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 …

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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 …