Arizona: Major drug bust, 70 arrested!

(Reuters) - Law enforcement officials in Arizona seized thousands of pounds of narcotics and arrested at least 70 suspected drug smugglers with apparent ties to a violent drug cartel in Mexico, an official involved with the investigation in the U.S. Southwest told Reuters on Sunday.

The operation, which included three raids conducted jointly by local, state, and federal officials over 17 months, led to the arrests of Mexican and American nationals working with the notorious drug cartel based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities confiscated drugs, money, weapons, ammunition, and bullet-proof vests, cracking a "sophisticated network" of international drug smuggling in one of the largest such operations conducted in the Southwestern United States, the official said.

Drugs were smuggled from Mexico into Arizona by car, plane, on foot, and through tunnels.

"This is one of the more substantial drug-smuggling operations going on right now. This is a billion-dollar drug trade organization linked to the cartel," the official said.

The cartel is headquartered in the northwestern state of Sinaloa on Mexico's Pacific coast, an area home to big marijuana and opium poppy plantations and considered the cradle of Mexican narcotics trafficking since the 1960s.

The cartel is believed to handle 65 percent of all drugs illegally transported to the United States, drug experts say.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in drug-related violence since Mexican PresidentFelipe Calderon launched his military campaign against the cartels after he took office in late 2006.

Further details of the operation will be released at a press conference at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration field office in Phoenix on Monday. The raids were overseen by the DEA, Arizona state officials, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The official said the operation will shed light on elaborate drug smuggling into the United States and said the contraband confiscated in the raids was "jaw-dropping."

Officials captured some of the key players in the smuggling operation, the source said, adding that the suspects will be prosecuted at the state level.

The official said law enforcement officials are still looking for dozens of people in connection with the operation.

(Reporting by Eric Johnson in Chicago; Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Copyright © 2011, Reuters

Paterno becomes Div. I victories leader with No. 409

After 45-plus years at Penn State and one nasty October snowstorm, Joe Paterno is the winningest coach in Division I college football history.

With the 84-year-old Paterno watching from the press box, the Nittany Lions overcame an afternoon of offensive frustration by driving 80 yards in the closing minutes to score the go-ahead touchdown, then held on for a 10-7 victory on a snowy day in Happy Valley, Paterno's 409th in a tenure that began in 1966. Paterno had been tied with Eddie Robinson, the legendary Grambling coach.

Silas Redd ran 3 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 remaining. Illinois, which had taken a 7-0 lead after a scoreless first half, had a chance to tie on the game's final play, but its field goal attempt hit the upright.

"It really is something I'm very proud of, to be associated with Eddie Robinson," Paterno said afterward. "Something like this means a lot to me, an awful lot. But there's a lot of other people I've got to thank."

Partly because of the weather, partly because of sloppy play, the game was sloppy as well. Penn State fumbled six times and lost two of them, and Illinois lost both of its fumbles. The Illini also threw two interceptions, and Penn State threw one.

Illinois had taken the lead on a 10-year pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to Spencer Harris in the third quarter, and Penn State made it 7-3 on Anthony Fera's 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

For more information visit:

http://www.psu.edu/

Israeli prisoner swap may be prelude to attack on Iran

By Abraham Rabinovich - Special to The Washington Times

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to execute a 1,000-for-1 prisoner exchange this month despite his frequently voiced opposition to such lopsided deals is seen by several Israeli military commentators as an effort to “clear the deck” before possibly undertaking an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Amir Oren, the veteran military analyst for Ha'aretz newspaper, took note of Israel’s exchange of 1,027 Palestinian convicts for army Staff Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Hamas in 2006. Mr. Oren wrote that the price paid by Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak “can be interpreted only in a context that goes beyond that of the Gilad Schalit deal.”

He noted that Israeli leaders in the past have shown a readiness to absorb “a small loss” in order to attain a greater success, generally involving “some sort of military adventure.”

Mr. Oren also noted that, until recently, Mr. Netanyahu had faced opposition to attacking Iran from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and Mossad intelligence chief Meir Dagan. Both retired earlier this year and have been replaced by men believed to hold a different view on Iran.

According to Israeli media reports, a shift in the Israeli government’s views on Iran might have prompted Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s Middle East visit in April, His main mission was to pass on a warning from President Obama against any unilateral attack on Iran.

At a news conference with Mr. Barak in April, Mr. Panetta stressed that any steps against Iran’s nuclear program must be taken in coordination with the international community.

Last week, Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yakov Katz wrote that, with the Schalit chapter behind it, “Israel can now move forward to deal with some of the other strategic problems it faces in the region, such as Iran’s nuclear program.” Had Israel first attacked Iran, Hamas‘ patron, it would have endangered the Schalit deal, Mr. Katz said.

Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Alex Fishman said that for Mr. Netanyahu, who built a political career as a warrior on terrorism, the Schalit deal was a courageous step, particularly in view of an estimate by Israel’s security services that 60 percent of Palestinians who are released in such exchanges return to terrorist activities.

“He took a risk in a certain area and thereby focused all our attention on much more troubling fronts - in distant Iran and in the Arab revolutions around us,” Mr. Fishman wrote. To deal with these problems, national consensus is necessary and the freeing of Sgt. Shalit went far toward achieving that.

Mr. Oren offered another insight that he says may point Mr. Netanyahu toward military action against Iran.

He said that although the prime minister failed to make any enduring mark on history during his previous term or, so far, during his present term, Mr. Netanyahu may see Iran as an opportunity to achieve his Churchillian moment. “The day is not far off, Netanyahu believes, when Churchill will emerge from him,” Mr. Oren wrote.

Meanwhile, an Israeli aircraft struck a pair of Palestinian militants Sunday, killing one man and wounding a second in a new eruption of violence, the Associated Press reported.

The airstrike cast doubts on efforts to forge a cease-fire after the deadliest round of fighting in months. In all, 10 Palestinian militants and an Israeli civilian have been killed in a weekend of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes.

U.S. Planning Troop Buildup in Gulf After Exit From Iraq

MacDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The Obama administration plans to bolster the American military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdraws the remaining troops from Iraq this year, according to officials and diplomats. That repositioning could include new combat forces in Kuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran.

The plans, under discussion for months, gained new urgency after President Obama’s announcement this month that the last American soldiers would be brought home from Iraq by the end of December. Ending the eight-year war was a central pledge of his presidential campaign, but American military officers and diplomats, as well as officials of several countries in the region, worry that the withdrawal could leave instability or worse in its wake.

After unsuccessfully pressing both the Obama administration and the Iraqi government to permit as many as 20,000 American troops to remain in Iraq beyond 2011, the Pentagon is now drawing up an alternative.

In addition to negotiations over maintaining a ground combat presence in Kuwait, the United States is considering sending more naval warships through international waters in the region.

With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran, the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. While the United States has close bilateral military relationships with each, the administration and the military are trying to foster a new “security architecture” for the Persian Gulf that would integrate air and naval patrols and missile defense.

The size of the standby American combat force to be based in Kuwait remains the subject of negotiations, with an answer expected in coming days. Officers at the Central Command headquarters here declined to discuss specifics of the proposals, but it was clear that successful deployment plans from past decades could be incorporated into plans for a post-Iraq footprint in the region.

For example, in the time between the Persian Gulf war in 1991 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States Army kept at least a combat battalion — and sometimes a full combat brigade —  in Kuwait year-round, along with an enormous arsenal ready to be unpacked should even more troops have been called to the region.

“Back to the future” is how Maj. Gen. Karl R. Horst, Central Command’s chief of staff, described planning for a new posture in the Gulf. He said the command was focusing on smaller but highly capable deployments and training partnerships with regional militaries. “We are kind of thinking of going back to the way it was before we had a big ‘boots on the ground’ presence,” General Horst said. “I think it is healthy. I think it is efficient. I think it is practical.”

Mr. Obama and his senior national security advisers have sought to reassure allies and answer critics, including many Republicans, that the United States will not abandon its commitments in the Persian Gulf even as it winds down the war in Iraq and looks ahead to doing the same in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

“We will have a robust continuing presence throughout the region, which is proof of our ongoing commitment to Iraq and to the future of that region, which holds such promise and should be freed from outside interference to continue on a pathway to democracy,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Tajikistan after the president’s announcement.

During town-hall-style meetings with military personnel in Asia last week, the secretary of defense, Leon E. Panetta, noted that the United States had 40,000 troops in the region, including 23,000 in Kuwait, though the bulk of those serve as logistical support for the forces in Iraq.

As they undertake this effort, the Pentagon and its Central Command, which oversees operations in the region, have begun a significant rearrangement of American forces, acutely aware of the political and budgetary constraints facing the United States, including at least $450 billion of cuts in military spending over the next decade as part of the agreement to reduce the budget deficit.

Officers at Central Command said that the post-Iraq era required them to seek more efficient ways to deploy forces and maximize cooperation with regional partners. One significant outcome of the coming cuts, officials said, could be a steep decrease in the number of intelligence analysts assigned to the region. At the same time, officers hope to expand security relationships in the region. General Horst said that training exercises were “a sign of commitment to presence, a sign of commitment of resources, and a sign of commitment in building partner capability and partner capacity.”

