sears driving school texas

my babysitters a vampire

how to get rid of pimples overnight at home

east central community college missouri

ibm stock price

Taiwan: Fishermen fought off pirates, retook boat

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan says fishermen on a Taiwanese boat fought back against Somali pirates and freed themselves after a hijacking in the Indian Ocean.

Some of the 28 crew on the Chin Yi Wen overcame the hijackers then the boat met up with British anti-piracy vessels nearby. Three crew had minor injuries.

The government news agency said the fight …

Uruguayans vote for ex-rebel or ex-president

Uruguay faced a stark choice in Sunday's presidential election between a former rebel who yearns to create enduring socialism and a former president who would distance the nation from leftist Latin American governments.

Uruguayans also considered a voter initiative to remove amnesty for human rights abuses under the 1973-85 dictatorship.

Jose "Pepe" Mujica, the former guerrilla and candidate of the ruling leftist coalition, was the clear front-runner, but polls suggested he would narrowly miss the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

His closest rival, center-right candidate Luis Alberto Lacalle, pushed hard to privatize government as …

Stocks gain 44

NEW YORK Stocks rose modestly today, extending this week'sblue-chip rebound after a one-day pause, but technology sharescontinued to struggle despite a strong profit report from Microsoft.

The Dow rose 44.95 points to close at 6,703.55, bringing theweek's gain to about 310 points.

The Nasdaq composite index was up just 5.47 at 1,222.54 even asMicrosoft surged 9 1/2 to 107 5/8. The software giant smashed WallStreet's expectations late Thursday by reporting an 85 percentimprovement in profits for the first three months of the year.``Even though Microsoft said that its earnings can't stay thisgood, the market is ignoring that and buying it,'' said Alfred E.Goldman, …

Ex-Israeli leader Olmert accused of seeking bribes

JERUSALEM (AP) — Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted Thursday on new corruption charges for allegedly seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in a wide-ranging real estate scandal that dwarfs the other cases in which he's accused.

According to the indictment, millions of dollars illegally changed hands to promote a series of real estate projects, including a controversial housing development in Jerusalem that required a radical change in zoning laws and earned the developers tax breaks and other benefits.

Jerusalem residents have long suspected that the hulking Holyland housing development, built on a prominent hilltop, was tainted by corruption. …

Obama, Clinton make show of unity in Unity, N.H.

Rivals turned allies, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are making their first public appearance together since the divisive Democratic primary race ended.

They are making their show of unity in a hamlet named for it.

Some 6,0000 people were gathered to watch in one of the wide-open fields of the tiny town of 1,700. It's a carefully chosen venue in a key general election battleground state: Unity awarded exactly 107 votes to each candidate in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary in January.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) _ Putting …

Local & National scoreboard

AUTO RACING

NASCAR Sprint Cup

Schedule-Winners

Through Sunday

Feb. 9 - x-Budweiser Shootout (Dale Earnhardt Jr.)

Feb. 14 - x-Gatorade Duel 1 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.)

Feb. 14 - x-Gatorade Duel 2 (Denny Hamlin)

Feb. 17 - Daytona 500 (Ryan Newman)

Feb. 24 - Auto Club 500 (Carl Edwards)

March 2 - UAW-Dodge 400 (Carl Edwards)

March 9 - Kobalt Tools 500 (Kyle Busch)

March 16 - Food City 500 (Jeff Burton)

March 30 - Goody's Cool Orange 500 (Denny Hamlin)

April 6 - Samsung 500 (Carl Edwards)

April 12 - Subway Fresh Fit 500 (Jimmie Johnson)

April 27 - Aaron's 499 (Kyle Busch)

May 3 - Crown …

Movie shot at CMU

The campus of Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg appeared in a made-for-TV movie that aired on ABC television on December 11. CMU was used as the location for the Christmas movie Naughty or Nice, which starred comedian George Lopez and Lisa Vidai. Film crews were on the campus last June and used a number of rooms in the 1922 neo-Gothic administration building for scenes involving a college professor. The story featured Lopez as a …

South Africa Route 62: Scenery, ostriches, coast

Far from the crowds and traffic snarl-ups on South Africa's much-vaunted coastal Garden Route is a stunning inland alternative that showcases some of the country's most fabulous scenery but passes unnoticed by most visitors.

