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Rice arrives in India in wake of Mumbai attacks

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:28 EST

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in New Delhi as Washington seeks to ease tensions in the region following the deadly Mumbai attacks.

America's top diplomat arrived around 10:30 local time (5 a.m. GMT) Wednesday to meet with Indian leaders.

U.S. officials have pointed the finger at Pakistani-based groups in the attacks and have pressured Islamabad to cooperate in the investigation.

Suspected Muslim militants carried out the three-day rampage across Mumbai last week, killing at least 171 people and wounding 294, in one of India's worst terrorist attacks.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Brunnstrom's goal helps Stars win without Avery

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:24 EST

Fabian Brunnstrom's breakaway goal at 7:53 of the second period stood up as the game-winner as the Dallas beat the Calgary Flames 3-1 Tuesday night hours after Stars forward Sean Avery was suspended by the NHL.

Marty Turco played one of his best games of the season, making 36 saves. It was just the third time this season and second since Oct. 20 that Turco held the opposition to fewer than two goals.

Toby Petersen also scored and Loui Eriksson added an empty-netter with 15 seconds left for Dallas, which climbed out of sole possession of last place in the Western Conference.

David Moss scored the lone goal for Calgary.

Lisin scores 2 in third, lifts Coyotes past Kings

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:14 EST

Enver Lisin scored twice in a four-minute span of the third period to lift the Phoenix Coyotes over the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Shane Doan and Martin Hanzal also scored, and one-time backup goaltender Mikael Tellqvist made 32 saves for the Coyotes, who won for the third time in four games.

Tellqvist has started three of four games and appeared in five of the Coyotes' last six.

Alexander Frolov and Oscar Moller scored for the Kings, who have lost two straight.

Lisin pulled Phoenix even at 2-2 with a one-timer from between the circles with 15:54 to go. Kevin Porter sent the puck to Keith Yandle alone in the left circle, and Yandle found Lisin in the low slot for the shot into the open right side of the net.

Heat rally in final seconds of OT to beat Warriors

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:52 EST

Chris Quinn hit a tying 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left in overtime, Michael Beasley stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made the decisive free throw, and the Miami Heat pulled off a wild 130-129 comeback win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

Jamal Crawford missed a running jumper at the buzzer and sprawled himself on the court in frustration as the Warriors dropped their seventh straight game, one they had in their grasp until the waning moments. Crawford is winless since joining Golden State in a trade from New York on Nov. 21 that sent Al Harrington to the Knicks.

Crawford scored six of his 40 points in overtime and dished out seven assists, but his team fell short again.

Udonis Haslem scored on a putback for Miami at the buzzer of regulation to force the extra session.

With his team up 125-123 with 28.8 seconds left in OT, Golden State's Ronny Turiaf swatted Dwyane Wade for his fifth blocked shot of the game. Wade converted a three-point play with 15.1 seconds to go that cut it to 127-126 before Crawford hit two free throws on the other end.

Nixon records show aides dishing dirt on critics

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:34 EST

In Richard Nixon's time, all the president's men fretted about threats on every front: disquiet out on the streets, disloyalty inside the administration and trouble from political opponents who had to be discredited at any cost.

Documents and recordings released Tuesday show Nixon's operatives dishing dirt on the president's critics and public figures, including their marital, mental and drinking problems, and struggling to contain growing public unrest over the war in Vietnam. The president starkly set that tone.

"Never forget," Nixon tells national security adviser Henry Kissinger in a taped Oval Office conversation revealed Tuesday. "The press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy. The professors are the enemy.

"Professors are the enemy," he repeated. "Write that on a blackboard 100 times and never forget it."

The conversation was on Dec. 14, 1972, four days before the U.S. unleashed a massive bombing campaign on Hanoi and Haiphong aimed at getting North Vietnam to negotiate more seriously in peace talks.

