Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service articles from July 2002, page 6

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service archives from July 2002

Avon is opening the door to Spanglish.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... Avon llamando. Avon calling, but for the first time in the company's 116-year history it's rolling out a catalog in Spanglish _ with products designed specifically for Latin skin tones and sensibilities. The cosmetics company,...

Wildlife biologist helps bring crocs back from edge of extinction.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ The 6-foot-long crocodile does not want to be disturbed. It hisses and snaps at its handler, who appears calm despite several near misses by the animal's powerful jaws. ''One of the tricks is these things tire out very quickly,''...

Natchez, Miss., was nearly the birthplace of dockside gambling.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... BILOXI, Miss. _ The Isle of Capri was the first of Mississippi's dockside casinos, an industry that celebrates its 10th birthday along with the Biloxi casino on Aug. 1. Since then, the Coast market has grown to 12 casinos; 18 others operate...

White House about-face: Fact-finding team found no financial support of abortions.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
July 24, 2002... The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Wednesday, July 24: X X X President Bush's decision this week to cut the $34 million earmarked for the U.N. Population Fund is a slap in the face to the international-aid...

Pioneering rapper faces deportation and an uncertain future.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ Ever since his 1989 debut album, "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick," Ricky Walters has cast himself as the trickster hero of his own yarns. Like any mythic protagonist, he's had to go through trials on his way to triumphs. Walters...

Miami-Dade prepares for a new era for Florida voting.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ In the old days we simply called them poll workers, and their tools were about as low-tech as their title: telephones, pencils, paper ballots. But that was before the contested election that made "hanging chad" a household term....

Leaders say jets will fit in $20 million hangars.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. _ Will a Joint STARS jet fit in a hangar built for a B-1B bomber? That was the $20 million question. Members of the 116th Bomb Wing found the answer Tuesday by towing an E-8C J-STARS jet more than a mile...

LSU baseball team mourns death of Wally Pontiff.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... BILOXI, Miss. _ The LSU baseball team spent Wednesday trying to come to grips with the death of senior third baseman Wally Pontiff, one of the Tigers' most popular players. Pontiff, 21, was found dead in his bed Wednesday morning at his...

East Coast Hockey League mandates safety nets.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... BILOXI, Miss. _ The East Coast Hockey League has followed the lead of the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League by mandating safety netting above the glass that borders the corners and end zones of the arenas of its member...

Dow's rise is biggest percentage gain in 15 years.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ An up day, at last. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chips stocks, the market's most closely watched barometer, rose 488.95 points, or 6.4 percent, on Wednesday, to end at 8,191.29. That was the Dow's biggest...

Fifty years of ACC filled with lore, from White to Taylor.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... PINEHURST, N.C. _ Randy White looks like he could still play. He's 49 with a plug of tobacco tucked inside his lower lip, biceps the size of country hams and a tiny rat tail inching down his thick neck. Still as solid as a sequoia,...

People in the News.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... SO LONG TO OUR OLD `FRIENDS'? Hope springs eternal, especially if you're a network executive whose No. 1 show is going off the air. So it wasn't surprising that NBC chief Jeff Zucker says he isn't yet convinced that the cast of "Friends"...

Tejera's bad outing is all relative.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ Marlins left-hander Michael Tejera made no excuses. He could have. Tejera had his worst start of the season Wednesday, giving up nine runs (all earned) on 11 hits over six innings in a 10-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. ...

Dolphins shimmer like `hope' diamond.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ Dave Wannstedt leaned back behind his presidential-sized desk Wednesday at Dolphins headquarters in Davie, and all you could see over his shoulders was the perfectly pristine panorama of empty, emerald football practice fields below....

Marlins shut out as Lee gets only hit against Braves.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ Before Wednesday afternoon's game against Atlanta, Marlins manager Jeff Torborg was asked why he was reading USA Today. "I never read the local papers after a loss," he said. "Only after we win. My rationale? I don't need to...

Sol scraps its way closer to .500.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ The Sol's upcoming West Coast swing, which includes playing Western Conference playoff teams Houston and Los Angeles, doesn't seem so daunting as long as the Sol's All-Star, Sheri Sam, plays her role. On Tuesday night, Sam...

River's slow flow worries South Carolina officials.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... As a four-year drought slowly parches the Carolinas, officials in both states gather in Charlotte Thursday to search for a way to protect North Carolina lakes while ensuring parts of South Carolina downstream don't run out of water. ...

