Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service articles from March 2003

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service archives from March 2003

Villagers help U.S. troops find Iraqi arms cashes.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Andrea Gerlin and Patrick Peterson NEAR KUT AL HAYY, Iraq _ The 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, stopped Sunday beside a sign that said: "Welcome to the Governate of Wasit." Their reception, however, was a bit too warm: Over the next...

`Cheesy' movie resonates with Marines at camp in central Iraq.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Matthew Schofield CAMP AA ANDERSON, central Iraq _ The dangers are straight out of the movies: On Saturday, a Marine who made the mistake of poking his head above the sand berm was shot by a sniper. A rogue Iraqi tank...

Commanders prepared for high number of U.S. combat deaths in battle for Baghdad.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Peter Smolowitz DOHA, Qatar _ American commanders are prepared to suffer a high number of U.S. combat deaths during the battle for Baghdad and will not leave Iraq until Saddam Hussein is toppled, a senior official at U.S Central...

U.S. troops guard remnants of pyramid built for Sumerian moon god.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Scott Canon TELL AL MUQAYYAR, Iraq _ Thousands of years before Abraham of Bible and Quran fame trod here, the desert people who lived in the green Mesopotamia Valley reached for the moon, brick by brick. Now the boots of U.S....

After war in Iraq, Bush to halt nuclear weapons program in Iran.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Tim Johnson WASHINGTON _ When war ends in Iraq, the Bush administration will give "extremely high priority" to halting a secret nuclear weapons program in neighboring Iran, a senior administration official said Monday. John...

Lackluster efforts, political intrigue plague American skating.(The Gazette)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Meri-Jo Borzilleri WASHINGTON _ Signs are clear U.S. figure skating is bracing for hard times. At the World Figure Skating Championships that ended Sunday, American skaters won gold (Michelle Kwan) and silver (Tim Goebel)....

Plan for Iraqi oil fields would exclude businesses working with Iran.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Warren P. Strobel WASHINGTON _ The Defense Department is drafting a plan that would bar major international oil companies from helping reconstruct Iraq's oil fields if they already do business in neighboring Iran, according to...

Chartered airline flight anything but normal for deployed soldiers.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Tim Potter FORT RILEY, Kan. _ When the soldiers of 1st Battalion, 13th Armor board the chartered airline flights that will take them to war, they'll have their "rattles" and their guns with them. Even though flight attendants...

After bombs fall, laws of nature take over.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: S. Thorne Harper NEAR AN NAJAF, Iraq _ Iraqi soldiers were here when the bombs came. It doesn't look like they knew what hit them. Journals remain spread on tables. Bread and dates are in the cabinets. A rat leaps from a vat...

People in the news.
March 31, 2003... He's a former U.S. president, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Now add something new to Jimmy Carter's long list of achievements: novelist. "The Hornet's Nest," a historical novel set in the South during...

Iraqi planes absent from combat.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Dave Montgomery RIYADH, Saudi Arabia _ The Iraqi Air Force, what there is left of it, has been a no-show thus far in this war, but allied officials don't rule out the possibility of encounters with Iraqi pilots as U.S.-led forces...

Fanatical Fedayeen pose serious threat, Iraqi guardsman says.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Mark McDonald IRBIL, Iraq _ A former member of the Iraqi Republican Guard says coalition soldiers should be especially wary of the black-clad fanatics known as the Saddam Fedayeen, or Self-Sacrificers for Saddam _ the Iraqi...

As Bush drives to expand executive power, GOP-controlled Congress is pushing back.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: James Kuhnhenn WASHINGTON _ Consumed by waging war, the Bush administration is increasingly giving the Republican-controlled Congress the back of its hand, acting as if the legislative branch were a constitutionally mandated...

Battle in Baghdad looms as U.S. troops close in on capital.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Jeff Wilkinson, Ruby L. Bailey and Martin Merzer KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait _ U.S. Army soldiers edged closer to Baghdad on Monday, fighting from behind sandbags and punching through one front-line Republican Guard unit outside Saddam...

A summary of the day's war-related events.
March 31, 2003... MILITARY ACTION U.S. war planes continued to pound Baghdad as dawn approached there Tuesday, trying to soften defenses and break down the government before the war brings coalition troops to Iraq's capital. On the ground, the Army's...

British forces arresting hundreds of low-level Baath leaders in southern Iraq.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Sudarsan Raghavan UMM QASR, Iraq _ British coalition forces are sweeping up hundreds of low-level members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party throughout southern Iraq to stop guerrilla attacks and win the confidence of average...