Tuesday's College Basketball

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:24 EST

EAST

Baruch 87, Medgar Evers 61

Boston College 57, Iowa 55

Brooklyn 71, York, N.Y. 62

Caldwell 78, Felician 70

Muslim cleric ordered back to jail in Britain

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:45 EST

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada - once described as Osama bin Laden's ambassador in Europe - was ordered jailed Tuesday by a British judge because of fears he was preparing to abscond.

Abu Qatada had been released in June under strict bail conditions that allowed him to leave his home for no more than two hours a day.

Judge John Mitting, heading a panel of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, ordered Abu Qatada be sent back to jail and held under immigration laws.

Abu Qatada, who arrived in the U.K. in 1993, was jailed in 2002 over accusations that he played a key role in raising money for extremist groups and provided spiritual advice to militants planning terror attacks. The bail provisions set in June included bans on attending any mosques, having any visitors in his home, and lecturing or leading prayers.

He was also barred from having computers, mobile telephones or Internet connections in his home.

Giants suspend Super Bowl hero Burress

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:14 EST

Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress is done for the year.

The New York Giants fined and suspended Burress on Tuesday for four games - the rest of the regular season - after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub. The team also placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which means the wide receiver couldn't come back for the playoffs, either.

The team punished Burress a day after he was charged with illegal weapons possession, which carries a penalty of 3 1/2 to 15 years in prison if he's convicted. Burress is due back in court again on March 31, unless he reaches a plea agreement.

Burress arrived Tuesday morning at Giants Stadium, and met individually with Giants president John Mara, general manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin. He left for a medical test and returned in the afternoon for another brief session with team officials.

Even as they suspended him for conduct detrimental to the team, Giants officials expressed concern for Burress, who caught a touchdown pass from Eli Manning that gave the Giants a 17-14 Super Bowl win over New England in February.

Butler scores 22 as Wizards top Nets 108-88

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:09 EST

Caron Butler had 22 points and 10 assists, and DeShawn Stevenson added 21 to lead the Washington Wizards to an easy 108-88 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night.

The victory was the first road win of the season for the Wizards (3-12) and their first win over an Eastern Conference opponent after 11 straight losses.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Nets (9-8), who won all three contests on the road. The Nets were led by Devin Harris, who had 18 points, but only three after halftime, and Vince Carter, who had 16 points. Keyon Dooling added 14 off the bench for the Nets.

After a closely contested first half, the Wizards blew the game open, outscoring New Jersey 35-12 in the third period.

The Wizards led 51-50 at halftime, then outscored the Nets 14-3 over the first 4:54 of the second half to take a commanding 65-53 lead. Butler and Antawn Jamison (22 points) each scored four points in the game-deciding run.

Beazer Homes 4Q loss balloons as revenue plunges

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:44 EST

Homebuilder Beazer Homes USA Inc. gave Wall Street a double-shot of discouraging news Tuesday: Its fiscal fourth-quarter loss more than tripled from a year ago and it expects to lose money throughout 2009.

"Conditions in both the overall economy and housing market were under greater pressure during our fourth quarter and have continued to deteriorate since that time," Beazer CEO Ian J. McCarthy told analysts.

Despite uncertainty over the depth of the economic downturn, McCarthy warned "we should realistically expect that both (home sales) and average sales prices will be lower in fiscal 2009 and that we will again likely incur a loss for the year."

Beazer shares slipped 12 cents, or about 8 percent, to $1.38 Tuesday, near its low for the year of $1.13.

The protracted housing downturn, rising foreclosures, credit market woes and a deepening U.S. recession have battered homebuilders, but perhaps none as much as Atlanta-based Beazer.

Browns' Quinn to have surgery

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:45 EST

Brady Quinn has decided to get his fractured finger fixed.

After weighing his options over the past week, Cleveland's quarterback has elected to have surgery on his right index finger, which he initially broke on Nov. 17 at Buffalo and then made worse by playing in the Browns' game a week later against Houston.