Route 62 _ which evokes comparisons with the legendary Route 66 between Chicago and Los Angeles _ starts from just outside Cape Town and runs to the city of Port Elizabeth. It winds through scenic spa towns, vineyards and fruit farms, breathtaking mountains and floral feasts _ not to mention the self-proclaimed Ostrich Capital of the World.

The best news for tourists is that it is possible to combine Route 62 and the Garden Route, named …

Supersonic's last hurrah

THERE are lots of events taking place as part of the AltogetherNow festival's Big Weekend this Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17, in Chelmsford but one of the most notable is the last everSupersonic night.

Chelmsford duo Dave and Shawn have been familiar figures on theEssex music scene but they bow out in style on Saturday with a finalgig at The Wheatsheaf.

Who are Supersonic and where do you come from? Supersonic areDave Patterson and Shawn Clark who met in Chelmsford during the BritPop explosion of the mid nineties. How did Supersonic come about?We've always shared the same taste in music and five years ago wereinvited by mutual friends to spin some …

Arab League Delegation Visits Israel

JERUSALEM - The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan began a historic visit to Israel on Wednesday to formally present an Arab peace plan, saying they were extending "a hand of peace" on behalf of the region.

The ministers arrived as representatives of the Arab League, the first time the 22-member group has sent a delegation to the Jewish state. The Arab League peace plan envisions full recognition of Israel in return for evacuation of lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

"We are extending a hand of peace on behalf of the whole region to you, and we hope that we will be able to create the momentum needed to resume fruitful and productive negotiations" between …

Pienaar should be fit to face Iraq at Confed Cup

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar appears to be winning his race to be fit for South Africa's Confederations Cup opener against Iraq.

Pienaar twisted his ankle in the second half of South Africa's 1-0 victory over Poland in a friendly international on Saturday. But Bafana Bafana officials said Monday he had an MRI scan which revealed he had only a mild ankle sprain rather than a more serious …

AP: McGwire May Fall Short in Hall Vote

NEW YORK - For one glorious summer, Mark McGwire was bigger than baseball itself. America stopped to watch each time he came to the plate, and cheered every time he sent a ball into orbit. He could do no wrong, it seemed. Surely he would be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame someday.

And then came that day on Capitol Hill. Over and over, the big slugger was asked about possible steroid use, and his reputation took hit after hit as he refused to answer, saying he wouldn't talk about his past.

Now, with Hall ballots in the mail, McGwire's path to baseball immortality may have hit a huge roadblock.

The Associated Press surveyed about 20 percent of eligible voters, and only one in four who gave an opinion plan to vote for McGwire this year. That's far short of the 75 percent necessary to gain induction.

"There is a clause on the ballot indicating that character should be considered and after his nonperformance at the congressional hearings his character certainly comes into play," said the Dayton Daily News' Hal McCoy.

"He doesn't want to talk about the past?" he said, "Then I don't want to consider his past."

The St. Louis Cardinals, McGwire's last team, suggested calls for McGwire be left with his business manager, Jim Milner. A message left Monday at Milner's office was not returned.

McGwire, who hit 583 career home runs, headlines the ballot released Monday along with Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. Results will be announced in early January.

"Mark fits the criteria, just like everyone else," Hall chairman Jane Forbes Clark said. "We've been very pleased with the judgment exercised by the writers over the past 70 years of voting.

"The ballot says a player's record of achievement, contributions to the teams, the game, their character, longevity and sportsmanship should be considered. I think this year's balloting will be interesting," she said.

