Stocks Volatile Before Cons. Conf. Data

Wall Street fluctuated in early trading Tuesday following big back-to-back rallies and as investors awaited readings on consumer sentiment.

The market seemed to be searching for direction in the early going. Some profit-taking was to be expected after a two-day rally sent the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 450 points. Investors are looking for insights into whether the easing of some of Wall Street's fears in recent sessions is well-founded or overly optimistic.

Stocks have charged higher in the days following the Federal Reserve's decision to aid investment banks and orchestrate a buyout deal for a near-collapsed Bear Stearns Cos. The Fed's actions …

Cubs face the future Kimm, players content to act as if there will be more games

Cubs 13

Brewers 10

MILWAUKEE--On what could have been the last day of the 2002season, Cubs manager Bruce Kimm rested first baseman Fred McGriff sohe could be fresh to play this weekend at Wrigley Field against theSt. Louis Cardinals.

Thursday afternoon might have been McGriff's last game as a Cub ifplayers strike today for the rest of the season. But Kimm showed nofear of the future. He refused to let any dark shadows from the NewYork negotiations disrupt his routine.

I'm not treating it as the end of the season," Kimm said beforethe Cubs' 13-10 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park.

If this was the finish line, the Cubs crossed it as they …

Politica de Nicaragua: El Cinismo de los Disidentes Sandinistas

Politica de Nicaragua: El Cinismo de los Disidentes Sandinistas

Por Roberto Zelaya Blanco

DURANTE el periodo comprendido entre julio de 1979 y abril de 1990, los dirigentes del Frente Sandinista, la respectiva intelectualidad organica, los capitalistas "progresistas" y curas de sotana roja que los aceptaban como la vanguardia del pueblo nicaraguense, son directamente corresponsables de la comision de crimenes de guerra y de lesa humanidad en perjuicio de determinados sectores de la colectividad nacional, incluyendo el exterminio metodico y sistematico de las minorias etnicas de la Costa Atlantica del pais.

Si algun dia -que ojala no este lejano-, todos esos …

Japan stocks fall on jitters over global economy

Japanese shares retreated Thursday, as concerns about the global economy overshadowed any optimism over the U.S. Senate's passage of a US$700 billion bank rescue plan.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 213.50 points, or 1.88 percent, to 11,154.76. The broader Topix index 2.19 percent to 1,076.97.

Tokyo stocks began the morning in positive territory as investors hunted for bargains, but quickly fell into the red on faltering sentiment.

News during the morning that the Senate had passed a revised version the bailout plan did little to lift market spirits, said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. The bill now …

Merging TV with the Web

Perhaps the biggest disconnect in the digital landscape today is between the Internet and the TV set. Consumers have been buying big new high-definition TVs in large numbers and, separately, are watching more and more video from online sources like YouTube, Hulu and iTunes. But the two trends have yet to merge. Despite the efforts of big names like Microsoft, Apple and TiVo, relatively few people are watching Internet video on their shiny new sets.

Now, two more set-top boxes have been launched to try to marry the Internet and the TV. Both adapters, from Sony and Roku, worked well in my tests, but each has limitations. The problem is that the Sony box supplies content from a wide …

MCI may cut 1,875 jobs in effort to trim costs

NEW YORK MCI WorldCom Inc., the newly formed telecommunicationscompany, plans to lay off about 1,875 workers, or 2.5 percent of itswork force, as part of an effort to slash $2.5 billion in costs nextyear, an industry source familiar with the situation said today.

MCI WorldCom Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers is known for movingswiftly to cut costs in newly acquired companies. MCI and WorldComcompleted their $37 billion deal three months ago in one of thenation's largest telecommunications mergers, forming a formidablerival to AT&T Corp. and other dominant players.

The new company is the nation's second-largest long-distanceprovider behind AT&T after fusing No. …

China sends long-missing lawyer Gao back to jail

BEIJING (AP) — More than a year and a half after prominent civil rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng disappeared, China's government gave the first sign Friday that he is alive, saying he would be sent to prison for three years for violating his probation.

A brief report by the state-run Xinhua News Agency did not answer key questions about Gao — the condition of his health and his whereabouts now and in the 20 months since he disappeared, presumably at the hands of the authorities.

"Are they sending him to a proper prison? Which prison was he at before? Where were they hiding him?" said Gao's brother, Gao Zhiyi, who has been on a quest to find his sibling.

Gao's wife said from …

Body in Pa. river ID'd as tourist; 2nd body seen

The body of one of two missing Hungarians was recovered Friday from the Delaware River near where a 250-foot barge collided with a stalled amphibious sightseeing boat. A second body was later spotted during salvage operations but has not yet been recovered.

A statement from Hungary's foreign ministry said U.S. authorities had reported that they had recovered the body of a female Hungarian citizen missing since Wednesday's accident.

Sixteen-year-old Dora Schwendtner was one of two passengers. The other, 20-year-old Szabolcs Prem, has not been found.

The girl's body was recovered at around 4:45 a.m. near the Walt Whitman Bridge by members of the …

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Yawning often occurs during the time we're transitioning from a passive state to a more active one, like when we're waking up in the morning or when we've decided to stop watching TV, get up off the couch and head out for a jog. Psychology professor Robert Provine, an expert on the subject, says that concert pianists and Olympic athletes typically yawn as they gear up for their moments in the limelight. Judging from these facts, Aries, I imagine you'll soon be indulging in more yawns than usual. You're about to go from a phase of relative inertness to one of mind-jiggling adventure.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Surveys show that two out of every 10 people …

US ambassador says Japanese exit from war on terror would be `tragedy'

The U.S. ambassador urged Japan on Wednesday to extend its naval mission in the Indian Ocean, saying it would be "a real tragedy" if Tokyo dropped out of the battle against terrorism.