Miami football again full of great expectations.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ The biggest surprise at Big East Conference Media Day at Giants Stadium on Wednesday wasn't the University of Miami being the unanimous choice to win the conference, or quarterback Ken Dorsey not caring about the...

Puerto Ricans honor, protest 50th anniversary of commonwealth.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico _ Half a century ago, at the Capitol set behind a massive fort overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, this island's single star was raised alongside the U.S. flag for the first time since U.S. troops invaded in 1898. ...

McKinney might be in holdout mode.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI _ The Dolphins have not come to terms with their top draft pick, center Seth McKinney from Texas A&M, and the third-round selection might be a holdout on Thursday, when rookies must report by 5 p.m. ``Signing could happen, but we...

In Puerto Rico, statehood vs. Commonwealth debate continues.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico _ Carlos Pesquera's anger boiled over as he stood in the June sun, cradling Old Glory in his arms. After a four-hour standoff, he was determined to place the flag where his heart told him it should go_right next to...

`No Good Deed' by Manda Scott; Bantam.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... British author Manda Scott immediately plunges the reader into a harrowing world in ``No Good Deed.'' A young woman lies bound, unable to move, in a freezing Glasgow tenement. Her only hope to escape the two killers who are due back any...

`Charleston' and `Girl from the South'.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... On the eve of the Civil War, James L. Petrigru declared, "South Carolina is too small for a republic, and too large for an insane asylum." John Jakes quotes Petigru at the beginning of his new novel ``Charleston'' (Dutton, $26.95, 499...

New in paperback: `Yonder Stands Your Orphan,' `Red Clay, Blue Cadillac: Stories of Twelve Southern Women,' `Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail: Stories,' `Towns Without Rivers'.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... MISSISSIPPI GOTHIC ``Yonder Stands Your Orphan,'' by Barry Hannah (Grove Press, $13, paperback): A modern allegory of good and evil, Hannah's novel also revels in good ol' Southern gothic excess. At its center stands Man Mortimer, a...

`Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker' by James Gavin; Knopf.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... The best description of Chet Baker's music I've ever heard is that, whether he was singing or playing the trumpet, he always seemed to be walking out the door. His terse, lonely lyricism made him, for a brief time in the early 1950s, the most...

Shutting off PC best way to halt blitz of pop-ups.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... Q. I am running Windows 98 and I am generally happy with it, but one thing really bugs me. Ordinarily when I surf, my pop-up killer does a fine job of eliminating the junk that I don't want to see. I have a blacklist of about 700 entries that...

XP tools let each user personalize family PC.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... Now is an excellent time to talk about putting a family's unique stamp on a new home computer running Windows XP. The time is right to talk of such stuff, sadly enough, because we're already about to enter the second-busiest personal...

Updated Quick View Plus a nifty, Zippy, keeper utility.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... With version 7, Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Jasc has updated the utterly superb Quick View Plus omnibus file viewing software to accommodate Windows XP. Also added is support for a number of newly developed formats, including Adobe...

UCF on branding, marketing push to increase revenue.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ The mythical horse Pegasus was put to pasture years ago by UCF's athletic department. With a new apparel contract in place and eager to start its football-only membership in the Mid-American Conference, UCF has saddled up a...

`Verbena' by Nanci Kincaid; Algonquin Books.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... Closing the cover on Nanci Kincaid's third novel is like leaving a rowdy family reunion for a long drive home alone. Bena Eckerd, the protagonist of Kincaid's ``Verbena,'' has one of those fabulously unpredictable and noisy households...

`Mermaids on the Moon' by Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Doubleday.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... Some people are destined to be stars. Mermaids, apparently, are among those fortunate few. Earlier this year, I was assigned to write a story about the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs. These are synchronized swimmers who perform...

`Learning to Fly,' `Cut to the Heart'.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... _``Learning to Fly'' by April Henry; Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press ($23.95) The adage about looks being deceiving forms the basis of the intriguingly plotted ``Learning to Fly,'' a stand-alone thriller that allows author April...

Don't go near the water!(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
July 24, 2002... The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday, July 23: X X X With the nation's capital already on peak alert for terrorists, reports of a nearby invasion by alien fish capable of walking on land have rattled...

Progress on women's health.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
July 24, 2002... The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday, July 23: X X X Two weeks have passed since the startling disclosure that a common hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, for postmenopausal women does more harm than...

