Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service articles from June 2002

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service archives from June 2002

Guerrillas threaten Colombia's mayors into quitting in droves.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... GIGANTE, Colombia _ The message came to eight Gigante council members through an ominous cellphone call: Guerrilla commanders summon you to their mountaintop. Hours later, another group of the small town's council members, inspectors and...

A wild ride to Cup title; despite skid, don't be surprised to see No. 24 put the hammer down.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... MIAMI _ Amazing and amusing, isn't it, how eager the fans of any driver other than Jeff Gordon are to conclude that the four-time Winston Cup champion's career is in some divorce-induced freefall. Daytona's Pepsi 400 under the lights...

Marlins struck out on Castillo, streak.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... MIAMI _ There was much chatter among Marlins fans _ a pleasant indication there are Marlins fans _ when Luis Castillo's history-chasing hitting streak ended last weekend at 35 games with the player on deck. The team won on Tim Raines'...

Winning, not records, all that really matters.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... MIAMI _ You play to win. Period. In the first inning. In the ninth inning. In April. In October. In first place. In last place. You play to win. Yesterday. Today. Every day. Otherwise, what you're doing isn't playing at...

People in the news.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... A SONG TO CHER: `BAUBLES, BANGLES, BRIGHT SHINY BEADS Cher fans, listen up, Jon Pareles of The New York Times has an update on the div..., er, the 56-year-old pop singer, who, on Wednesday and Thursday dazzled Manhattan, Madison Square...

Ronaldo delivers Brazil to the pinnacle of soccer in 2-0 finals victory.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... YOKOHAMA, Japan _ It was somehow fitting in this World Cup of fairy tales and improbable finishes that Ronaldo, desperate for redemption, would score two goals off the world's best goalkeeper to lead Brazil to a 2-0 win over Germany and an...

Parity or paucity of talent in men's tennis?(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ Unless Lleyton Hewitt wins Wimbledon, men's tennis will have its ninth different Grand Slam champion in as many majors. The Open Era never has seen such a degree of parity. The question now is whether it's helping or...

Marlins flounder in St. Pete.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 30, 2002... ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ The Marlins hit the midway point of the season Sunday like a freight train slamming into an iron wall, the pieces splattering all over Tropicana Field. They squandered two leads. They let balls sail over their...

Budget crunch snuffs teen's award-winning anti-smoking work.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... CHICAGO _ For two years, a panel of teenagers has been helping to run Illinois' vaunted anti-smoking campaign, wielding considerable influence over its $20 million budget and, thanks to a wry series of slick television ads with a surprising...

Oil filter? Teen finds centuries-old platter off Florida.(The Orlando Sentinel)
June 30, 2002... SEBASTIAN, Fla. _The ornate silver platter, buried under the silty sands off Florida's Treasure Coast for centuries, erupted from the Atlantic waters. Eric Schmitt, 15, let out a yell as the rest of the crew of the Booty Quest hurried to...

Chicago museum cultivates largest display of pearls.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... CHICAGO _ La Peregrina, a stunning pear-shaped pearl that goes on display at the Field Museum Friday, has such beauty that when it was discovered by a slave in the Gulf of Panama 500 years ago, his grateful Spanish masters freed him. ...

Corporate America's chief financial officers feeling the heat.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... CHICAGO _ When WorldCom Inc. shocked investors with its $3.8 billion accounting scandal last week, a single executive immediately took the fall. No surprise, it was the chief financial officer. CFOs, as they're called, stand in the...

Despite recent decisions, High Court unlikely to outlaw executions.(The Orlando Sentinel)
June 30, 2002... WASHINGTON _ With two rulings in less than two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled a willingness to make it harder to execute killers. But the often sharply divided court probably will stop short of outlawing executions under the...

Krause: Players want to be in Chicago.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... CHICAGO _ The free-agent recruiting period began at 11 p.m. CDT Sunday and to give some idea of this summer's market, the Bulls had no visits scheduled for Monday. General manager Jerry Krause and his staff instead will spend the day...

In Rio de Janeiro, a reason to celebrate.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... RIO DE JANEIRO _ Fatima dos Santos could not contain herself as she broke into a raucous laugh, her face dripping with a mixture of sweat and tears. A second later, she began swinging her hips a mile a minute, dancing the samba like a...

Vouchers, execution define Supreme Court's term.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... WASHINGTON_When the Supreme Court kicked off its session in October, the nation's attention was elsewhere. Less than a year after the bruising battles of Bush vs. Gore had thrust the court into the center of national controversy, the justices...