Japan has refueled U.S.-led warships in the Indian Ocean since 2001, but withdrew the mission in November when the opposition _ which controls the upper house of parliament _ blocked its extension.

U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer said Japan would have to decide whether it wants to be part of the international effort to combat terrorism or not.

"It would be a real tragedy if somehow Japan tried to opt out of the war on terror," he told reporters …

Hikes in gas, food prices lower recovery expectations

Higher gas and food prices pushed overall consumer prices up in the Chicago metropolitan area and nationally in March, raising concerns that higher gas prices could put the brakes on the economic recovery.

Prices rose 0.8 percent in the Chicago metropolitan area in March from February.

Nationally, prices rose 0.5 percent, matching February's increase, the largest since the recession ended in June 2009.

So far, the spikes in food and gas prices haven't stopped businesses from stepping up hiring or slowed factory production, which rose in March for the ninth straight month. But employees are seeing small, if any, pay increases, leaving many little wiggle room. The …

A simple fish dish to wow the crowd

Chef D's Kitchen

Okay... My apologies for not giving you guys a fish recipe as I promised two weeks ago. I failed to mention that I am a big football fan and even a bigger tailgate fan. So with the football season kicking off, I had to drop something for my fellow ., Bear fans to eat. Here is another one of my favorite things to do with fish. Rustic southern flavors enhance mis simple dish in time for the fall season. Pay attention to techniques in this recipe to ensure a successful dish. Enjoy...

Cabbage steamed fjsh and black-eyed peas

8 oz. fresh black-eyed peas

2 cups of chicken broth

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half

8-10 leaves of …

Solution NMR studies of antiamoebin, a membrane channel-forming polypeptide

ABSTRACT Antiamoebin I is a membrane-active peptaibol produced by fungi of the species Emericellopsis which is capable of forming ion channels in membranes. Previous structure determinations by x-ray crystallography have shown the molecule is mostly helical, with a deep bend in the center of the polypeptide, and that the backbone structure is independent of the solvent used for crystallization. In this study, the solution structure of antiamoebin was determined by NMR spectroscopy in methanol, a solvent from which one of the crystal structures was determined. The ensemble of structures produced exhibit a right-handed helical C terminus and a left-handed helical conformation toward the N-terminus, in contrast to the completely right-handed helices found in the crystal structures. The NMR results also suggest that a "hinge" region exists, which gives flexibility to the polypeptide in the central region, and which could have functional implications for the membrane insertion process. A model for the membrane insertion and assembly process is proposed based on the antiamoebin solution and crystal structures, and is contrasted with the assembly and insertion mechanism proposed for other ion channel-forming polypeptides.

INTRODUCTION

The antiamoebins are a family of peptides produced by fungi of the species Emericellopsis that have antibiotic properties against the organism responsible for amoebic dysentery (Thirumalachur, 1968). Up to 16 microheterogeneous members of the family have been identified, termed antiamoebin I, II, etc., (Pandey et al., 1977; Pandey et al., 1978; Jaworski and Brukner, 2000). Antiamoebin I has the primary structure:

The peptaibols, including antiamoebin, are considered good models for studying ion channels, as they form stable, well characterized channels and are relatively abundant (Wallace, 2000). They also fall in the intermediate size range where both NMR spectroscopic and x-ray crystallographic techniques can be used to investigate three-dimensional structure.

High-resolution crystal structures of antiamoebin I published by Snook et al. (1998) and Karle et al. (1998) in different environments (methanol and octanol, respectively) and in different crystallographic space groups, show that the molecule has essentially the same backbone conformation in both environments. The polypeptide backbone atoms of the two crystal structures have a positional root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.24 Angstrom (Wallace et al., 2000). The structures are mostly helical, with an N-terminal a-helix (residues 1-9) followed by a small segment of 3^sub 10^-helix (residues 10-12) joined to an overlapping series of beta-turns at the C-terminus (residues 12-16), which is sometimes described as a beta-bend-ribbon (Di Blasio et al., 1992). The molecule has a deep bend centered on residue Hyp^sup 11^, forming an angle of 560 between the two helix axes in the methanol crystal form (Snook et al., 1998).

[Reference]

REFERENCES

[Reference]

Anders, R., 0. Ohlenschlager, V. Soskic, H. Wenschuh, B. Heise, and L. R. Brown. 2000. The NMR solution structure of the ion channel peptaibol chrysospem-dn C bound to dedecylphosphocholine micelles. Eur. J. Biochem. 267:1784-1794.

Bailey, S. 1994. The CCP4 Suite - programs for protein crystallography. Acta Crystallogr. D. 50:760-763.

Balashova, T. A., Z. 0. Shenkarev, A. A. Tagaev, T. V. Ovchinnikova, J. Raap, and A. S. Arseniev. 2000. NMR structure of the channel-former zervamicin lIB in isotropic solvents. FEBS Lett. 466:333-336.

Boheim, G. 1974. Statistical analysis of alamethicin channels in black lipid membranes. J. Membr. Biol. 19:277-303.