The team said that Quinn's operation will be performed on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., by hand specialist Dr. Thomas Hunt. The procedure, which will likely involve a pin being inserted in Quinn's finger to stabilize the bone and damaged tendon, will require up to 10 weeks of recovery time.

In his second career start, Quinn broke the tip of his finger when he banged it against a Bills defender in the first half of Cleveland's 29-27 win. Although he was given the option of having the operation or rest, Quinn played in a Nov. 23 game against the Texans and sustained further damage to the finger on his throwing hand. He was benched in the third quarter by coach Romeo Crennel after throwing two interceptions.

Quinn later said he had trouble spinning the ball the way he wanted to because of the injury.

Roy, Blazers blow by Knicks in fourth quarter

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:44 EST

Brandon Roy scored 23 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers dominated the fourth quarter to beat the New York Knicks 104-97 Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.

Rudy Fernandez made a pair of 3-pointers early in the final period and scored 18 for the Trail Blazers, who shut down the Knicks' high-powered offense for the first seven-plus minutes of the fourth and improved to 13-6, their best start after 19 games since the 1999-00 club was 15-4.

The Blazers shook off a dismal offensive night from rookie Greg Oden, who botched two dunks in the first five minutes and finished with two points, matching Kwame Brown for the lowest-scoring effort by a No. 1 overall pick in his Madison Square Garden debut in 40 years.

Oden played only 19 minutes because Joel Przybilla was dominant in the paint, grabbing 14 rebounds.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 17 points and Travis Outlaw 16 for the Blazers, who have won the first two games of their five-game Eastern Conference trip and are 6-0 against the East, their best start since winning their first 12 in 1990-91.

Auditors fault Treasury oversight of bailout funds

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:00 EST

A government audit says the Treasury Department needs tougher controls to oversee the $700 billion financial bailout package.

The Government Accountability Office's report to Congress on Tuesday says Treasury has no mechanism in place to track how the banking system has used the taxpayer money that had purchased $150 billion in bank stocks as of Nov. 25.

The 72-page audit is bound to feed congressional concerns that banks are not being properly monitored and are not using the money to increase lending.

Auditors specifically cited weaknesses in determining whether institutions that received bailout money are complying with limits on pay for their executives and dividend payments for investors.

Mets: Ballpark will remain Citi Field

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:30 EST

The New York Mets say the name Citi Field will remain on their new ballpark and believe the struggling bank will survive its current economic crisis following a government bailout.

Citigroup is paying the Mets $400 million over 20 years for naming rights to the stadium, scheduled to open next year. Two New York City councilmen said last week that the ballpark's name should be changed to Citi/Taxpayer Field.

"We think we can bring the right people to help them market their product so that they can be a going concern," Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said Tuesday. "It's not really Citi's fault that they're in this problem. They're a lot of other banks in the same situation."

Taggart leads No. 18 Memphis to 100-61 win

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:34 EST

Shawn Taggart had 21 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks and freshman Tyreke Evans added 24 points Tuesday night as No. 18 Memphis dominated every phase of the game in a 100-61 victory over Marist.

Antonio Anderson scored 12 points and Roburt Sallie finished with 11 for Memphis (5-1). Evans was 10-of-13 from the field.

David Devezin led the Red Foxes (2-4) with 11 points, while Lawrence Williams and Ryan Schneider had 10 each.

Memphis built the lead to double digits within the first seven minutes, continued to extend it through the first half and kept the pressure on after the break, leading by 40 with 10 minutes left.

The Tigers would finish the night shooting 53 percent, and holding the Red Foxes to 35 percent and causing 21 turnovers. Memphis blocked 14 shots, one short of the school record set against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 1998.

British Airways in merger talks with Qantas

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:14 EST

British Airways PLC and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. said Tuesday they are holding talks about a potential merger, sparking hopes of consolidation in the hard-hit aviation industry.

The two companies both issued statements saying they are exploring a "potential merger" with each other "via a dual-listed company structure."

