UPI NewsTrack articles from March 2007

UPI NewsTrack archives from March 2007

'Reality' star Jade Goody gets hate calls.
March 1, 2007... NEW DELHI, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- British reality TV star Jade Goody was the subject of angry calls by a Sri Lankan angry that Goody was welcomed in India after making racist comments. A London-based Sri Lankan, calling herself Prasantika, called...

Obese child allowed to stay with mother.
March 1, 2007... LONDON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- British child protection officials say an obese 8-year-old boy will be allowed to remain with his mother. The boy was warned, however, that he will have to stay on a strict diet. Connor McCreaddie weighed 196...

Police: Dismembered man was homeless.
March 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- San Diego police say human remains found scattered across the city have been identified as those of a man who was believed to be homeless. The 57-year-old man, whose name was being withheld until police contact...

U.S. would not send CIA agents to Italy.
March 1, 2007... ROME, March 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. State Department official says Washington would refuse an Italian request to extradite CIA operatives in the abduction of terror suspects. An Italian judge has ordered 25 CIA employees and the former head of...

COL BKB: Texas 98, Texas A&M 96 (2OT).
March 1, 2007... AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Kevin Durant made two free throws with five seconds remaining in the second overtime Wednesday night, giving No. 15 Texas a 98-96 win over No. 6 Texas A&M. The Longhorns and Aggies are tied for second in the...

COL BKB: Maryland 85, Duke 77.
March 1, 2007... DURHAM, N.C., March 1 (UPI) -- Mike Jones scored 25 points Wednesday night and unranked Maryland completed a season sweep of No. 14 Duke with an 85-77 victory. The Terrapins have won six straight, the last two coming against the...

Dishwashing given a cool test.
March 1, 2007... COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say room temperature water cleans dirty dishes just as well as water heated to scalding temperatures. The Cleveland Plain Dealer says a study by Ohio State food science researchers found...

NBA: Denver 111, Orlando 101.
March 1, 2007... DENVER, March 1 (UPI) -- Allen Iverson poured in 34 points Wednesday night and Carmelo Anthony had 23 as the Denver Nuggets downed Orlando, 111-101. Orlando cut a 13-point deficit in the third period to just five going into the fourth...

Mudslide closes road to Tahoe.
March 1, 2007... SACRAMENTO, March 1 (UPI) -- A mudslide covered part of California's Highway 50 with 1,000 tons of mud, closing the main route to Lake Tahoe. The Sacramento Bee said the slide occurred before 2 a.m. Wednesday at Riverton, Calif., in an...

NBA: Sacramento 135, Charlotte 120.
March 1, 2007... SACRAMENTO, March 1 (UPI) -- Kelvin Martin had 36 points and Mike Bibby added 30 Wednesday night as the hot-shooting Sacramento Kings defeated Charlotte, 135-120. The Kings made 64 percent of their field goal attempts and sank 37 of 50...

Prosecutor: Politics cost him job.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- One of several people forced to resign as U.S. Attorneys says it was "probably a political problem" that cost him his job, the Washington Post reported. David C. Iglesias, who resigned Wednesday at U.S. Attorney...

Man pulls switchblade in snow dispute.
March 1, 2007... CHICAGO, March 1 (UPI) -- A 73-year-old suburban Chicago man is accused of slashing his neighbor in the face in a dispute over snow shoveling. The Daily Herald said Sylvester Mesi of Rolling Meadows, Ill., accused his 60-year-old neighbor...

Verdasco reaches Las Vegas quarterfinals.
March 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS, March 1 (UPI) -- Fernando Verdasco wrapped up a quarterfinal berth Wednesday by defeating Danai Udomchoke in the round-robin phase of the Tennis Channel Open at Las Vegas. Verdasco went 2-0 in his group with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2,...

NHL: Calgary 2, Minnesota 1 (SO).
March 1, 2007... CALGARY, Alberta, March 1 (UPI) -- Jarome Iginla scored the only goal of the shootout Wednesday night as the Calgary Flames defeated Minnesota, 2-1. The Flames moved one point in front of Minnesota in the battle for seventh place in the...

Boston Hub bomber could go free.
March 1, 2007... BOSTON, March 1 (UPI) -- A man convicted of building a bomb that killed a Boston police officer and severely injured another could get out of jail on a technicality. The Boston Herald says the U.S. Attorney's office has missed two critical...