Borgias, B. A., and T. L. James. 1989. Two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect - complete relaxation matrix analysis. Methods Enzymol. 176:169-183.

[Reference]

Borgias, B. A., and T. L. James. 1990. MARDIGRAS - A procedure for matrix analysis of relaxation for discerning geometry of an aqueous structure. J. Mag. Res. 87:475-487.

BrOnger, A. T. 1992. X-PLOR v3.1. A System for X-ray Crystallography and NMR. Yale University Press, New Haven.

Cascio, M., and B. A. Wallace. 1988. Conformation of alamethicin in phospholipid vesicles: implications for insertion models. Proteins. 4:8998.

[Reference]

Chugh, J., and B. A. Wallace. 2001. Peptaibols: Models for ion channels. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 29:565-570.

Das, M. K., S. Raghothama, and P. Balaram. 1986. Membrane channel forming polypeptides - molecular-conformation and mitochondrial uncoupling activity of antiamebin, an alpha-aminoisobutyric-acid containing peptide. Biochemistry. 25:7110-7117.

Dempsey, C. E. 1995. Hydrogen-bond stabilities in the alamethicin helix pH-dependent amide exchange measurements in methanol. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 117:7526-7534.

Dempsey, C. E., and L. J. Handcock. 1996. Hydrogen bond stabilities in membrane-reconstituted alamethicin from amide-resolved hydrogen-- exchange measurements. Biophys. J. 70:1777-1788.

Di Blasio, B., V. Pavone, M. Saviano, A. Lombardi, F. Nastri, C. Pedone, E. Benedetti, M. Crisma, M. Anzolin, and C. Toniolo. 1992. Structural characterization of the beta-bend ribbon spiral - crystallographic analysis of 2 long (L-Pro-Aib^sub n^) sequential peptides. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114:6273-6278.

[Reference]

Duclohier, H., and H. Wroblewski. 2001. Voltage-dependent pore formation and antimicrobial activity by alamethicin and analogues. J. Membr. Biol. 184:1-12.

Duclohier, H., C. F. Snook, and B. A. Wallace. 1998. Antiamoebin can function as a carrier or as a pore-forming peptaibol. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1415:255-260.

Esposito, G., J. A. Carver, J. Boyd, and I. D. Campbell. 1987. High resolution 'H NMR study of the solution structure of alamethicin. Biochemistry. 26:1043-1050.

Fox, R. J., and F. M. Richards. 1982. A voltage gated ion channel model inferred from the crystal structure of alamethicin at 1.5A resolution. Nature. 300:325-330.

[Reference]

Franklin, J. C., J. F. Ellena, S. Jayasinghe, L. P. Kelsh, and D. S. Cafiso. 1994. Structure of micelle-associated alamethicin from 'H NMR evidence for conformational heterogeneity in a voltage-gated peptide. Biochemistry. 33:4036-4045.

Gratias, R., R. Konat, H. Kessler, M. Crisma, G. Valle, A. Polese, F. Formaggio, C. Toniolo, Q. B. Broxterman, and J. Kamphuis. 1998. First step toward the quantitative identification of peptide 310-helix conformation with NMR spectroscopy: NMR and X-ray diffraction structural analysis of a fully-developed 310-helical peptide standard. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120:4763-4770.

He, K., S. J. Ludtke, W. T. Heller, and H. W. Huang. 1996. Mechanism of alamethicin insertion into lipid bilayers. Biophys. J. 71:2669-2679. Hoogstraten, C. G., and J. L. Markley. 1996. Effects of experimentally

achievable improvements in the quality of NMR distance constraints on the accuracy of calculated protein structures. J. Mol. Biol. 258:334-348.

[Reference]

Jaworski, A., and H. Brukner. 2000. New sequences and new fungal producers of peptaibol antibiotics antiamoebin. J. Pept. Sci. 6:149-167.

Karle, I. L., M. A. Perozzo, V. K. Mishra, and P. Balaram. 1998. Crystal structure of the channel-forming polypeptide antiamoebin in a membrane-mimetic environment. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 95:55015504.

[Reference]

Karle, I. L., J. L. Flippen-Anderson, S. Agarwalla, and 0. Balaram. 1991. Crystal-structure of [Leul]zervamicin, a membrane ion-channel peptide implications for gating mechanisms. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 88:5307-5311.

[Reference]

Laskowski, R. A., M. W. MacArthur, D. S. Moss, and J. M. Thornton. 1993. PROCHECK - a program to check the stereochemical quality of protein structures. J. Appl. Crystallogr. 26:283-291.

Marion, D., M. Ikura, R. Tschudin, and A. Bax. 1989. Rapid recording of 2D NMR-spectra without phase cycling - application to the study of hydrogen-exchange in proteins. J. Mag. Res. 85:393-399.

McDonald, I. K., and J. M. Thornton. 1994. Satisfying hydrogen-bonding potential in proteins. J. Mol. Biol. 238:777-793.

Pandey, R. C., H. Meng, J. C. Cook, and K. L. Rinehart. 1977. Structure of antiamoebin I from high resolution field desorption and gas chromatographic mass spectrometry studies. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 99:5203-5205.

Pandey, R. C., H. Meng, J. C. Cook, and K. L. Rinehart. 1978. Structure of the peptide antibiotic antiamoebin II. J. Antibiot. 31:241-243. Sansom, M. S. P. 1993. Structure and function of channel-forming

peptaibols. Q. Rev. Biophys. 26:365-421.