Fashion Q&A.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... Q. Having my hair shampooed at the salon is a real ordeal. When they tip my head back, it puts painful pressure on my neck and also makes me feel faint. I now take a pillow with me, which makes it a little more comfortable. But I end up with...

Fast facts about Web travel planning.(Newport News (Va.) Daily Press)
July 24, 2002... _Thirty-two percent of leisure travelers polled made a reservation online during the past 12 months. Among business travelers, the percentage was 33 percent. _Ninety percent of leisure and business travelers surveyed said the Web site...

Not all revolutions have happy endings.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... Would a government hatched by the Iraqi exiles talking revolution in London this past week offer a better alternative than Saddam Hussein's stifling dictatorship? Impossible to say. In fact, I can think of certain scenarios that...

Coffee, aspirin are no remedy for this hangover.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... Leave it to President Bush, an admitted party animal in his heyday, to liken the financial markets' plunge of late to a "hangover" that surely will pass. Investor markets are suffering from an "economic binge" of a decade of corporate...

The meaning of Puerto Rico's commonwealth status.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico _What is the Commonwealth status? The commonwealth is a unique legal status established in Puerto Rico in 1952 that set up an internal structure for the island to govern itself, as well as allowing fiscal autonomy....

Puerto Rico's arts scene a hot mix of cultures.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Puerto Rican culture is a Caribbean melting pot of Spanish, African and Taino Indian traditions that have brewed for more than five centuries. This hot mix began in 1493 when Christopher Columbus discovered...

Historic sites using the Web to attract visitors.(Newport News (Va.) Daily Press)
July 24, 2002... WILLIAMSBURG, Va. _ Before they pack their bags and hit the road, more and more vacationers are apparently opting to cruise the information superhighway first. A recent national survey found that more than half the leisure travelers...

Longtime female golfer doesn't think Augusta should change a thing.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ Robbie Williams understands that what she has to say regarding the addition of women members at Augusta National Golf Club will not be universally popular. To women's groups and ardent equal-rights organizations, in fact, her...

Group seeks to help Christians succeed as screenwriters.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ Christians and Hollywood have frequently had a relationship only slightly better than Christians and lions. Some in the Christian religious community have accused the entertainment industry of putting profit before...

Special effects wizard working his magic in world of comics.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... You may not have heard of Stan Winston, but chances are you've been floored by his work. Winston brought to life such unforgettable movie villains as the cyborg assassin in "Terminator," the "Jurassic Park" raptors and the queen of the...

McBride nice, but ...(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... Bill McBride wants Florida to be a place that rewards hard work with a living wage, helps children succeed in public schools and cares for its sick elderly who increasingly can't afford the escalating costs of prescription drugs. All of that...

Europe convenes to draw up Constitution of its own.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... BRUSSELS _ There are no powdered wigs or colonial clothing, but the scene here in the capital of Europe bears more than a passing resemblance to Philadelphia circa 1787. The Europeans warn against taking the comparison too literally. The...

Man with gun, attitude had 2nd chance to fire.(Newport News (Va.) Daily Press)
July 24, 2002... NEWPORT NEWS, Va. _ I spent Thursday afternoon reading the state code, searching criminal records and talking to court officials. I was trying to figure out how Travis Bishop might have spent the wee hours of June 30 cooling his heels in jail...

Iranian motorists drive `Axles of Evil'.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... TEHRAN _ President Bush got it wrong about this place and the "Axis of Evil." Try Axles of Evil _ yes axles, those things that make a car roll down the street and turn it into a lethal weapon once an Iranian driver gets behind the wheel....

The Iverson files.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
July 24, 2002... The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, July 24: X X X Ah, how the hierarchy of the National Basketball Association must long for the halcyon days when its public face was the cheerful visage of Michael...

Parent's worst nightmare is rare, too real.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... The horrific fate of Samantha Runnion turned blood to ice in the summer heat. A 5-year-old girl dragged screaming from playing a board game with a friend in front of her home, raped and murdered _ it went beyond unspeakable to unthinkable, a...

`The Emperor's New Clothes'.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... It's always fun to imagine great historical figures in situations where their greatness isn't recognized. Part of the enjoyment of "Shakespeare in Love," for example, was watching the now-celebrated Bard while he was still scrambling to...

Parents guide to new movie releases.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER Rating: PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned) for sexual innuendo, crude humor and language What it's about: The sexy, yellow-toothed secret agent fights his nemesis, Dr. Evil; a new nemesis, Goldmember; and...