The AP contacted, via e-mails and telephone, about 150 of the approximately 575 present or former members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America who are eligible to cast ballots. Of that number, 125 responded, including 25 AP sports writers. Most of the voters' names were obtained in the Major League Baseball media directory.

And the breakdown was:

- 74 will not vote for McGwire.

- 23 will vote for him.

- 16 are undecided.

- 5 refused to say.

- 5 aren't allowed to vote by their employers.

- 2 will abstain from voting.

That means if all the undecideds and those refusing to say voted for McGwire, and everyone else voted, McGwire would need 84 percent of the rest to get into the Hall.

Chaz Scoggins of The Sun in Lowell, Mass., was among McGwire's supporters.

"He wasn't breaking any baseball rules during his career," he said. "As for using performance-enhancing substances, the fact that so many pitchers have been detected using them kind of evens the playing field."

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig wouldn't address McGwire specifically, saying it was unclear how this generation of home run hitters will be judged.

"Time will tell. We'll have to work our way through all of it," he said Monday night. "All we can do realistically is take care of the present and the future."

McGwire played in the majors from 1986-2001, the first 12 seasons with the Oakland Athletics and the rest with the Cardinals.

When he hit 70 homers in 1998 - breaking the mark of 61 Roger Maris had set 37 years earlier - McGwire became a national hero for his Paul Bunyan-like physique and feats. A year later, part of an interstate highway in St. Louis was named after McGwire. Large signs at both the current and previous Busch Stadium called attention to "Big Mac Land," ads for McDonald's referencing McGwire.

But his reputation plummeted following allegations by former teammate Jose Canseco, who claimed in a 2005 book and subsequent interviews that the Bash Brothers used steroids together while playing on the A's.

And then came McGwire's testimony to a congressional committee on March 17, 2005, when he repeatedly avoided questions, saying time after time: "I'm not here to talk about the past."

That appearance and those allegations are still fresh in the minds of many voters.

"He won't get my vote this year, next year or any year," said the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan.

When the AP conducted a survey of Hall voters during the week following McGwire's testimony, 56 percent of the 117 voters who gave an opinion said they would support his induction.

Ballots will be mailed to voters this week and must be postmarked by Dec. 31. Results will be announced Jan. 9, and inductions will take place July 29.

Players who have appeared in 10 seasons and have been retired for five years are eligible for consideration by a six-member BBWAA screening committee, and a player goes on the ballot if he is supported by at least two screening committee members.

A player remains on the ballot for up to 15 elections as long as he gets 5 percent of the votes every year. McGwire appears to be in no danger of missing that mark.

Gwynn and Ripken are considered virtual locks for election. Canseco also is on the ballot for the first time but is not expected to come close to election.

Gwynn isn't sure whether McGwire used steroids.

"I think he's a Hall of Famer, myself," Gwynn said. "He hit 500 or so homers, almost 600. I think we have no proof whether he did or not. Canseco said he did. He didn't perform well at the congressional hearing, and I think that will stick with people more than anything else. He's on the ballot, too. I have no control over that."

Hall voters will face additional questions when other players accused of steroid use go on the ballot. Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro become eligible for 2011 and Barry Bonds, who plans to play next season, sometime after that.

Others view it as a matter of baseball rules. Baseball did not have an agreement with its players' union to ban steroids until after the 2002 season.

Some writers say they might vote for McGwire in future years but won't consider him on this ballot, not wanting to give him the extra honor of getting elected on the first ballot.

"I don't plan to vote for him on the first ballot, but I do plan to vote for him," said former Chicago Tribune writer Jerome Holtzman, baseball's official historian.

Some players have seen their support increase over time. Jimmie Foxx got 10 votes when he first appeared on the ballot in 1947, then was elected with 179 votes four years later.

Dave Kingman (442) has the most home runs for a player who has been on the Hall of Fame ballot and was not elected - he received three votes in his only appearance, in 1992, and was dropped.