Shenkarev, Z. O., T. A. Balashova, R. G. Efremov, Z. A. Yakimenko, T. V. Ovchinnikova, J. Raap, and A. S. Arseniev. 2002. Spatial structure of zervamicin lB bound to DPC micelles: implications for voltage-gating. Biophys. J. 82:762-771.

[Reference]

Sklenar, V., M. Piotto, R. Leppik, and V. Saudek. 1993. Gradient-tailored water suppression for tH-1 N-HSQC experiments optimized to retain full sensitivity. J. Mag. Res. Series A. 102:241-245.

Snook, C. F., and B. A. Wallace. 1999. The molecular-replacement solution of an intermediate-sized helical polypeptide, antiamoebin I. Acta Crystallogr. D55:1539-1545.

Snook, C. F., G. A. Woolley, 0. Oliva, V. Pattabhi, S. P. Wood, T. L. Blundell, and B. A. Wallace. 1998. The structure and function of antiamoebin I, a proline-rich membrane-active polypeptide. Structure. 6:783-792.

[Reference]

Tieleman, D. P., H. J. C. Berendsen, and M. S. P. Sansom. 2001. Voltagedependent insertion of alamethicin at phospholipid/water and octane/ water interfaces. Biophys. J. 80:331-346.

Thirumalachur, M. J. 1968. Antiamoebin, a new antiprotozoal-antihelmintic antibiotic. Part 1. Production and biological studies. Hindustan Antibiot. Bull. 10:287-289.

Toniolo, C., and E. Benedetti. 1991. The polypeptide 310 helix. TIBS. 16:350-353.

[Reference]

Toniolo, C., E. Peggion, M. Crisma, F. Formaggio, X. Q. Shui, and D. S. E. Eggleston. 1994. Structure determination of racemic trichogin A IV using centrosymmetric crystals. Nat. Struct. Biol. 1:908-914.

Vanopdenbosch, N., R. Cramer, and F. F. Giarrusso. 1985. SYBYL, the integrated molecular modeling system. J. Mol. Graph. 3:110-111. Wallace, B. A, 2000. Common structural features in gramicidin and other

ion channels. Bioessays. 22:227-234.

Wallace, B. A., C. F. Snook, H. Duclohier, and A. 0. O'Reilly. 2000. Antiamoebin: A polypeptide ion carrier and channel. In Peptides for the New Millennium. G. B. Fields, J. P. Tam, and G. Barany, editors. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. 733-735.

Wuthrich, K. 1986. NMR of Proteins and Nucleic Acids. John Wiley, New York.

[Author Affiliation]

T. P. Galbraith,* R. Harris,^ ^^ P. C. Driscoll,^^ (sec) and B. A. Wallace*

*School of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, University of London, London WC1 E 7HX, UK; ^Bloomsbury Centre for Structural Biology, Birkbeck College and University College, University of London, London WC1 E, UK; ^^Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University College, University of London, London WC1 E 613T, UK; and (sec)Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, UCL School of Medicine Branch, London WlP 813T, UK

[Author Affiliation]

Submitted June 17, 2002, and accepted for publication August 05, 2002.

R. Harris's present address is The Burnham Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037 USA.

Address reprint requests to B. A. Wallace. Tel.: (+44) 20 7631 6857; Fax: (+44) 20 7631 6803; E-mail: b.wallace@mail.cryst.bbk.ac.uk.

Kmart narrows loss; Limited, Intimate Brands dip

Kmart Corp.'s fiscal second-quarter loss narrowed after thediscount chain closed stores and reduced advertising costs. Profitsat Limited Inc. and its Intimate Brands Inc. unit fell as clothingsales declined. Limited, the second-largest U.S. apparel chain, andIntimate Brands also said earnings in the third quarter will fallmore than forecast as sales continue to drop. Other retailers thatreported results included No. 1 U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc.,which narrowed its loss in the quarter ended Aug. 4 to $1.69 millionfrom $8.65 million a year earlier. Sales rose 14 percent to $1.05billion. Kmart's loss narrowed to $95 million from $448 million ayear earlier. Sales in the quarter ended Aug. 1 fell 0.9 percent to$8.92 billion, hurt by the closing of 70 stores, from the year-earlier quarter. Net income at Limited fell 7.8 percent to $71.6million, or 16 cents a share, as sales declined 4.2 percent to $2.19billion. Limited expects to break even in the third quarter,compared with last year when it earned 11 cents a share. Per-shareearnings for the full year will "be down significantly," the retailersaid. At Intimate Brands, the biggest U.S. lingerie chain, netincome fell 31 percent to $68.9 million, or 14 cents a share, assales declined 3.4 percent to $1.15 billion. Intimate Brands alsosaid profit will break even in the third quarter and will fall thisyear. Bloomberg News

1 GOP Rep. to Retire; 1 More to Follow

A 12-term Republican member of Congress said Friday he won't run for re-election, and officials in Wyoming expect a similar announcement Saturday from a seven-term GOP congresswoman.

Rep. Jim Saxton of New Jersey is the 14th House Republicans to retire since the GOP lost its majority in the 2006 elections, giving Democrats an opportunity to extend their 31-seat majority. Rep. Barbara Cubin of Wyoming could be the 15th.

Three House Democrats have also announced they won't seek re-election.

Saxton said he wasn't running because of health reasons. A spokesman said the 64-year-old congressman was diagnosed in late spring with prostate cancer and is also being treated for chronic sciatica, a painful back and leg condition.