Despite plan, U.N. faces challenges delivering humanitarian aid.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Fawn Vrazo LONDON _ The director of the United Nations' World Food Program on Monday outlined a six-month, $1.3 billion emergency plan to feed the people of Iraq, but said that continued war would prevent United Nations workers...

Hearings on Sept. 11 attacks begin.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Frank Davies NEW YORK _ A few blocks from the worst terrorist strike on U.S. soil, the independent commission on Sept. 11 Monday vowed to find out how failures and complacency, from immigration to the airlines, helped terrorists...

Support crews struggle to get water to combat troops.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Meg Laughlin NEAR NAJAF, Iraq _ A water buffalo, as soldiers call the huge tankers that carry that precious fluid, arrived Monday at a combat support camp, giving some the first chance to wash in nearly two weeks. But water...

Kmart announces 660 job cuts, won't rule out leaving Mich. headquarters.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Jennifer Dixon Kmart Corp. has not ruled out selling its Troy, Mich., headquarters or moving its corporate offices from Michigan, the retailer's chief executive said Monday in announcing new layoffs that will slice the number of...

Mexico hopes to heal Security Council's recent wounds as it takes over group's presidency.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Susana Hayward MEXICO CITY _ Mexico takes over the presidency of the U.N. Security Council Tuesday, hoping to heal some of the council's recent wounds and begin to repair relations with the United States, soured by Mexico's...

Military officials ban use of phones with GPS technology.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Tony Pugh WASHINGTON _ American military officials have halted the use of certain satellite telephones by battlefield reporters in Iraq, fearing that signals from the instruments could give away U.S. troop locations. The...

U.S. supply of Tomahawk missiles dips as JDAMs, others remain plentiful.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Tom Infield WASHINGTON _ In the first 12 days of the war in Iraq, the United States shot off nearly one-quarter of all the Tomahawk missiles ever built, a pace that clearly cannot continue, especially if a large stock of missiles...

Daily question and answer about the war in Iraq.
March 31, 2003... QUESTION: One hears military terms like division and battalion referring to numbers of soldiers. How many do they contain? ANSWER: A U.S. Army division has up to 18,000 combat troops. It's divided into brigades, usually three. Brigades...

US Airways out of bankruptcy protection.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Ted Reed CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ US Airways emerged from bankruptcy protection Monday with an improved credit outlook, more than $1 billion in cash, $1.9 billion in annual cost savings _ and another place to seek cost cuts. The...

Bush's plan to rebuild Iraq using oil revenues met with skepticism.(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Deirdre Shesgreen WASHINGTON _ The Bush administration says the U.S. won't be faced with a huge bill for reconstruction of post-war Iraq, in large part because Iraq's oil wells can be tapped to help defray the costs. But...

Q &A on what's next for American Airlines, its employees, and passengers.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Roger Yu The agreements reached Monday between AMRCorp., American's parent company, and its three major unions will significantly shape the airline's short-term future. The pacts, for the moment, are keeping the nation's...

War contributes to lower NCAA basketball ratings.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Ron Reid As expected, the war in Iraq has had an adverse impact on the ratings for CBS's telecasts of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. "Our ratings are down 21 percent," Jen Sabatelle, a CBS spokeswoman, said yesterday....

Battle through, around Karbala Gap likely to be `hell of a fight'.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Drew Brown, S. Thorne Harper and Steven Thomma SOUTH OF KARBALA, Iraq _ The first decisive battle of the war in Iraq may be coming in a place called the Karbala Gap. After days of pounding the Medina Division of Iraq's...

Dales-Schuman stars in new role.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Mel Greenberg At the NCAA tournament a year ago, Stacey Dales-Schuman was a star on the court. This year, she is a rookie sensation on TV, getting attention for her part in ESPN's television coverage of the tournament. ...

GM puts 5-year, 0% loans in gear.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Jamie Butters DETROIT _ General Motors Corp. is rolling out another big incentive plan Tuesday: 5-year, no-interest loans throughout April on everything but the Hummer. But it isn't a response to the war with Iraq _ an echo...

Names in the news.
March 31, 2003... First Trenyce, now this. Court TV's TheSmokingGun.com has turned up dirt on yet another "American Idol" contestant. The Web site is reporting that finalist Corey Clark faces trial next month on charges that he assaulted his teenage...

Regulators approve alliance between Northwest, Continental, Delta.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Martin J. Moylan Federal regulators have cleared a three-way alliance of Northwest, Continental and Delta airlines for take-off, allowing the carriers to sell tickets on each other's planes and integrate their frequent flier...