First week a doozy.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 30, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ Those were well-timed though hardly expected speed bumps Venus and Serena Williams ran into in the round of 16 at Wimbledon last week. But perhaps the sisters needed a jolt. Things have been going too smoothly for...

Tennis coach finds talent, dangerous times in Russia.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 30, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ With his buzz-cut hair, craggy face and hard-boiled New York City patois, Joe Giuliani isn't likely to show fear in a dark alley or at a convention of street gangs. But he wasn't feeling too comfortable on that day in...

Texas farmers angry about U.S.-Mexico water deal.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... MEXICO CITY_With a promise of cash and a prayer for rain, the U.S. and Mexico have signed a deal that partially resolves a diplomatic dispute over Rio Grande water but falls short of eliminating the irritant between the two nations. In...

Magic look to maintain core.(The Orlando Sentinel)
June 30, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ Contrary to recent history, continuity means as much as addition to the Orlando Magic during this free-agency period. The Magic know that if they spend too much time haggling over free-agent bargains, they stand to lose...

[0] Vouchers, execution define Supreme Court's term.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... (ED. NOTE: Correction made in graph beginning, "Bill Stuntz, a professor at Harvard Law School..." (sted Yale). WASHINGTON_When the Supreme Court kicked off its session in October, the nation's attention was elsewhere. Less than a year...

Clement cools off Sox.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... CHICAGO _ Sunday was one of those hot, sticky days Chicagoans were thinking about early last winter while shoveling out their parking space and saving it with some old, beat-up lawn furniture. Summertime means baseball in Chicago, and no...

Granville packs wallop.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ Being new to the world of tennis prima donnas, Laura Granville has a long way to go. For example there's this whole business of still playing the second week of Wimbledon. The big names don't just plan for it, they pack...

Car super, but crew's mistakes irritate Franchitti.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... CICERO, Ill. _ Dario Franchitti tried to look happy as he got into a champagne-spraying contest with the other two podium finishers in Sunday's Grand Prix of Chicago. His wife, actress Ashley Judd, tried to blend in by dressing plainly, her...

In a close shave, Brazilians go 1-2.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... CICERO, Ill. _ The Brazilian drivers in the CART series gathered early Sunday morning and watched together as Ronaldo scored a pair of goals to lead their country to the World Cup title. Then, in the warm embrace of patriotism, they decided...

Ventura gets a present from Torre.(Chicago Tribune)
June 30, 2002... Five years ago, Robin Ventura spent the spring and early summer enduring the drudgery of rehab after destroying his right leg in a career-threatening injury with the Chicago White Sox. He received an unexpected reward Sunday when Joe Torre...

Coastal security SWAT teams set.(Newport News (Va.) Daily Press)
June 30, 2002... NEWPORT NEWS, Va. _ "Dirty" radioactive bombs hidden in ship containers. Terrorist divers sneaking up on a bridge or ocean liner. Hostages taken on the high seas. These are the growing concerns of the U.S. Coast Guard. And the country's...

Excerpts of editorials on Pledge of Allegiance controversy.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
June 30, 2002... PLEDGE RULING SHOULD BE SHORT-CIRCUITED Dear esteemed jurists, Since two members of your court think the Pledge of Allegiance's reference to God is unconstitutional, we were wondering whether your panel intends to scrub the entire...

For the Sauters, it's a family affair at GNC.(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
June 30, 2002... WEST ALLIS, Wis. _ The joke around the Sauter household was that you'd better eat quickly if you had any thoughts of seconds. Jim and Penny raised 11 children on what he made laying carpet and racing stock cars with modest success. None...

Teams hung out to dry; Indians' trade of Colon to baseball-run Expos raises eyebrows.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... MIAMI _ OK, I'm ready for Major League Baseball to take over the Marlins. Every team in baseball has to be asking how the Montreal Expos ended up with Bartolo Colon and they didn't? Why did Cleveland ask the Marlins for Cliff Floyd...

McDyess move is nice, but Knicks are still thin.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... MIAMI _ Former Heat coach Kevin Loughery used to say the team that comes out ahead in any trade is the one that acquires the best player, regardless of how many chips are dealt to land him. Using that simplified logic, New York emerged a...

Spaniard extends his stay a week.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ Spain's Feliciano Lopez didn't bring enough clothes for two weeks at Wimbledon, but he'll improvise. Making his tournament debut, Lopez has stuck around longer than he or anyone else anticipated. Lopez's 3-6, 7-6...