Neither BA nor Qantas provided any further details. In their statements to the London Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange, the two companies said: "There is no guarantee that any transaction will be forthcoming and a further announcement will be made in due course, if appropriate."

BA's chief executive Willie Walsh has long advocated industry consolidation, arguing that closer cooperation will help airlines cut costs in the current difficult economic climate.

BA, the third-largest airline in Europe, is already pursuing a revenue-sharing deal with American Airlines and Spain's Iberia SA. It said that its discussions with Iberia on a potential merger are continuing.

NFL suspends 6 players for doping violations

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:04 EST

Six players, including the heart of the Minnesota Vikings' stout defensive line, were suspended for four games without pay by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league's anti-doping policy.

All six were punished for using a diuretic, which can serve as a masking agent for steroids.

The suspended players were running back Deuce McAllister and defensive linemen Charles Grant and Will Smith of New Orleans; defensive linemen Kevin and Pat Williams of Minnesota; and long snapper Bryan Pittman of Houston.

"I definitely was not trying to cheat in any form," McAllister told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "I tried to do everything the right way."

The punishment means all six will miss the end of the regular season, an especially harsh blow to Minnesota, which relies heavily on the Williamses in its run defense, which ranks second in the league.

Canadiens blow 3-goal lead, but beat Thrashers 5-4

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:44 EST

Andrei Kostitsyn scored with 5:11 remaining and the Montreal Canadiens recovered from blowing a three-goal lead earlier in the third period to beat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-4 on Tuesday night.

Kostitsyn, who scored against Johan Hedberg, helped set up two of Montreal's first three goals as the Canadiens carried a 3-0 lead into the third period.

Ron Hainsey scored twice as Atlanta netted three goals in less than a minute to erase their 3-0 deficit 7:27 into the third.

The Thrashers broke two franchise records for fastest goals. They scored three times within 59 seconds, including two seven seconds apart by Hainsey and Chris Thorburn.

Hainsey, a former first-round pick of the Canadiens, drew Atlanta within 3-1 when he drove a slap shot past Carey Price from the top of the slot at 6:28.

US official: India attack may have Pakistani roots

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:34 EST

U.S. and British citizens were the targets of the violent siege in Mumbai last week, although most of those killed in India's financial capital were Indians, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

Six Americans died in the attacks, which killed at least 171 people and wounded scores of others.

The same group that carried out last week's attack is believed to be behind the 2006 Mumbai trains bombings that killed more than 200, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell said Tuesday during a speech at Harvard University.

McConnell did not identify the group by name. However, the Indian government has attributed the 2006 attack to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani terrorist group based in Kashmir, and the Students Islamic Movement of India.

McConnell is the first U.S. official to publicly identify Lashkar as the likely perpetrator. Earlier Tuesday, a senior State Department official told reporters only that the brutal, prolonged attack had some roots in Pakistan. Privately, U.S. and foreign counterterrorism officials fingered Lashkar last week.

Treasurys extend gains amid investor worries

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:59 EST

Yields on U.S. government debt touched fresh lows again Tuesday as investors, worried about the economy and the ongoing volatility in stocks, again sought out the safest investments.

Yields, which move opposite their price, fell to record lows on the 30-year long bond and the 10-year note.

Investors snapped up Treasurys because of fears that the nation's economic troubles would worsen. Demand also rose for a second day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could become a buyer of Treasurys or other government debt, a move aimed at lowering long-term interest rates. Lower long-term rates could reduce borrowing costs; a reduction in mortgage rates could, for example, draw out buyers and help the ailing housing market.

"What we saw today was more a function of continued concern about a really powerful recession," said Brian Matthews, managing principal at Payden & Rygel Investment Management in Los Angeles.

"Our expectation is that we're going to see more of this. In the longer-term context, this certainly is an aberration but in the reality of the current markets, this is going to be the norm for a while," he said.