New leftfield fence, Radke detour Tigers.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: John Lowe DETROIT _ In Alan Trammell's debut as manager Monday, the Detroit Tigers got beat left and right. Left, as in their new and more inviting leftfield fence. Right, as in Minnesota Twins control artist Brad Radke,...

Powell heads to Turkey, Belgium to mend relations with allies.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: G. Robert Hillman WASHINGTON _ Seeking to patch tattered allied relations, Secretary of State Colin Powell is making a quick trip to Turkey and Belgium, where he will confer with members of NATO and the European Union. ...

Lions plan on Green playing in the middle.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Curt Sylvester DETROIT _ The Detroit Lions' new middle linebacker has a strong resemblance to one of their former outside linebackers. For good reason. Barrett Green, who has patrolled the weak side for most of the past two...

Arnett curtailed his reporting career with remarks on Iraqi TV.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Gail Shister Who needs the enemy when some American TV reporters are making themselves such easy targets in Iraq? NBC's Peter Arnett was dishonorably discharged Monday for having granted an interview to state-run Iraqi TV in...

AIDS vaccine helps blacks, test shows.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Paul Jacobs SAN JOSE, Calif. _ The latest results from the first large test of an AIDS vaccine showed more evidence that it may have reduced AIDS infection in blacks, while failing to protect the majority of those vaccinated. ...

American reaches last-minute deals with key unions.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Eric Torbenson American Airlines Inc. narrowly avoided filing for bankruptcy Monday by reaching last-minute deals with its three major labor groups. The carrier and its pilots' union cut it close. Allied Pilots...

Pilot shot down in 1991 Gulf War still alive, senator says.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Navy flier Scott Speicher, whose plane was shot down on the first night of the first Gulf War, is still alive in Iraq, Sen. Bill Nelson said Monday. Citing classified intelligence reports,...

Toothless Tigers tumble in Trammell's managerial debut.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Mitch Albom DETROIT _ The day broke with a snowfall and the wind whipped cold. When the ballpark opened, workers scattered salt on the pavement so that people wouldn't slip. Fans in overcoats moved stiffly through the turnstiles....

Back on field, Guardado is back in form.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Tom Powers DETROIT _ Up to this point, Eddie Guardado hasn't been having the time of his life. From his home in Anaheim, Calif., he spent October watching a steady stream of Angels pennants, ThunderStix and rally monkeys....

American will need a few more breaks to avoid bankruptcy, experts say.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Jennifer Autrey FORT WORTH, Texas _ American Airlines narrowly averted plunging into bankruptcy Monday, but a Chapter 11 filing still isn't out of the question. Wall Street praised the company's deals with its unions to cut...

EBay's PayPal accused of violating Patriot Act.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Mary Anne Ostrom SAN JOSE, Calif. _ A federal prosecutor in Missouri is claiming that PayPal, eBay's online payments subsidiary, violated the USA Patriot Act by processing Internet gambling transactions, the online auctioneer...

A summary of the day's war-related events.
March 31, 2003... MILITARY ACTION U.S. war planes continued to pound Baghdad as dawn approached there Tuesday, trying to soften defenses and break down the government before the war brings coalition troops to Iraq's capital. On the ground, the Army's...

Puckett takes stand, denies charges.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Leslie Brooks Suzukamo MINNEAPOLIS _ Former Minnesota Twins star Kirby Puckett broke his silence Monday and denied he dragged a woman into the men's room of an Eden Prairie restaurant last fall and groped her, saying instead he...

Radke, Mohr deliver win in Twins opener.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Gordon Wittenmyer DETROIT _ It wasn't their signature game, but it was their signature result. The Minnesota Twins squandered scoring chances, mishandled ground balls, ran themselves out of at least one inning, dropped a...

Football no longer is the only game in Austin.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Rachel Cohen AUSTIN, Texas _ Harris Harr's burnt orange T-shirt was quite the conversation-starter on Monday. The shirt proclaimed him a member of the O-Zone, the Texas men's basketball team's student cheering section, so...

Knight sounds off on NCAA committee.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Jan Hubbard NEW YORK _ The long-running Broadway hit ``Les Miserables'' is playing at the Imperial Theater, which is only about two basketball courts away from the Marriott Marquis. On Monday, the Marquis played host to the...

Nuggets, Cavaliers are making last-ditch effort.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Mike McAllister One team wins. The other team answers. It looks to be a nip-and-tuck race to the wire. What race is it? The one for top playoff seed? Maybe the race just to make the playoffs? Uh, neither. Try the...

