market Yet Oppenheimer & Co. 5 ballot. The referendums on the compacts -- deals forged by the governor and last year passed by the Legislature -- were put on the ballot by Fancher and others who want voters to repeal the latest expansion of slot machines won by Southern California tribes. Fancher is the executive managing director of real estate funds whose holdings including the Hollywood Park and Bay Meadows horse tracks, which have contributed $4. 3 million to the campaign to kill Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 -- the biggest source of money in the "No" campaign. Track owners, who are barred by state law from installing lucrative slot machines, have been dismayed at their loss of customers to other forms of gambling. Voters in 2000 awarded Nevada-style gambling in California exclusively to Indian tribes. Fancher, 54, has told local and state officials that he is prepared to tear down the iconic Hollywood Park track and replace it with homes and shops unless the state helps make the business more viable through a share of slot machine or video casino game revenue. The compacts at issue provide four tribes authority to add 17,000 slot machines to the 8,000 they already have at their casinos in Riverside and San Diego counties. 28, 1927, in the northern Indian city of Benares, now called Varanasi, and was the son of a physics professor at Benares Hindu University. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in surgery from Saro- jini Naidu Medical College in Agra, India, in 1949 and 1952, then did a residency in Scotland, where he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He returned home in 1958 to join the Sawai Man Singh College and Hospital in Jaipur.

John McCain has based much of his political persona on his staunch support for the military and his consummate credibility on national security. But as the Arizona Republican prepares to mount a White House campaign, he is putting those military bona fides on the line -- aggressively backing an unpopular plan to increase the number of U. S . 10. Phil Mickelson, playing despite a sore left wrist, called it the toughest stretch in golf. "And that is the stretch that will eliminate the majority of the field in that four-hole area. " Mickelson said. The most intriguing hole is No 8, a 288-yard par three Many players will need a driver to get there . Peter Dicks, former chairman of Sportingbet, was detained in New York but released after New York Gov . In the film, he ably partners Nicholson with suave smoothness. Nicholson says cheerily that that was no fat suit in the movie . But this was an evening for togetherness, for duo playing of the highest quality. Saluzzi and Lechner have been performing together, exploring a world that lies somewhere between composition and improvisation, for eight years, and the synchronicity showed in every glimmering, compelling note. . ANCHORAGE — Looking fatigued but jubilant, Alaska Sen.

starts one this weekend, according to firms that said they were hired to liquidate the stores. Already gone are the novelty retailer Sharper Image Corp. , Wickes Furniture and Levitz Furniture, and retail experts say more closings loom. "This is unprecedented, really, the number of stores that are going to be closing," said Daniel Kane, principal of Tiger Capital Group, one of several firms hired to liquidate Linens 'n Things and Shoe Pavilion . The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $25. 99) 9 Alien invaders take over the minds of humans 9 . Hope Academy employees were enrolled in the AmeriCorps program to illegally supplement staff salaries. --eric. bailey . The U. S . The drug had been introduced a few years earlier. By 1947, Welles and his family were on their way back to China with a new baby, Patricia. Additives raise the flashpoint of jet fuel, further reducing the likelihood that it will burn, experts said. Major airports worldwide use holding tanks and pipelines, usually underground, in a hydrant system that pumps fuel directly to the gates where airplanes are refueled. Carson unit was charged with slitting a woman's throat and leaving her to die in the foothills near Colorado Springs, prompting U. S Sen.

Retail sales on the day after Thanksgiving rose 3% over last year to $10. 6 billion, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp. , which monitors sales at more than 50,000 stores. Online retailers posted smaller gains that day, with Internet sales rising 1% to $534 million, ComScore said. Already this holiday shopping season has been one of the most heavily promoted in years . That, Fuzesi said, could discourage people from paying $10 for tickets to the show when it opens Nov 21. Of course, not all automakers are pulling back Ford is introducing six vehicles at the L. A . He termed the company's program a "hacker-style attack" that infringed on users' privacy. An estimated 82% of software in China is pirated, according to the Business Software Alliance industry group, compared with 93% for world leader Armenia and 20% for the U. S. "I think Microsoft is doing the right thing to protect its legal rights," said Su Wei, a 31-year-old real estate consultant, before acknowledging he's never purchased genuine software and probably won't. Over the years, Microsoft has tried various strategies to stem piracy in China, including giving away software to schools and government offices in hopes of building a legitimate base and offering discounts to users of pirated products who switch over . If the occupants were able-bodied, the survival rate for houses was 90%. Teams of researchers interviewed survivors and compiled their recollections . He has reportedly lived overseas since then. Jackson bought the ranch in 1988 for $28 million. --hector. becerra. Tag Ridings (79), tied with Charles Howell III for the lead at eight under entering the day, self-destructed with three bogeys, a triple bogey, and one double bogey in an eight-hole span. What makes "Running the Table" so special is not the pool prowess of its protagonist but the unlikely bond between two wildly different young men who find each other through an exhilarating, often infuriating game.