Malawi bristles at wife's shopping spree.
March 1, 2007... LONDON, March 1 (UPI) -- A French shopping spree for Malawi's first lady is stirring some controversy in the impoverished African nation. The London Telegraph says Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika's wife, Ethel, stayed behind in France...

Alaska tops states for drug use.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- Alcohol use is on the rise in the United States as illegal drug use falls, and Alaska leads the states in illegal drug use, a new report said. The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...

Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. dies, 89.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- Arthur Schlesinger Jr., the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who served as an adviser in the Kennedy Administration, has died in New York at 89. Schlesinger died Wednesday night at New York Downtown...

NBA: LA Clippers 96, Seattle 91.
March 1, 2007... LOS ANGELES, March 1 (UPI) -- Elton Brand had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists Wednesday night, as the Los Angeles Clippers beat Seattle, 96-91. Corey Maggette scored 18 points, Sam Cassell added 16 and Tim Thomas had 13 for the...

Drexel student admits grade fixing.
March 1, 2007... PHILADELPHIA, March 1 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania college student has pleaded guilty to hacking into a computer to change grades for students at his old high school. Jonathan To, a graduate of Cherry Hill High School East who is a freshman at...

NHL: Nashville 4, San Jose 3.
March 1, 2007... SAN JOSE, Calif., March 1 (UPI) -- J.P. Dumont scored the winning goal in the fourth round of a shootout Wednesday night, as the Nashville Predators beat San Jose, 4-3. Ryane Clowe scored on San Jose's first shootout attempt, and then...

McCain: 'I will be a candidate'.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has announced that he will be a candidate for president in 2008, and plans to announce his candidacy formally next month. Appearing on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" Wednesday...

Jockstrip: The world as we know it.
March 1, 2007... Byline: United Press International Down wrestler gets surprise family assist SAN JOSE, Calif., March 1 (UPI) -- Just as wrestler Maisson Davis was set to be pinned in a California tournament, the high school freshman got some illegal...

Watercooler Stories.
March 1, 2007... Byline: United Press International Grandmother sues for visitation rights NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- A New York-area woman is suing her estranged daughter and son-in-law for visitation rights with her first grandchild, whom she has...

U.S. Midwest hit by tornadoes.
March 1, 2007... KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 1 (UPI) -- A winter storm unleashed tornadoes, flooding, hail and snow across the Midwest as March lived up to its reputation of coming in like a lion. In Kansas, tornadoes destroyed buildings in Anderson and Linn...

Another arrest in airline bomb plot.
March 1, 2007... LONDON, March 1 (UPI) -- Police in London have arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with the 2006 planned liquid explosive attack on U.S.-bound passenger jets, police said. CNN reported that the man is the 25th person arrested in...

International Polar Year now under way.
March 1, 2007... PARIS, March 1 (UPI) -- Thursday marked the beginning of International Polar Year 2007-08, a worldwide science program focused on the planet's Arctic and Antarctic regions. Thousands of scientists from more than 60 nations will conduct...

Solvent spills in Ohio River.
March 1, 2007... BROOKPORT, Ill., March 1 (UPI) -- A barge ruptured after hitting a dam, spilling up to 8,000 gallons of a toxic solvent into the Ohio River near Brookport, Ill. U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Wayne Chapman told CNN that the spill of cumene did not...

U.S. chicken breast strip recall expanded.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service said a recall of Oscar Mayer-Louis Rich chicken breast cuts and strips has been expanded nationwide. Carolina Culinary Foods, a West Columbia, S.C., firm, initially...

Atomic microscopy offers chemical ID.
March 1, 2007... OSAKA, Japan, March 1 (UPI) -- Japanese scientists say they've discovered it is possible to use atomic force microscopy to identify the chemical makeup of individual surface atoms. Atomic force microscopy works by measuring the short-range...

UPI NewsTrack TopNews.
March 1, 2007... U.S. Midwest hit by tornadoes KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 1 (UPI) -- A winter storm unleashed tornadoes, flooding, hail and snow across the Midwest as March lived up to its reputation of coming in like a lion. In Kansas, tornadoes...

Inmates get smokes, free hostage.
March 1, 2007... MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn., March 1 (UPI) -- Inmates who held a guard hostage in Tennessee weren't looking to escape -- they just needed a smoke and once they got it, they returned to their cells. The maximum-security inmates at the smoke-free...