`Austin Powers in Goldmember'.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... It sings. It dances. It sumo wrestles. It speaks Canadian. And it parodies, with wicked glee, its betters _ "Mission Impossible: 2," "Singing in the Rain,""he Matrix," "The Silence of the Lambs," "Godzilla"... OK, some of its...

Newport News murder suspect released from jail, can't be located.(Newport News (Va.) Daily Press)
July 24, 2002... NEWPORT NEWS, Va. _ A Newport News police officer says he watched Corey Pernell McNeil raise a gun and fire seven or eight shots into Derrick Avent, killing him outside a nightclub in May. But a judge allowed McNeil to walk free last week...

Boeing accuses rival Airbus of flooding the plane market.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... FARNBOROUGH, Britain _ Over the last decade, Boeing Co. has seen its market share for commercial jetliners plunge from a high of 65 percent to 50 percent. That painful shrinkage was exacerbated last year, when the Chicago-based aerospace...

Sonic Cruiser technology can be applied elsewhere.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... FARNBOROUGH, Britain _ Even if Boeing Co.'s revolutionary Sonic Cruiser never takes wing, the technology behind the proposed aircraft could be applied to making conventional jets more efficient, Boeing executives say. The Sonic Cruiser...

State Medicaid cut takes big bite from dental care for poor.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ Marc Berube's kidney disease has drained the calcium from his bones and weakened his teeth to the point he needs the top row pulled and replaced by dentures. Two broken hips and dialysis treatments keep him out of work, so...

Puerto Ricans living in South Florida blend in well.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... Blending in easily has its price: You can get lost in the mix. That's the challenge facing Puerto Ricans in South Florida, a group more than 160,000 strong that trails only Cubans among Hispanics but remains largely overlooked in the...

Ex-Florida players hope reuniting with Spurrier brings back glory.(Daily Press)
July 24, 2002... CARLISLE, Pa. _ Quick, name a great NFL quarterback who came out of the University of Florida in the past 12 years. Or a great receiver. Or a great running back. OK, take your time and think about it. Still can't do it? Those are...

Redskins find a Champ for offense.(Daily Press (Newport News, Va.).)
July 24, 2002... CARLISLE, Pa. _ Cornerback Champ Bailey had been lobbying coach Steve Spurrier for some playing time on offense, and his big moment came about halfway through Wednesday morning's practice. On signal from the coach, Bailey slipped into the...

Florida amoebas return, infect child with life-threatening infection.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ A 12-year-old Oviedo, Fla., boy was in critical condition Wednesday with a rare brain infection caused by amoebas that infected him while he swam in a Central Florida lake. The boy, whom officials declined to identify, was...

Lewis could play role in Bulls' future; Texas teams also interested in Seattle forward.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ He was once thought to be out of their price range, but the Bulls are showing interest in Rashard Lewis, a free-agent forward who has become increasingly dissatisfied with the way the Seattle Supersonics are handling negotiations....

Officials dispute `beach bums' label for many areas in Florida.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ Stung by the label of biggest "beach bum" in the nation, Brevard County officials Wednesday disputed the accuracy of a report that found the Space Coast has far more unmonitored, potentially polluted beaches than anywhere...

Cardinal responds to youth: `World is changed when we sin'.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... TORONTO _ After months of navigating the priest sex abuse crisis, a relaxed and upbeat Cardinal Francis George on Wednesday told 700 youths stories of family and fishing with his great-nephews, and he urged young people to become heroes not...

Cubs fall to Phillies in debut of heralded Myers.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ Cubs hitters lead the league in just one category _ tipping their hat to the opposition. Young, old, left-handed, right-handed... every imaginable type of pitcher has beaten the Cubs. Their .238 team batting average is not only...

Directors may be liable in shareholder suits, analysts say.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ A ruling by a federal appeals panel should wave a red flag to directors that they could be personally liable in shareholder lawsuits, legal analysts say. The action revived a 3-year-old lawsuit that accuses directors of Abbott...

Tape recording of kidnapping-murder confession turns up blank.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Jurors will never hear the taped confession by the man investigators say raped, then killed South Miami high school senior Ana Maria Angel because the tape recorder malfunctioned during his interrogation. It's a...