Youth serves Syracuse well in tournament.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Keith Whitmire ALBANY, N.Y. _ While everyone else was banking on seniors in this year's NCAA Tournament, Syracuse put its faith in youth. Of course, that youth was embodied in the nation's best freshman, 6-8 Carmelo Anthony....

Phillies open with victory over Marlins.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Bob Brookover MIAMI _ It was one small step for a team trying to take a giant leap in the National League East standings. It was one win in a 162-game race that figures to have countless twists and turns en route to the...

Revamped Phils live up to pricey expectations.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Jim Salisbury MIAMI _ On the outside, they were as cool as a mouthful of water ice. Jim Thome and Kevin Millwood, Reasons 1 and 1A why people think this Phillies team has a legitimate chance of playing baseball in October,...

MacDougal ushers in new era for Royals.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Joe Posnanski KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The MacEra began with a MacSlider. And it was some kind of slider. Mike MacDougal had already thrown a 99-mph fastball on the outside corner. He had just thrown a 98-mph fastball on the inside...

Red Wings win Central once more.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Nicholas J. Cotsonika DETROIT _ For the fifth time in nine years, the Detroit Red Wings are Central Division champions. They clinched another title Monday night with a 3-0 victory over Nashville at Joe Louis Arena. Now,...

Common drug Zocor may give relief to MS patients.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Linda H. Lamb A drug commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol may also treat the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis, medical researchers said Monday. It is hoped that further studies will support use of the drug _...

Snowfall makes for a flaky play.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Sheldon Ocker BALTIMORE _Until the third inning, the day was chilly and sunny. Suddenly, the clouds rolled in, and they were packed with big, fat snowflakes. By the time the Cleveland Indians had their first run of the inning...

Indians suffer a defenseless defeat.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Sheldon Ocker BALTIMORE _The sad and frightening reality of Monday's 13-inning, 6-5 loss to the Orioles is that the Cleveland Indians were trying. It's shocking to think of what might have transpired had the Tribe merely been...

Flyers rout Penguins, 6-1.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Tim Panaccio PITTSBURGH _ This is what the Flyers had missed while left winger Radovan Somik was sidelined for nine games with back problems: During a Flyers penalty kill Monday night, Somik went into a corner with...

Sixers stay hot with 118-113 OT win over Magic.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Ashley McGeachy Fox ORLANDO, Fla. _ His pull-up jumper touched nothing but net, and Allen Iverson froze, pointing a finger toward Monty Williams, who leapt off the bench as the Orlando Magic called a time-out. This was a...

Nomo leaves no doubt as Dodgers blank Diamondbacks.(The Orange County Register)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Robert Kuwada PHOENIX _ Odalis Perez pitches Tuesday night. Kevin Brown pitches Wednesday. But in an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, Hideo Nomo left no doubt he is the ace of the Dodgers' starting...

Tennessee blows out Villanova.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Mel Greenberg KNOXVILLE, Tenn. _ For 20 minutes Monday night, Villanova seemed ready to spring one more shocker in a month filled with stunning victories. At the half, powerful Tennessee had only a slim 32-29 lead over the...

Opening Day takes back seat to war.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Neil Hayes SAN DIEGO _ There were reminders everywhere. A stack of newspapers on a table in the San Francisco Giants clubhouse warned of more suicide attacks. Fans tailgating in the parking lot listened to war updates on...

Giants get back to basics, open with win over Padres.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Joe Roderick SAN DIEGO _ Let's not make any hasty judgments after one game, but weren't the 2002 Giants supposed to have been dispatched to various corners of the United States? Wasn't the new-look team supposed to be built...

Wild don't back down, climb to 6th.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Brian Hamilton ST. PAUL, Minn. _ To grasp the tenor of Monday's hockey game-slash-Ultimate Fighting Championship exhibition between Minnesota and Calgary, all you had to do was glimpse at the Xcel Energy Center penalty boxes as...

Roy gets another milestone and another victory.(The Gazette)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Kamon Simpson DENVER _ He should be well past his warranty by now, but Patrick Roy is perfect since his odometer rolled over 60,000 career minutes. That happened early in the Colorado Avalanche's 3-1 victory over the San Jose...

Devils Rays open with rally past Red Sox.(The Providence Journall)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Sean McAdam ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ It would have been bad enough under any circumstance: blowing a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Opening Day. But to do it the way the Red Sox did Monday night _ against the lowly and...

Expert on Gulf War Syndrome encouraged by new safeguards.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Richard Durrett DALLAS _ A doctor who is considered one of the top experts on Gulf War Syndrome says he is encouraged by new safeguards to protect U.S. troops today, but wants to see more emphasis placed on taking care of those...