"I will continue to receive medical treatment and my health care providers have indicated the prognosis is, in fact, very positive," Saxton said.

Meanwhile, Cubin, 60, planned to make an announcement about her future at a Republican Central Committee meeting Saturday in Casper, Wyo.

At that meeting, Cubin will announce that she will not run for re-election, according to two Republican officials who requested anonymity since the congresswoman has yet to make her plans public.

Cubin has missed nearly half her votes this year tending to her ill husband, Dr. Frederick "Fritz" Cubin, and following the death of her brother and after she broke her foot.

"It has been an extraordinarily difficult year for our family," Cubin said last month.

___

Associated Press Special Correspondent David Espo in Washington, D.C., and writer Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyo., contributed to this report.

Fight over burial for Billy Graham

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A family feud has broken out over where ailingevangelist Billy Graham and his equally frail wife, Ruth, will beburied.

The couple had long been expected to place their graves at aBible training center near the Grahams' home, but now those plansare uncertain.

"Obviously, there has to be a decision at some point," aspokesman said. "Whether that would be in the coming weeks or justupon death, I don't know."

Kids win in Netsch-Bears squabble // Youngsters see Cardinals game from skyboxes

Walter A. Netsch used the language of diplomacy to describeaffairs last night at his "house."

"We have a peaceful rapprochement," the Chicago Park Districtboard president said from his Soldier Field skybox before the Bears'preseason game with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The reconciliation between the Park District and the Bears overcontrol of the stadium's skyboxes is probably only temporary, but itspared some 24 underprivileged youths from adult politics last nightand gave them a dream view of their Bears.

"It's like being on top of the world," said Roger Love, 17, ashe and his buddies from the Lawndale Fellowship of Christian Athleteswalked into one of the two plush skyboxes reserved for the youths.Other youths came from Jones Memorial Childrens Hospital, theMaryville Academy foster home and the Jesse White Tumblers from theCabrini-Green housing complex, who performed at half- time.

Bears' President Michael McCaskey, who invited the youths, hadintended them to sit in two of the four skyboxes adjacent to thepress box. Netsch said last week those boxes were for the ParkDistrict and its guests because they were built at district expense.

"It's like (our) house," Netsch said Friday in response to theBears' claim to control over the skyboxes.

The two sides settled the dispute temporarily last night bybringing the kids to McCaskey's skybox and to one just aboveNetsch's. Both offered the usual amenities - upholstered chairs,closed-circuit television, refrigerators and ice-cube makers - and anadded touch for the kids: hot dogs and chili sauce simmering on thebars.

"And we've made sure there is no beer," Netsch said, opening arefrigerator full of Pepsi.

While the youngsters were happy, the adult camps agreed tocontinue to disagree. McCaskey's brother, Pat McCaskey, the Bears'director of community involvement, said the arrangements were "finefor tonight."

"We have our stand," he said, "and future games are still anissue for us with the skyboxes."

For Danny Greenwood, 13, a patient at Jones, the only importantissue of the night was seeing "the Fridge." With injured Bears widereceiver Dennis McKinnon sitting by his side in the box, he beamed:"Nobody's head is in my way tonight."

Neither were the grown-ups.

German Beer Sales Losing Their Fizz

Germany and beer go together like Porsches and the autobahn, but health-conscious residents are turning from the country's traditional beverage in favor of juices and bottled water, sending suds sales down to the lowest levels in 15 years.

According to a government report released Tuesday, the amount of beer sold in Germany fell to the lowest sales figure since 1993 _ dropping by 2.7 percent in 2007 to 22 billion pints, down 612 million pints from 2006.

The Federal Statistics Office said the drop in beer sales came as the demand for beer mixed with fruit juices, soft drinks and other nonalcoholic beverages rose 18.1 percent from 2006 to 2007, with some 887 million pints consumed by thirsty buyers.

Beer consumption in Germany has been falling steadily for more than a decade, a trend that experts have attributed to an increasingly health-conscious public and an aging population that is less likely to binge.

For last year's decline, the German Brewers Association blamed a rainy summer, noting that foul weather dampens the mood for lifting a stein on a summer evening.

But the group also pointed to shifting tastes.

"Our regular customers are getting older and don't drink as much anymore, and generally Germans prefer milder tastes today, and are more health conscious," spokesman Marc-Oliver Huhnholz said.

For the country's remaining beer drinkers, there's more scary news: Their beloved beverage _ often called 'liquid bread' because it is a basic ingredient of many Germans' daily diet _ is getting more expensive.

Some breweries have already raised prices, and many others say they will follow later this year.

The director of the famous Hofbraeuhaus beer hall in Munich said the brewery would increase its prices by about 74 cents per case in April.

"This is not about profit, it's about cost increase," Michael Moeller said, adding that the raw materials for the national beverage _ barley malt and hops _ have been getting more expensive.

Moeller said that per case of beer, the price of malt had increased by 30 cents and hops by 7 cents, and that energy costs to brew beer had risen by 10 percent.

On top of all the bad news, the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has said it is considering a ban on selling beer from midnight to 6 a.m.

It's no wonder the Germans lost the title of biggest per capita beer drinkers to the Czechs a few years ago.

But, Huhnholz said, they still drink more than the Irish, who closely follow Germans.