Monica Seles in the final 16.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ Winning a 10th major is among the reasons Monica Seles is still playing tennis. She's realistic about her possibilities at Wimbledon _ the only Grand Slam she hasn't won _ but Seles is making due nicely despite her...

Venus falters but regroups to win; controversy on the men's side.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ Oracene Williams actually smiled and applauded when Maureen Drake's forehand volley winner gave her the first set against daughter and top seed Venus Williams on Saturday. However peculiar, the reaction was...

North Carolina eyeing racing venue for 5- to 16-year-olds.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... There's a move afoot to start a North Carolina quarter-midget racing association, with Winston Cup driver Bobby Labonte helping push the effort to get a {0th-mile track built for children 5 to 16 to race on. Labonte would like for his...

Kahn Job: With Germany's goalie, one score often is enough.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... YOKOHAMA, Japan _ He will never be as tranquil as the 37-foot-high Great Buddha statue, who has been sitting cross-legged in a meditative pose for 750 years about 40 minutes south of here in Kamakura. But Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn has...

Taking a byte out of computers still leaves BCS as best solution.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... MIAMI _ Sure, calamity rocks the financial world, with accounting fraud by corporate giants like Xerox, Enron and WorldCom quaking trust in Wall Street and unsettling the nation's economy. If you want a real controversy of numbers, though...

Sol still gambling with lineup.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... MIAMI _ When the Sol returns to AmericanAirlines Arena to play Indiana on Sunday afternoon, center Ruth Riley will again be on the bench. Miami coach Ron Rothstein gambled with a smaller frontcourt Friday and took the 6-5 Riley out of...

Swoopes shows she's back.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... MIAMI _ With her 20-point-plus performances, Sheryl Swoopes has begun to quash doubts about whether she could come back from a torn knee ligament suffered last season. Swoopes, the 2000 WNBA MVP, tied her season high of 27 points Friday...

Devil Rays don't have a prayer.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ He is on the disabled list because of a bruised shoulder. This might not sound good, but it's better than his other, more prominent injury _ a contused consciousness. ``My mom didn't give birth to a loser,'' Greg...

Marlins edge the Devil Rays.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 29, 2002... ST. PETERSBURG _ Julian Tavarez showed up at Tropicana Field wearing a designer shirt, the garish color of which defied description but piqued the interest of his teammates. Cliff Floyd said it looked like a can of Sprite. Eric Owens...

Time for those All-Star lists.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ Look out, Miguel Tejada. You too, Jacque Jones. Even you, Pedro Martinez. It's time for Joe Torre's annual All-Star selections, and that can mean only one thing. Some deserving players are going to be left off so the American...

Did someone say deal? Indians start the trade mart.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ Given that Major League Baseball has taken charge in Montreal, it should be no surprise where Bartolo Colon was when the Expos traded for him. Even though the Indians were in Boston, Colon was back in Cleveland, having his sore...

Democrats bank on scandal card.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... WASHINGTON _ Democratic strategist James Carville is many things, but subtle is not among them. In his over-caffeinated view of the world, his party has finally come upon an issue _ scandal in the corporate suites _ that gives full voice to...

Lacking clear direction, Amtrak on shaky rails.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ If Congress and the Bush administration are going to get serious about developing a national rail passenger system _ and that's a whopping big if _ they might take a long look at the 20,000 passengers who crisscross the vast belly...

Al-Qaida `sleepers' may be in U.S.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... MILAN, Italy _ Italian anti-terrorism investigators, poring over hundreds of hours of surreptitiously recorded conversations among members of Europe's most important al-Qaida outpost, say they are convinced a cell in Milan supplied false...

Perhaps it's time for Pete to call it a career.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 29, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ "... I'm not going to end my time here with that loss." That statement from Pete Sampras, registered with conviction after his shocking second-round loss to qualifier George Bastl, seemed to settle the question of...

American men are history at Wimbledon.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England_Remember those great All-American Wimbledon weekends? Those July 4th extravaganzas when NBC trumpeted the American invasion of Britain, John McEnroe would wear his red, white and blue headbands, Jim Courier would wear his...

Old but not out in tennis.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ What does it say about women's tennis, Martina Navratilova was asked the other day, that a 45-year-old retired from the singles tour for eight years, could beat the 23rd-ranked player in the world. Navratilova had a...

Draft does little to improve East.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 29, 2002... FORT LAUDERDALE _ With the conclusion of the playoffs, at least the humiliation was over for the Eastern Conference, right? Well, not exactly. Despite a flurry of activity at the NBA Draft, the league's lesser half essentially remains...