Left-handed materials offer new angle for technology.(The Dallas Morning News)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Alexandra Witze AUSTIN, Texas _ Good news for southpaws everywhere: Scientists have confirmed that "left-handed" materials exist. The materials don't work better for left-handed people. Rather, inside the stuff, some of...

Diet, exercise government prescription for health care for elderly.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Matt Stearns WASHINGTON _ Medicare is financially strapped. Coverage for ever-more-expensive prescription drugs is somewhere down the road _ maybe. And the number of elderly Americans keeps increasing, putting more pressure...

California's `true cost of credit' law struck down by courts.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Joan Quigley On its face, it sounds like a good idea: require banks to tell consumers how much their credit-card debt will cost over time if they only make the minimum monthly payment. Sort of like the grand totals you see when...

Majestic elk rule Northwest rain forests.(The Seattle Times)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Lynda V. Mapes OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, Wash. _ For Roosevelt elk, a fine spring shower in the succulent rain forest is just their kind of day. Native to the rain forests west of the Cascade range, the Roosevelt shakes the rain...

A worrier's Web guide to war and terror.
March 31, 2003... Future generations might remember these as the duct-tape days. With the last war still fresh, a new one is underway. Hopeful or fearful, angry or sad, Americans are seeing orange _ the orange, that is, that accompanies a "high" risk of a...

Veterans of last Gulf War know what soldiers face.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Lisa Gutierrez KANSAS CITY, Mo. _Hugh Grossman stood there 12 years ago where thousands of American soldiers do now, in the ubiquitous sands of the Persian Gulf. In another war. As a military policeman he was sent to Desert...

When planning for uncertain summer, it's smart to have a Plan B.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Beth Gauper ST. PAUL, Minn. _ For vacationers, it looks as if this might be a summer of uncertainty. Gas costs are high. Jobs are in jeopardy. The world is mired in strife. It's not a time to celebrate _ and yet summer is on...

The last resort: La Costa Maya is billed as Mexico's next big thing.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Patricia Rodriguez MAHAHUAL, Mexico _ Juan isn't in charge at the Hotel Mahahual, but he might as well be. Of several employees sitting in the office on a slow Sunday afternoon, he is the one most interested in dealing with my...

Norwegian has scuttled the usual rules with `Freestyle Cruising'.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Howard Shapiro SOMEWHERE ON THE CARIBBEAN SEA _ The whole trip began because I refused to wear a suit jacket. No big deal, I know, but I just wasn't going to wear one. Sneer if you want, call me silly. Even so, sometimes you...

Last-minute cruising: an exercise in flexibility.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Howard Shapiro "Jumping ship" is a phrase we all know, and it's gone far beyond a nautical image. "Jumping ship" has come to mean quitting anything. But what about "jumping on a ship"? Now there's a phrase nobody uses _ and a...

Hat Check: Here's what chefs are wearing these days to cover up.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Gita Sitaramiah ST. PAUL, Minn. _ Here's what chefs are wearing these days to cover up. The cooks at the Lake Elmo Inn in Lake Elmo, Minn., wear baseball caps. Well, all except Mike Lind. His dreadlocks don't fit in a...

Fiesta! Make your party a colorful bash.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Beverly Bundy Forget elegant (read booooring) parties. Instead celebrate with big, bright, bold "colores." Go for the colorful appetizers of Mexico _ the "botanas" most often served in bars and the "antojitos," or snacks,...

Real-world cooking: Duplicating a busy workweek at home.
March 31, 2003... Byline: CeCe Sullivan In the Seattle Times test kitchen, a clear plastic shelf perches over the longest counter. On it sit, in alphabetical order, 74 bottles and tins filled with a variety of spices and herbs, both whole and ground. All...

Easy menus for every night of the week.
March 31, 2003... MONDAY Penne Tossed with Golden Roasted Vegetables 4 servings Vegetables: 4 carrots 1 medium yellow onion 8 tiny new potatoes, scrubbed and halved 2 tablespoons olive oil } teaspoon dried basil, divided...

The Wonder of it all.
March 31, 2003... Byline: Joe Bonwich ST. LOUIS _ Just under a thousand Ding Dongs a minute. Close to a million Ding Dongs a day, depending on how long the production line is down for maintenance or for restocking ingredients. That's a lot of Ding...

These aren't your mother's grilled cheese sandwiches.(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
March 31, 2003... Byline: Joe Bonwich Consider the everyday grilled cheese sandwich. A couple of slices of Wonder or other plain, white bread, a slab or two of processed American cheese or maybe even Cheddar and a pat of butter, and you've got a quick-fix...