Overhaul complete, Guenther puts his faith in Zook

A restless Illini Nation was clamoring for change at the top. But believing that dismissing head coach Ron Zook would mean a lengthy rebuilding process, athletic director Ron Guenther defended his decision Friday to work with Zook on a massive overhaul of the coaching staff.

''The easiest thing is to take a position for popularity,'' Guenther said. ''It's not a popularity poll. I have to make a decision that gets us back as fast as we can get back. We've made an investment in a big way with coach Zook. He knows the academics, he knows the philosophy here, he knows the institution, he's well-grounded. If this works the way it might work, and I feel it has a great chance of working, we'll be back a lot faster than if we made a [head-coach] change.''

Vic Koenning, who engineered a turnaround that saw Kansas State's run defense climb to 16th in the nation this fall after being 112th in 2008, was introduced as Illinois' defensive coordinator. Koenning is the fourth new assistant hired. Barring any unforeseen developments, the staff changes are completed.

Koenning, who agreed to a two-year deal worth $325,000 a year, will be Illinois' second highest-paid assistant behind new offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, who will make $475,000 annually on a two-year deal. The other hires were quarterbacks coach Jeff Brohm and tight ends coach Greg Nord as Illinois revamped its staff in an effort to revive itself under Zook, who is 21-39 at Illinois with one winning season.

With Illinois on the hook for so many buyouts -- from Zook, who has four years left on his contract, on down -- Guenther might find himself in an awkward position a year from now if Zook and his new minions don't show progress.

But that's a gamble the AD was willing to take based on his belief that Zook, who was a hero during Illinois' 2007 Rose Bowl season, can get the Illini going again.

''We're rolling the dice,'' Guenther said. ''There's risk in any direction you go. If you lose confidence you can't get there, then you make a decision. It's not a question of going too long or too short. If you don't think you can get there, you change. I was convinced there are other issues to address. I haven't lost confidence in coach Zook.''

Still, the pressure on Zook to show progress next fall will be intense. And Illinois hasn't handled the heat well the last two years, going 5-7 and 3-9 since the Rose Bowl year.

Guenther said he'll be looking for progress, not any particular number of victories.

''I don't know if you can put a number on it,'' he said. ''I just know there is more talent here that will be juniors, some seniors. The last two recruiting classes were good. I look for a much more competitive football team. We have some new energy, some strength, some experience, and there's a high expectation with the people coming in that we're going to have a pretty good football team.''

All they have to do now is convey that to outside skeptics.

Color Photo: Kansas State's run defense improved from 112th in 2008 to 16th in 2009 under new Illinois defensive coordinator Vic Koenning.

For Gregson & Collister, tour is their `Last Word'

As a farewell, the Clive Gregson-Christine Collister swan-songtour falls somewhere between the Who and what.

For the uninitiated, Gregson & Collister joined together in 1985and quietly released five acoustic pop albums that are replete withharmony and rich in melody. The duo is best known for touring withRichard Thompson.

In the early 1980s, Gregson was the guiding light of the Englishpop band Any Trouble. Although her roots are in folk music,Collister sings with a smoky blues timbre reminiscent of ChristineMcVie.

The duo's new record is appropriately titled "The Last Word."

Gregson & Collister make their final Chicago appearance at 8 and10 tonight at the Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont (312-281-4444).

"We thought about quitting a year ago and put it off," Gregsonsaid last week in a conversation from San Francisco. A couple ofyears ago, they broke up as a romantic couple.

"We felt we ran out of steam (as a musical duo), but we wantedto make a final record and tour to give people one last chance to seeus if they wanted to," he said.

"The Last Word" is depressing, sounding as if it were cultivatedfrom old "Oprah" topics. Most of the ballads are about breaking up:"This Broken Home," "I Could Be Happy" and "I Don't Want To Lose You"are dark interpretations of splintered relationships.

That brings up the irony that colored Gregson & Collister'scareer. Their live shows are more uptempo. In past concerts,they've reinvented originals and dug up engaging covers like CarlPerkins' "Matchbox" and Louis Prima's "You Rascal You."

"We do the same songs live, but essentially, it's more to dowith the way we present them," Gregson said. "On a record, you canselect songs and listen to them, and yes, there is a fairly downbeatatmosphere. Whereas, in concert, we try to liven them up a littlewith our personalities. There is a sense of humor."

One exception on "The Last Word" is the tongue-in-cheektearjerker "Close Down This Bar," which Gregson wrote with BooHewerdine, the founding member of the Bible. Gregson's cynical twangon "Close Down This Bar" makes it sound perfect for Merle Haggard.(Gregson & Collister used to cover the Hag's "Mama Tried.")Hewerdine wrote "Love Is a Strange Hotel," which was the title trackof the last Gregson & Collister album.

"It was Boo's idea, and he kind of pushed me into it," Gregsonsaid. "I was skeptical at first. When I write on my own, I have alot of ideas, and I'm ruthless in self-editing. Working with Boomade me write with different parameters. I had more of an openmind.

Fiat third-quarter profit up 1.8 percent

Automaker Fiat Group SpA said Wednesday its net profit rose 1.8 percent in the third quarter, with gains in its auto, agriculture and construction-equipment units offsetting weakness in other divisions. But its shares fell sharply after it said sales could drop 20 percent next year.

The Turin-based maker of maker of Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo cars said its third-quarter net profit was euro440 million ($565.09 million) up from euro432 million in the year-ago period.

Fiat shares were suspended from trading early Thursday for excessive losses. Shares dropped 5.2 percent in early trading on the Milan Stock Exchange to euro6.20 ($7.96).