Among the 33 players above Kingman on the career home run list, 20 are in the Hall, seven are active (Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield), four haven't been retired the necessary five years (Sosa, Palmeiro, Fred McGriff and Jeff Bagwell) and two are on the ballot for the first time (McGwire and Canseco).

Eleven of the 15 Hall of Famers with 500 homers were elected on the first ballot. The exceptions were Mel Ott (third ballot), Harmon Killebrew (fourth ballot), Foxx (fifth ballot) and Eddie Mathews (sixth ballot).

---

AP Sports Writer Bernie Wilson in San Diego contributed to this report.

`All-American' Oprah

"All-American Girl," starring Margaret Cho, comes to town Jan. 9to tape an episode with the Empress of Chat, Oprah Winfrey. The showis about Amy Hill's Grandma character - a TV addict - getting ticketsto Oprah's show for the whole family. Natch, they all end up onstage.

Famous guest stars may become something of a staple on the ABCshow. The next week, Cho will have director-of-the-moment Quentin"Pulp Fiction" Tarantino guest-starring. "Read the TelePrompTer!" said the "Entertainment Tonight" directorto Bob Goen, right after the ET anchor/correspondent had finishedtaping a show. Needless to say, Goen was delighted to read, "MeetSabrina at the hospital. It's time, Dad." Goen rushed to L.A.'sCedars Sinai in time to join wife Sabrina in welcoming their firstchild, Maxwell R. K. Goen, 6 pounds, 7 ounces. Speaking of ET, it's not a bad place to get Christmas presents.Anchor Leeza Gibbons is giving the entire staff 15-minute massagesfrom her favorite chiropractor. B.Z.

Homemade device leaks fumes in Detroit school

A student threw a homemade explosive device in the hallway of a school on Wednesday, causing it to leak fumes and forcing the school's evacuation but not injuring anyone, authorities said.

The student from the Phoenix Multi-Cultural Academy was taken into police custody for questioning, Detroit Police spokesman John Roach said.

The school district released a statement saying the device consisted of a plastic bottle that contained household cleaning supplies. It said the device released smoke after it was thrown.

Roach said the device released "powerful fumes" and likely some liquid, and that the bomb squad recovered its remains.

The pre-kindergarten-through-8th grade school with 540 students was evacuated and students were transferred to the nearby Roberto Clemente Learning Academy.

Detroit Public Schools' spokeswoman Jennifer Mrozowski said the district would not be identifying the student taken into custody.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Robert Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager, met before the start of the current school year with security experts, community leaders, parents and students to discuss safety and security in and around schools. Several shootings last year and 2008 raised safety concerns.

(This version CORRECTS the spelling of school's name to Phoenix Multi-Cultural Academy, instead of Phoenix Multicultural Academy.)

Algerian oil minister says crude prices likely to stay high through 1st quarter

Algeria's oil minister, who is also OPEC's new president, ruled out any new production increases and said Saturday that crude oil prices are likely to remain high for three months.

Crude oil prices _ which briefly topped US$100 per barrel for the first time this week _ should "stabilize" in the second quarter, Oil Minister Chakib Khelil said.

The increase in market crude prices "is probably going to remain through the end of the first quarter of 2008," Khelil told reporters at an energy-related conference in the Algerian capital, Algiers.

Political tensions in nuclear-armed Pakistan, rising violence in oil-rich Nigeria and shrinking U.S. crude oil stocks were among factors unsettling the market and contributing to the price hike, Khelil said.

For now, the market is "sufficiently supplied and only the next OPEC conference can decide whether to increase production," he said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries next meets Feb. 1 in Vienna, Austria.

Khelil said the cartel then "will study closely forecasts about growth in the world economy" _ notably the U.S. economy, which has been feeling the fallout from troubles in the American mortgage market.

However, he said: "If the (possible) recession in the American economy takes shape, OPEC is not going to increase its supply from the moment that is needed only to reduce it later."

At their last meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 5, ministers from OPEC member countries left production unchanged "for the time being" because the world was "well supplied."