Bob Ackles takes on CFL challenge.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 29, 2002... FORT LAUDERDALE _ Three years removed from serving as Jimmy Johnson's right hand man in the Dolphins' front office, Bob Ackles was set to begin life after football as a fine arts major at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. But the...

With free agency, Heat thinking 2003.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 29, 2002... FORT LAUDERDALE _ Heat coach Pat Riley enters Monday's start of the NBA free-agency period with a little pocket change, courtesy of a compromise by owner Micky Arison regarding the luxury tax. Next summer is when Riley plans to enter the...

Want some All-Stars? Try these guys.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 29, 2002... FORT LAUDERDALE _ Amid a dizzying run of mistakes and bonehead plays, we must give Major League Baseball credit for one thing: It finally figured out how to announce its All-Star teams. ESPN will reveal the results of fan balloting and...

NHL free agency good for some, troublesome for many.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
June 29, 2002... FORT LAUDERDALE _ Well, it's that time of year again _ when a bunch of teams that complain all year about the state of hockey go out and overpay for a bunch of 30-somethings who most likely won't live up to expectations and will use the...

Sammy Sosa welcomed on one side, booed on the other.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ On the North Side, Sammy Sosa runs out to right field_sprints out to right field_as the conquering hero. Cheers rain down, heart taps back at you. He is the man. On the South Side, where Sosa used to play, he jogs out...

White Sox rely on Osuna Twist in close win over rival Cubs.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ Sammy Sosa has the bunny hop, the heart tap and the air kisses, his signature moves after launching home runs. But after Antonio Osuna ended Saturday's game by striking out Sosa on a high changeup with the tying run on third in...

Shaky bullpen muddies decision on Bere fill-in.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ The Cubs' pitching staff remains day-to-day. For now right-hander Carlos Zambrano appears the healthy choice to start Monday night's game at Florida. With veteran Jason Bere on the 15-day disabled list with a deep bruise on the...

Slive may be new SEC chief.(The Orlando Sentinel)
June 29, 2002... ORLANDO _ The Southeastern Conference, which has been looking for a new commissioner since Roy Kramer announced he was stepping down earlier this year, appears to have found its new leader. Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive, 61, has...

Cubs in evaluation mode about losses.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ It has come to this: After dropping their fifth straight game and second in a row to the White Sox, the Cubs are quantifying their losses, ranking their defeats based on level of performance and degree of difficulty. "We...

Gore addresses mistakes of his 2000 campaign, tests waters for 2004.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... MEMPHIS, Tenn. _ Al Gore delivered an impassioned confession Saturday, telling his most loyal followers that he lost the last presidential race because he was too scripted, too conflicted and too tightly controlled. And if he takes another...

Cubs fans vs. White Sox fans.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ You're a die-hard White Sox fan. You've been stranded on a deserted island and likely will remain there forever. You have a choice: A working television set that will show Sox games year after year, or no TV but the knowledge...

A sad spot on the CART sidelines.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ Max Papis, who earlier this season had risen to third in the CART championship points race, could only stand and watch. It was early Saturday at the Chicago Motor Speedway, and out on the track the drivers he normally competed...

White Sox work the count against Prior.(Chicago Tribune)
June 29, 2002... CHICAGO _ Frank Thomas says he knows what he has to do to become "The Old Frank" again, the slugger whose power numbers through most of the 1990s ranked up there with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams. "I have to stop swinging at...

Ocean odyssey by water bike fulfills a dream.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... MIAMI _ A Spanish aristocrat who spent 117 days jumping the waves while crossing 8,000 miles of the Atlantic on a water bike glided to shore in Miami Beach this week, heralding his arrival by nobly waving the Spanish flag. Then after...

`Under God'.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
June 28, 2002... The following editorial appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Thursday, June 27: X X X ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of...

Thank God for our Pledge of Allegiance.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
June 28, 2002... The following editorial appeared in the Biloxi Sun Herald on Thursday, June 27: X X X Sometimes in the course of history it is necessary to threaten the loss of some under-appreciated thing to drive home its importance. It is...

Two entities clash for control of lighthouse.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... COROLLA, N.C. _ By design, the lighthouses that guard the Carolinas coast stand silent watch. But a nasty political clash has disrupted the quiet dignity of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, a brick tower rising about 16 stories above the Outer...

As WorldCom falls, corporate prosecutions ratchet up.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... MIAMI _ With the credibility of Corporate America and U.S. regulators in tatters, securities law experts say an unprecedented wave of tough prosecutions is expected _ and called for _ to restore public confidence in a system riven with...