The once failing automaker said it was its 15th consecutive quarterly profit. Group revenues rose 3.2 percent to euro14.30 billion (US$18.45 billion) from euro13.86 billion a year ago.

Revenues were up 3.2 percent in the group's auto division. It said lower volumes in Western Europe and higher selling expenses associated with the launch of new models were offset by the Brazilian market's strong performance and a better product mix.

Its agriculture and construction-equipment unit saw revenues rise 10.1 percent in the third quarter, but its trucks and commercial vehicles business saw revenues slip 6.2 percent.

The company also confirmed its 2008 targets and outlined a "worst-case" scenario for 2009 in which sales drop up to 20 percent from this year's levels. Auto companies around the world are trimming production and bracing for a rough year due to the anticipated effects of the world financial crisis on the wider economy.

Fiat said it expected the rest of 2008 to see reduced volumes compared with original expectations in all its units, with the exception of agricultural equipment. But it said it was confirming its forecast for operating profit for the year at the low end of a range of euro3.4 billion to euro3.6 billion euros ($4.39 billion to $4.64 billion)

For next year, it outlined a worst-case scenario of global demand for Fiat products declining between 10 percent to 20 percent compared to 2008. It said the resulting net profit range for the group would be euro1.20 billion and euro400 million.

THE TICKER

BEER AND MORE: Japan's Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. said Monday it hadagreed with Amgen Inc. of the United States to jointly sell two typesof drugs in China with expected annual turnover of $6.8 million. Thediversified brewer and the U.S. pharmaceutical firm are to sellmultipliers of red blood cells and white blood corpuscles, the formerfor anemia treatment and the latter for cancer treatment and bonemarrow transfers. TDS EXPANDS: Telephone & Data Systems Inc. has reached agreements toacquire Ohio-based Value Telephone Co. and a majority of the commonstock of Tennessee-based Millington Telephone Co. The acquisitionsare subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. Value servesroughly 700 telephone access lines within its exchange area.Millington provides service to approximately 21,000 access lines inporitions of southwest Tennessee. With the acquisitions,Chicago-based TDS will operate 95 telephone companies in 29 states. CD CONTROVERSY COOLS: Facing lawsuits from angry merchants,recording industry company Warner Elektra Atlantic Corp. said Mondayit was reversing a ban on advertising support for stores that sellused compact discs. While the company said it would resume providingadvertising support to such outlets, it will not permit any of themoney to be used for ads promoting used CDs. Warner ElektraAtlantic, a unit of media conglomerate Time-Warner Inc., owns therecord labels of the same names. SHIP SHIFT: Carnival Corp. said Monday it has agreed to exchange itsinterest in the cruise ship Mardi Gras for a small equity interest inEpirotiki Lines, the largest cruise operator in the Mediterranean.The deal revises Carnival's previously announced agreement to form anew company with Epirotiki and Dolphin Cruise Line, Carnival said.The Mardi Gras will sail to Greece next month, where it will undergoa refurbishment prior to joining the Epirotiki fleet as the Olympicin 1994. HMO MERGER: Two health maintenance organizations, QualMed Inc. andHN Management Holdings Co. Inc., agreed to merge Monday and create agroup providing medical care for 1.25 million people in seven westernstates. Analysts said the merger will extend Qualmed's reach intoCalifornia, adding over 900,000 Health Net clients in a state whereit now operates only in northern markets. COSTLIER GAS: The U.S. petroleum industry expects to pass on costsof up to 16 cents more for a gallon of fuel by the year 2000 to payfor stricter environmental regulations, a study released Monday says.The National Petroleum Council, a group that advises the governmentand counts many industry executives among its members, saidregulations that would force the industry to be cleaner would cost$37 billion, in 1990 dollars, to meet requirements from 1991 to 2000. CORRECTION: A photo caption in Monday's Sun-Times incorrectlyidentified a Foote, Cone and Belding executive. He is Doug Belzer, the agency'ssenior vice president of operations. A headline in the same editionincorrectly identified the subject of a new Foote, Cone ad. It isthe environmental group Earth Share.

Big Bang investigators want new atom smasher

Scientists behind the European atom smasher aimed at uncovering the secrets of the universe don't want to stop there _ they want to build an even bigger machine with partners and funds from around the world.

Scientists from CERN, a particle physics laboratory outside Geneva, will detail their ambitions at a conference in Paris on Monday.

They are reaching out to China, India and Russia to help fund the next (EURO)10 billion ($12.85 billion) step of the project, according to Guy Wormser, a leading particle physicist and one of the conference organizers.

Instead of whirling atoms in giant rings, as CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the smaller Tevatron at Fermilab near Chicago do, scientists want a new-generation machine that will shoot them straight.

The new machine would be a successor to the $10 billion LHC, which was launched with great fanfare in September 2008, but days later was sidetracked by overheating that set off a chain of problems. CERN had to undertake a $40 million program of repairs and improvements before restarting the machine last November. Since then the collider has reported a series of successes.

In March it saw the first collisions of two proton beams.

Plans for the next step, a 50-kilometer (31-mile) tunnel called the International Linear Collider, have long been under discussion, and scientists now need to find funding, Wormser said. They hope the machine could be turned on in 2020 or 2025.

With the LHC "we made a machine which allowed us to make a big leap in understanding, a sort of enlightener, and now we study and detail things and that's the linear collider," Wormser told The Associated Press. "It's the future of our discipline."