Aussie cops seize $9 million drug money.
March 1, 2007... SYDNEY, March 1 (UPI) -- Police in Australia seized nearly $9 million in cash in a series of drug-related raids across Sydney. Police said that in one house they seized $7.8 million in cash, two money-counting machines a machine-pistol and...

Silkworm cypovirus particles studied.
March 1, 2007... AUCKLAND, New Zealand, March 1 (UPI) -- New Zealand researchers have detailed the structure of the microcrystals that shield and protect silkworm cypovirus particles. Peter Metcalf and colleagues at the University of Auckland say their...

Yellowstone volcanic hotspot studied.
March 1, 2007... SALT LAKE CITY, March 1 (UPI) -- A 17-year U.S. study shows the power of the huge volcanic hotspot beneath Yellowstone National Park is much greater than thought. The $2.3 million, 1987-2004 University of Utah study revealed the...

Mouse epidermis cells studied.
March 1, 2007... CAMBRIDGE, England, March 1 (UPI) -- British developmental biologists have found a single type of progenitor cell is responsible for maintaining all the cells making up the mouse epidermis. The scientists said their finding is surprising...

Celebrity Marine fights for military gays.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. Marine, perhaps the first American wounded in the Iraq war, is still fighting a private battle -- for all gays in the military. Staff Sgt. Eric Alva lost a leg to a land mine during his time in Iraq,...

Chemical exposed soldiers say overlooked.
March 1, 2007... JERUSALEM, March 1 (UPI) -- Israeli soldiers sickened after exposure to chemical warfare agents said officials refuse to recognize the extent of their health problems. Some military personnel, who fell ill to cancer and other diseases,...

Most midsize U.S. car bumpers fail test.
March 1, 2007... ARLINGTON, Va., March 1 (UPI) -- Most midsize U.S. car bumpers do not prevent costly damage in low-speed collisions such as in parking lots, an auto insurance research group said Thursday. Only three midsize cars -- the Mitsubishi Galant,...

Fuel to be removed from space shuttle.
March 1, 2007... CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 1 (UPI) -- NASA officials decided to remove propellants from space shuttle Atlantis before returning the spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The decision stems from a Monday severe thunderstorm that...

NASA says budget cut delays space program.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. space agency said recent budget reductions may delay the first flights of its new space vehicle one year to 2015. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator Michael Griffin...

Scientists discover flat might not be flat.
March 1, 2007... BERKELEY, Calif., March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've discovered there might be no such thing as a perfectly flat, two dimensional sheet. Jannik Meyer and colleagues at the University of California-Berkeley cleaved individual...

Scientists study the zebrafish spinal cord.
March 1, 2007... ITHACA, N.Y., March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have used state-of-the-art imaging techniques to reveal an unexpected pattern of organization within the spinal cord of zebrafish. Joseph Fetcho and colleagues at Cornell University discovered...

Torture alleged in Chechnya.
March 1, 2007... GROZNY, Russia, March 1 (UPI) -- A human rights official is accusing the Russian republic of Chechnya of routinely torturing prison inmates. Council of Europe Human Rights chief Thomas Hammarberg told the BBC that the North Caucasus...

Consumer Reports ranks Japanese cars best.
March 1, 2007... YONKERS, N.Y., March 1 (UPI) -- Japanese car models comprise the all-around Top 10 best available vehicles in the United States, a Consumer Reports survey found. Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Infiniti models account for all 10 top picks out of...

Study: Glacial sediment may act as buffer.
March 1, 2007... STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. geoscientists say sediment produced by glacial movement might act as a buffer against moderate sea level increases caused by global warming. Professor Richard Alley and colleagues at Pennsylvania...

U.S. stocks tumble after Asia, Europe.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes tumbled Thursday morning amid declines in Asian and European markets two days after suffering the steepest drop in nearly four years. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted more than 200...

Asian stocks close down amid concerns.
March 1, 2007... TOKYO, March 1 (UPI) -- Japan, China and other Asian stocks closed down Thursday amid concerns about their export-dependent economies, but the pace slowed from earlier sell-offs. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average finished the day...

Kennedy in front at Johnnie Walker Classic.
March 1, 2007... PHUKET, Thailand, March 1 (UPI) -- Brad Kennedy started off Thursday with two birdies and wound up with a seven-under-par 67 for the first-round lead at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand. Kennedy owns a one-stroke edge over Stephen...