God and the law.(Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
June 28, 2002... The following editorial appeared in the Charlotte Observer on Friday, June 28: X X X A panel of three federal appellate judges in San Francisco ruled 2-1 Wednesday that a reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance is...

North Carolina to stockpile potassium iodide pills.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Bowing to public pressure and scientific data, North Carolina officials said Friday that they will stockpile hundreds of thousands of pills to help protect people in the event of a nuclear disaster. The state earlier...

Cheney campaigns for Dole in North Carolina.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Vice President Dick Cheney made a whirlwind political visit to North Carolina Friday, raising money for U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole in Raleigh and rallying party activists in Charlotte. The vice president also...

State Farm to cancel condo association policies.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... MIAMI _ Blocked from raising rates, State Farm said Friday it would stop selling homeowners policies in Florida and that the nearly 5,000 condominium buildings it insures would lose coverage once their policies expire. State Farm blamed...

Germany and Brazil, once considered subpar, playing for the title.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... YOKOHAMA, Japan _ Familiarity, at last. After all the upsets, the bickering about the refs, the conspiracy theories and the Spanish and Italian whining, Sunday's World Cup final is what most of the world would have predicted when it all...

Roddick ousted like other American men.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... WIMBLEDON, England _ Andy Roddick might return to Wimbledon 20 more times and never hit a passing shot quite so spectacular. Wrong-footed by a Greg Rusedski volley, Roddick still managed to rip a forehand as he fell to the Centre Court grass...

Heat pursuing perimeter players in free agency.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
June 28, 2002... MIAMI _ Even after drafting small forward Caron Butler, coach Pat Riley indicated Friday the Heat will seek swingmen and perimeter-oriented players when free agent negotiations begin Monday. Riley said he expects to use at least a portion...

Children with very adult problems focus on fun to escape fatal disease.(The Orlando Sentinel)
June 28, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ It is a crippling disease that heaps a decade of infirmity onto its young victims for every year they age. It is a rare disease afflicting one in eight million children worldwide. And it's always fatal, striking down most...

Operator sounds like Dee in Dallas, but it's really Deepali in Delhi.(Chicago Tribune)
June 28, 2002... NEW DELHI _ It is 5 p.m. and, in an air-conditioned office complex on the city's outskirts, several dozen of the brightest and best of India's educated young elite are gearing up for a long night of what in the industry is known as "remote...

Call centers in India answer rising demand.(Chicago Tribune)
June 28, 2002... CHICAGO _ Although fears of a war between India and Pakistan have taken a bite out of the once-booming software industry in India, the appetite for that country's call-center capabilities continues to grow. An increasing number of U.S....

Twin towns exist in time warp.(The Orlando Sentinel)
June 28, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ Scenes from life on the edge: The second hand on the clock behind the counter at Golden Pharmacy ticks toward 3 p.m. _ or is it 4? Newcomers to every city face adjustments _ traffic, humidity, maybe a language barrier....

2003 Navigator: Retains look but improves mechanics, interior.(The Orlando Sentinel)
June 28, 2002... ORLANDO, Fla. _ For 2003, Lincoln's big sport-ute, the Navigator, changes more than it has since its introduction in 1997, but it's hard to tell by the outside. For whatever reason, even though this is a nearly all-new 2003 Navigator, it...

WorldCom well connected on both sides of Capitol Hill.(Chicago Tribune)
June 28, 2002... WASHINGTON _ Three years ago, when executives of WorldCom Corp., then a swaggering telecommunications giant, wanted to show their appreciation for their home-state lawmaker, Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, they did more than make a...

Tonga's `jester' survives scandal, but island nation loses $25 million.(Chicago Tribune)
June 28, 2002... PETALUMA, Calif. _ Less than nine years ago, J.D. Bogdonoff, the investment broker now at the center of an international financial scandal, had never heard of the Kingdom of Tonga, a tiny South Pacific nation of 171 islands, populated by...

The secret to hearing is in the listening.(Chicago Tribune)
June 28, 2002... When the subject is meaningful conversations, Michael Toms' views are more than talk. As host of a weekly syndicated radio program, he has interviewed more than 3,000 of the most innovative thinkers in health, science, philosophy, religion,...

Brown left monumental accomplishments.(Chicago Tribune)
June 28, 2002... WASHINGTON _ In a quarter of a century here, I've watched presidents, cabinet secretaries and powerful members of Congress come and go. None had as much impact on this place as did J. Carter Brown, the blue-blooded Rhode Island aesthete...