Col. John G. Worman, Central Command’s chief for exercises, noted a Persian Gulf milestone: For the first time, he said, the military of Iraq had been invited to participate in a regional exercise in Jordan next year, called Eager Lion 12, built around the threat of guerrilla warfare and terrorism.

Another part of the administration’s post-Iraq planning involves the Gulf Cooperation Council, dominated by Saudi Arabia. It has increasingly sought to exert its diplomatic and military influence in the region and beyond. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for example, sent combat aircraft to the Mediterranean as part of the NATO-led intervention in Libya, while Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates each have forces in Afghanistan.

At the same time, however, the council sent a mostly Saudi ground force into Bahrain to support that government’s suppression of demonstrations this year, despite international criticism.

Despite such concerns, the administration has proposed establishing a stronger, multilateral security alliance with the six nations and the United States. Mr. Panetta and Mrs. Clinton outlined the proposal in an unusual joint meeting with the council on the sidelines of the United Nations in New York last month.

The proposal still requires the approval of the council, whose leaders will meet again in December in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the kind of multilateral collaboration that the administration envisions must overcome rivalries among the six nations.

“It’s not going to be a NATO tomorrow,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic negotiations still under way, “but the idea is to move to a more integrated effort.”

Iran, as it has been for more than three decades, remains the most worrisome threat to many of those nations, as well as to Iraq itself, where it has re-established political, cultural and economic ties, even as it provided covert support for Shiite insurgents who have battled American forces.

“They’re worried that the American withdrawal will leave a vacuum, that their being close by will always make anyone think twice before taking any action,” Bahrain’s foreign minister, Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, said in an interview, referring to officials in the Persian Gulf region.

Sheik Khalid was in Washington last week for meetings with the administration and Congress. “There’s no doubt it will create a vacuum,” he said, “and it may invite regional powers to exert more overt action in Iraq.”

He added that the administration’s proposal to expand its security relationship with the Persian Gulf nations would not “replace what’s going on in Iraq” but was required in the wake of the withdrawal to demonstrate a unified defense in a dangerous region. “Now the game is different,” he said. “We’ll have to be partners in operations, in issues and in many ways that we should work together.”

At home, Iraq has long been a matter of intense dispute. Some foreign policy analysts and Democrats — and a few Republicans — say the United States has remained in Iraq for too long. Others, including many Republicans and military analysts, have criticized Mr. Obama’s announcement of a final withdrawal, expressing fear that Iraq remained too weak and unstable.

“The U.S. will have to come to terms with an Iraq that is unable to defend itself for at least a decade,” Adam Mausner and Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote after the withdrawal announcement.

Twelve Republican Senators demanded hearings on the administration’s ending of negotiations with the Iraqis — for now at least — on the continuation of American training and on counterterrorism efforts in Iraq.

“As you know, the complete withdrawal of our forces from Iraq is likely to be viewed as a strategic victory by our enemies in the Middle East, especially the Iranian regime,” the senators wrote Wednesday in a letter to the chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee.

Thom Shanker reported from MacDill Air Force Base, and Steven Lee Myers from Washington.

Rob Lowe 'Loves' GOP Presidential Nomination Process So Far

By Hollie McKay

Rob Lowe is a serious political animal, and he's really looking forward to the 2012 Presidential election.

“The only open plots are on the Republican side and it's a free for all. That's exciting! It means it's open to people. This is Herman Cain’s first foray into it, and I think that's a great thing for the country. The more the merrier. I love the process,” Lowe told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column while promoting the new short that he directed, “Butterfinger the 13th.” “When people complain about it, I like to say, 'We get a process. We get what we deserve as voters.' We can vote people in, we can vote people out, and I love it. I love an election cycle and this one is going to be extraordinary to watch.”

And in keeping with his character Sam Seaborn on “The West Wing,” Lowe still has quite the fascination with speech writers.

“It all fascinates me. I love the public policy, the foreign policy, I love all of it, but (speechwriters are most interesting to me) because I played them on TV. The thing that I'm always the most amazed with is how much the young people make this country run in D.C. You go there, and granted the senators, congressmen, and President (are older) but the staff is young, they're making nothing, and working their butts off just to serve their country,” he continued. “I'm always moved by it. This summer, my son went and I was never more proud. He worked as an intern in the majority leader's office during the debt ceiling crisis. He's 18, he could do anything, and I don't know if it will be politics, but he likes making a difference, and he's definitely serious about that.”

Speaking of his children, Lowe also stressed his relief that his youngsters have no desire to follow their dad’s footsteps.