Oil slides amid economic concerns.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- New York crude oil futures slid Wednesday as traders balanced falling supplies against slowing economies in the United States and elsewhere. Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell 51 cents to $61.28 a barrel...

Giuliani, Clinton atop Time poll.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has moved ahead of Arizona Sen. John McCain in the GOP presidential race, a new Time magazine poll showed Thursday. Time respondents gave Giuliani 35 percent of the vote,...

UPI NewsTrack Business.
March 1, 2007... U.S. stocks tumble after Asia, Europe NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes tumbled Thursday amid declines in Asian and European markets two days after suffering the steepest drop in nearly four years. The Dow Jones industrial...

Israel objects to Mideast peace plan.
March 1, 2007... JERUSALEM, March 1 (UPI) -- Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni says the Arab peace plan is "currently unacceptable." Israeli media outlets reported Thursday that Livni told the Palestinian newspaper Al Ayamm that "Israel could not accept...

Theaterworks/USA founder Jay Harnick dies.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- Jay Harnick, founder of Theaterworks/USA, the nation's largest touring children's theater company, died in a New York nursing home at 78. Since Mr. Harnick helped found Theaterworks/USA in 1961, the company has...

NATO: Suicide attack a coincidence.
March 1, 2007... KABUL, Afghanistan, March 1 (UPI) -- A Taliban claim that a suicide attack on a base in Aghanistan was aimed at U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is "absurd," a NATO spokesman said. "Their claim is simply going for more psychological impact...

Mai Ghoussoub, writer and sculptor, dies.
March 1, 2007... LONDON, March 1 (UPI) -- Mai Ghoussoub, who combined her Arab heritage and an avant-garde awareness as a publisher, author, sculptor, journalist and playwright, died in London at 54. Ghoussoub left her native Lebanon in 1977 during its...

Emmett Williams, Fluxus art pioneer, dies.
March 1, 2007... BERLIN, March 1 (UPI) -- American poet Emmett Williams, a founder of the Fluxus movement of performance-oriented, avant-garde art of the 1960s, died at the age of 81 in Berlin. Williams became a prominent part of the European faction of the...

Israel arrests 19 suspected militants.
March 1, 2007... SHECHEM, Israel, March 1 (UPI) -- Israel Defense Forces reported capturing 19 Palestinian militants and raids aimed at apprehending more suspects continued Thursday. The IDF said that the captured men included members of organizations...

Jeff Goldblum receives restraining order.
March 1, 2007... LOS ANGELES, March 1 (UPI) -- Actor Jeff Goldblum received a restraining order from a Los Angeles judge against a woman he met at the acting school where he teaches, it was reported. Saying he did not know nor was acquainted with Linda...

Belgrade big casino to close small joints.
March 1, 2007... BELGRADE, Serbia, March 1 (UPI) -- The opening of a luxury casino in Belgrade in June will force the closure of smaller gambling venues within 10 miles of the Serbian capital, reports said. An Austrian company is investing $60 million to...

EU peacekeepers in Bosnia to be reduced.
March 1, 2007... LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, March 1 (UPI) -- The European Union is reducing the number of its peacekeepers in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 6,800 to 2,500, a military official said. When announcing a plan to cut down peacekeeping troops, EU leaders in...

New clues found in Graves' disease study.
March 1, 2007... LOS ANGELES, March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have discovered clues as to why Graves' disease attacks the eyes, suggesting new targets for treating the disfiguring autoimmune disorder. The immune systems of Graves' disease patients produce...

Gnapa Beatrice Kombe, African dancer, dies.
March 1, 2007... ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, March 1 (UPI) -- Gnapa Beatrice Kombe, a powerful dancer and choreographer from the Ivory Coast, died of kidney failure in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at the age of 35. Kombe's all-female dance troupe, TcheTche, introduced...

U.S. manufacturing expands after decline.
March 1, 2007... TEMPE, Ariz., March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. manufacturing expanded in February following a month-earlier decline, while the overall economy grew, a private industry group reported Thursday. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index...

Big U.S. citizenship fee hikes proposed.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- Proposed new U.S. fee increases would make it a lot more expensive for immigrants to become citizens, a report said. Among its proposals is one to raise the application fee for U.S. citizenship from $330 to...

Actor's request for report 'premature'.
March 1, 2007... MUMBAI, March 1 (UPI) -- Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt's plea for a probation report is premature, the prosecutor of the 1993 Mumbai bombing case against him told an Indian court. The 48-year-old actor is seeking leniency under the Probation...