Instead of crashing protons together, the new international collider will accelerate electrons and positrons, their antimatter equivalent, he said.

Depending on who wants to host it _ and how much they are willing to pay _ the ILC could potentially be built anywhere in the world, he said.

The experiments of both machines are more about shaping our understanding of how the universe was created than immediate improvements to technology in our daily lives.

Scientists are attempting to simulate the moments after the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, which they theorize was the creation of the universe.

In March, the LHC produced a tiny bang, the most potent force on the tiny atomic level that humans have ever created.

Two beams of protons were sent hurtling in opposite directions toward each other in a 17-mile (27-kilometer) tunnel below the Swiss-French border _ the coldest place in the universe at slightly above absolute zero.

CERN, or the European Organization for Nuclear Research, used powerful superconducting magnets to force the two beams to cross; two of the protons collided, producing 7 trillion electron volts.

The latest results of those experiments will be presented at the International Conference on High Energy Physics, which is bringing 1,000 physicists to Paris from July 22 to 28.

On Monday, Wormser and other leading scientists will speak about their search for the Higgs boson, a hypothetical particle _ often called the God particle _ that scientists theorize gives mass to other particles and thus to other objects and creatures in the universe.

The colliders also may help scientists see dark matter, the strange stuff that makes up more of the universe than normal matter but has not been seen on Earth.

Paré, Richard, B.A., B.L.S.

PAR�, RICHARD, B.A., B.L.S.

B. Mar. 29, 1938 in Quebec City, Que. S. of Rosario Par� and Jeanne Verreault. Ed. at Laval Univ. and the Univ. of Ottawa. M. Jun. 23, 1961 to Ren�e Blanchet (Quebec City). Three children: Michel, Val�rie and Nicolas. Private Career: Dir: Administrative Library, Quebec City, 1973-76 and Documentation Branch, Dept. of Communications, Que., 1976-79. Ass't to Dir., Legislative Library, Que. Nat. Assembly, Quebec City, 1979-80. Appt'd Associate Parliamentary Librarian, Dec. 1980. Participant, National Defence Coll. XLII Course, 1988-89. Appt'd Parliamentary Librarian, Dec. 1994. Address: Library of Parliament, Ottawa, Ont., K1A 0A9.

PAR�, RICHARD, B.A., B.L.S. N� le 29 mars 1938 � Qu�bec, Qu�bec. Fils de Rosario Par� et Jeanne Verreault. Fit ses �tudes � l'Univ. Laval et l'Univ. d'Ottawa. M. le 23 juin 1961 � Ren�e Blanchet (Qu�bec). Trois enfants: Michel, Val�rie et Nicolas. Carri�re priv�e: Dir: biblioth�que administrative, Qu�bec, 1973-76 et service de la documentation, Minist�re des Communications, Qu�bec, 1976-79. Dir. adj., Biblioth�que de l'Assembl�e nat., Qu�bec, 1979-80. Nomm� Biblioth�caire parlementaire associ� en d�c. 1980. Participant, XLIIe reprise du cours du Coll. de la D�fense nationale, 1988-89. Nomm� Biblioth�caire parlementaire en d�c. 1994. Adresse: Biblioth�que du Parlement, Ottawa, Ont., K1A 0A9.

Associate Parliamentary Librarian / Biblioth�caire parlementaire associ�

The Associate Parliamentary Librarian is appointed by the Governor-in-Council.

Le Biblioth�caire parlementaire associ� est nomm� par le Gouverneur en conseil. Hugh Alan Finsten, B.A., L.L.B.

Director General, Information and Documentation Branch Directeur g�n�ral, Division de l'information et de la documentation Fran�ois LeMay, B.A., B.L.S., M.L.S.

Director, Financial and Materials Management Services Directrice, Services financiers

Monique Boutin

Director, Human Resources Directeur, Ressources humaines Roland Bonnaventure

Boy's Calls to 911 Lead to Mom's Arrest

VANCOUVER, Wash. - An 8-year-old boy riding in a car with his mom called 911 several times to report that she wasn't "acting normal," leading to her arrest for investigation of drunken driving and other charges, authorities said.

Paulette Lynn Spears, 33, was arrested Saturday after she drove to a fire station and said she had a medical problem.

Guided by her son's description of what he could see from the car, as well as by global positioning technology to track the phone calls, deputies arrived at the station less than a minute later.

"He said 'I don't know where we are, and Mom's not acting normal,'" sheriff's Sgt. Randon M. Walker said.

At one point, Spears took a cellular telephone from the boy, told the dispatcher not to worry and hung up, Walker said. The boy called back, and again his mother cut short the call, Walker said.

"The mother kept interrupting the 8-year-old," he said. "It happened at least twice."

At one point, Walker said, Spears apparently bit the boy's hand to get the telephone away from him.

Four minutes before the boy's first call, dispatchers had received a report of car that matched the description of Spears' car being driven erratically.

The boy and a 5-year-old child, who was also in the car, were placed with an aunt. As of Monday, Spears remained in jail for investigation of drunken driving, two counts of reckless endangerment and assault of a child. It was not clear if she had a lawyer to speak for her because she had not appeared in court.

Records show she has at least one conviction for drunken driving.

Hawks star arrested

NO TEXT

Color Photo: Patrick Kane was taken to jail in his hometown of Buffalo early Sunday morning and now faces a felony robbery charge over a $13.80 cab fare. ;