Armstrong extends lead to more than five minutes.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... LA PLAGNE, France _ Stage 16 of the Tour de France was more suited for cable cars than men on bikes. The course featured three of the steepest climbs in the Alps on roads that curl around the craggy mountains like so much spaghetti. With...

Civil rights group insists Democrats, Republicans pay attention to Latino issues.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... MIAMI BEACH, Fla. _ Leaders of a leading Hispanic civil rights group said Wednesday that Democrats and Republicans must begin paying better attention to Latino issues or risk losing the votes of the nation's fastest-growing population. ...

FDA clears popular thyroid drug.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... The Food and Drug Administration has approved Abbott Laboratories' popular thyroid drug, Synthroid _ the second-most prescribed medication in the U.S., the drug maker said late Wednesday. Although Synthroid has been on the market for...

Government agency finds landmark settlement for manatee protection illegal.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ A landmark settlement for manatee protection is illegal because federal wildlife officials can't be forced to create protective refuges and sanctuaries for the endangered sea mammals, Justice Department attorneys argued...

Free fall ends temporarily _ Dow soars almost 500 points.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ Wall Street's frightening free fall came to a halt Wednesday _ at least for a day _ as an unexpected surge in buying sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring almost 500 points higher. In recent weeks, panicked investors...

Candidate McBride comes out fighting, criticizes Bush ad.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Democrat Bill McBride officially entered the Florida governor's race Wednesday, blasting Gov. Jeb Bush's education policies and a new Republican Party TV ad that bashes McBride and Janet Reno as being evasive and vague on...

States' finances worsen.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... DENVER _ Concerned state legislators gathered here for their yearly meeting received sobering news Wednesday: State budget gaps have widened dramatically over the last several months, and the worst may be yet to come. Budget deficits are...

Congress to approve on broader criminal penalties for corporate fraud.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... WASHINGTON _ In the midst of multiple corporate scandals that have shaken consumer confidence and rocked the stock market, House and Senate negotiators agreed Wednesday on a final plan to punish executive wrongdoers with broad criminal...

Adelphia founder, 2 sons charged with looting funds for themselves.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... WASHINGTON _ The founder of Adelphia Communications Corp. and two of his sons were arrested Wednesday for allegedly conspiring to use the bankrupt cable television firm as their "personal piggy bank," including building a golf course with...

Storm of criticism follows air strike; Israel promises to ease its grip on Palestinians.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... JERUSALEM _ Buffeted by international outrage over its deadly air strike in Gaza City, Israel on Wednesday promised angry Palestinians that it would ease its military stranglehold in the West Bank and issue work permits for Palestinian...

White Sox's backs pinned to the wall.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ The vines are coming in nicely on the center-field wall at Comiskey Park. The lines at the concession stands are manageable these days and the grass has held up well despite a lack of rain. Otherwise there's not much left...

House votes to expel Ohio congressman.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... WASHINGTON _ Even as Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. protested his innocence, the House of Representatives voted Wednesday night to expel the Ohio Democrat for violating House ethics rules stemming from his federal conviction on bribery, tax...

Merritt wants NFL before real estate.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ He has a playoff touchdown, some NFL seasoning and the credibility and confidence that should go along with it. All the same, wide receiver Ahmad Merritt also will be carrying a brand-new real estate license at his third Bears...

Top pick Colombo agrees to 5-year, $5.6-million deal.(Chicago Tribune)
July 24, 2002... CHICAGO _ The Bears hope they secured rookies Wednesday to protect their passer and chase other teams' quarterbacks when they agreed to a five-year contract with tackle and No. 1 draft choice Marc Colombo and to a three-year deal with...

NASA seeks younger workers to join aging agency.(The Orlando Sentinel)
July 24, 2002... WASHINGTON _ NASA, faced with the prospect of a crippling brain drain as an aging work force approaches retirement, is scrambling to attract and keep young talent. The average age at NASA is 45. And among those in the agency's crucial...

Long-distance relationships difficult but manageable.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 23, 2002... WICHITA, Kan. _ Scott Guggisberg has a regular mobile phone, which he keeps with him at school and work and uses to make most of his calls. And he has the Jessie Phone. He keeps that one in its charger on a little table beside his...

Lobster fanatics beware: No place for deception during two-day dive.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
July 23, 2002... MIAMI _ Utter stupidity. Ludicrous attempts at deceit. Goofiness rarely seen outside strip mall comedy clubs. The two days of the year when all three behaviors are liberally exhibited throughout South Florida are coming up Wednesday and...