Studies focus on schizophrenia treatment.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- Two studies from the U.S. Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness have provided insights into treatment options for schizophrenia. The $42.6 million, multi-site study included a comparison...

Seal appeal of commission payment denied.
March 1, 2007... LONDON, March 1 (UPI) -- A London court ruled that singer Seal must pay his former manager commission from two albums plus court costs, the total of which could reach $1.9 million. Seal, whose real name is Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel,...

Young girls rob bank.
March 1, 2007... ACWORTH, Ga., March 1 (UPI) -- Police say an unusual bank robbery in Acworth, Ga., was perpetrated by a pair of young girls who giggled their way through the holdup. Investigators said the two women, thought to be between 16 and 24 years...

China reins in 'Idol' -type shows.
March 1, 2007... BEIJING, March 1 (UPI) -- "American Idol"-type singing contests struck a sour note with China's television authorities, who limited the length the shows can run to a 10-week maximum. The decision by the State Administration of Radio, Film...

UPI NewsTrack TopNews.
March 1, 2007... NATO: Suicide attack a coincidence KABUL, Afghanistan, March 1 (UPI) -- A Taliban claim that a suicide attack on a base in Aghanistan was aimed at U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is "absurd," a NATO spokesman said. "Their claim is...

U.S. jobless claims rise to year-plus high.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose 7,000, pushing the four-week average to its highest level in 16 months. New jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 338,000 in the...

NHL teams to open next season in London.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings will open the 2007-08 NHL season with a pair of games in London, the National Hockey League announced. The NHL said the games will be played as a home-and-home series...

Official suspended for transsexual plans.
March 1, 2007... LARGO, Fla., March 1 (UPI) -- The Largo, Fla., City Commission has suspended the city manager and begun termination procedures after it learned that he plans to become a woman. The commission voted 5-2 to suspend City Manager Steve Stanton...

New York City rejects the 'n-word'.
March 1, 2007... NEW YORK, March 1 (UPI) -- The New York City Council has unanimously passed a symbolic resolution rejecting the use of the "n-word." The full council passed the non-binding ban 49-0, Newsday reported Thursday. Sponsoring Councilman...

Taliban leader says suicide army ready.
March 1, 2007... KABUL, Afghanistan, March 1 (UPI) -- The Taliban has assembled hundreds of suicide bombers for a spring offensive against NATO troops in Afghanistan, its top military leader said Thursday. "The Americans have sown a seed," Mullah Dadullah,...

Commander of Walter Reed fired.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- The commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington was fired Thursday amid reports of deplorable conditions for outpatients. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he supports Secretary of...

Bush checks on Katrina reconstruction.
March 1, 2007... GULFPORT, Miss., March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush Thursday inspected the reconstruction progress in Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss., hard hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "There's no telling who's going to show up,'' the president...

U.S. personal income, spending rise.
March 1, 2007... WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. personal income climbed 1 percent, double the rate of spending in January, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The income advance was the largest since a 1.3 percent jump in January 2006, the...

Cricket board to test for doping.
March 1, 2007... DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 1 (UPI) -- The International Cricket Council in the United Arab Emirates announced it will test players for doping at the ICC Cricket World Cup. ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed said the governing...

Czech labor market to lack 1.5M in 2050.
March 1, 2007... PRAGUE, Czech Republic, March 1 (UPI) -- The Czech Republic will lack 1.5 million workers in 2050, the biggest shortage of labor within the European Union, a Dutch survey said. The Dutch SEO company in its study predicted the Czech Republic...

Hong Kong official proposes film fund.
March 1, 2007... HONG KONG, March 1 (UPI) -- A $38.5 million funding package for Hong Kong's movie industry was unveiled in finance secretary Henry Tang's budget address to the Legislative Council. Tang said the new financial aid package, recommended by...

River iron fuels phytoplankton production.
March 1, 2007... CORVALLIS, Ore., March 1 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found iron-rich winter runoffs from Pacific Northwest waterways might be prompting robust phytoplankton production. The Oregon State University study found iron-rich runoffs, combined...

Two arrested in plot to kill beauty queen.
March 1, 2007... CARMIEL, Israel, March 1 (UPI) -- Two men were arrested in Israel for allegedly planning to kill the country's first beauty pageant contestant who belonged to the Druze religion. Police in Carmiel, Israel, said the two men, Jalal Hammoud...