“The good news is neither one of my kids showed any inclination to want to go into acting. I love my business and I wrote a book about it. My book is a love letter to the business and how good it's been to me. That said, my kids have really big brains and I love that they're going in a direction of making their mark in a different world,” he explained. “If they had the burning desire to be an actor like I did, then I would be really honored and I would be really proud of them. But they want to be entrepreneurs and go and conquer that world, because that's different. It's like me choosing material, I wanted to choose something new, and they’re blazing a new trail for our family.”

Lowe knows not to take himself – or his industry – too seriously. In addition to his new “Butterfinger” movie, which has now launched in 500 theaters nationally in a double feature with “Jack the Ripper,” and can also be viewed on Facebook, Lowe created a behind-the-scenes video blog mocking Hollywood.

“It's my version of me as a horrifyingly, egotistical, pretentious actor, and it's made in large part on experiences I've actually had,” he added. “In fact, the outfit I'm actually wearing, which is a fisherman's vest, you do a lot of fishing when you direct, and the faded pink baseball cap is actually an outfit that, I won't name his name, but a very famous Hollywood director who's made over a billion dollars at the box office, literally wears it every day.”

For more information visit:

http://www.roblowe.com/

Amarillo receives record breaking snow for Oct. 27

By

 BRITTANY NUNN Amarilllo woke to about 2.5 inches of snow on the ground at about 7 a.m. this morning, which is more snow than usual for the month of October.Meteorologists at the National Weather Service said they are still seeing light snow, but it is likely to die down by 3 p.m.

Meteorologist Sarah Johnson said a cold front swept through the region Tuesday, cooling down the atmosphere. The front end of a low-pressure system then brought precipitation, which started out as rain and turned to snow in some areas, she said.

According to the weather service’s preliminary snow totals, some parts of Amarillo have received almost five inches of snow. Johnson said Amarillo has received the most snow in the region.

Wildorado, Panhandle and Vega also have preliminary snow totals above two inches, she said.

Johnson said it is uncommon but not unheard of for Amarillo to receive snow in October. The average amount of snow received in October sits at at about .3 inches.

She said today's amount breaks the record for amount of snow received on Oct. 27., which was previously set at 2.4 in 1911.

Temperatures are still hovering around freezing, and the National Weather Service is predicting a high of about 40 degrees in Amarillo.

Johnson said there is only a slight chance of precipitation this afternoon and only in the far southern Texas panhandle.

Tonight the temperatures will once again be dipping below freezing, so any water on the road can be expected to re-freeze, she said.

"For the most part, it looks like Amarillo has been the big winner so far," Johnson said.

New York City Shatters October Snow Record

Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

An early season snowstorm created a winter wonderland across the Northeast. New York City shattered an October snow record with highest snow totals elsewhere across the Northeast topping 2 feet.

An unprecedented (for October) 2.9 inches of snow was measured in New York City's Central Park on Saturday.

Since snowfall records began in 1869, Central Park has never received an inch of snow on any given October day.

The last time that Central Park recorded measurable snow was on Oct. 21, 1952 when 0.5 of an inch fell. Prior to that, 0.8 of an inch fell on Oct. 30, 1925.

La Guardia and JFK International airports both set October snow records as well with 1.7 and 1.5 inches, respectively.

Other October Snow Records Smashed

Hartford, Conn., was buried by 12.3 inches of snow, shattering the record for the most snow ever received on an October day. The previous record was 1.7 inches set on Oct. 10, 1979.

An all-time snowfall record for any day in October was set in Worcester, Mass., with 11.4 inches of snow. The old record was 7.5 inches set on Oct. 10, 1979.

Newark, N.J., set a daily snow record with 5.2 inches of snow on Saturday. This will also go down in the record book as the greatest snow on any given day during the month of October. Previously, Newark had not received an inch of snow in October.

Daily Snowfall Records Set

Concord, N.H., was blanketed by 13.6 inches of snow, breaking the old daily record of 0.2 of an inch set back in 1952.

Albany, N.Y., set a daily snow record with 3.8 inches of snow. The previous record was 0.4 of an inch set back in 2000.

Another daily snow record was set in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday when 1.6 inches fell. The previous record was 0.6 of an inch from 2008.

Philadelphia got 0.3 of an inch of snow, breaking the old record of a trace for the date set way back in 1902. Likewise, Wilmington, Del., had 0.3 of an inch, surpassing the trace the city got in 2002.

The nation's capital got a dusting of snow that set a new record. The 0.6 of an inch that fell on Saturday was unprecedented. Previously, Washington, D.C., had never received snow on Oct. 29.

Below is a collection of other snow totals across the Northeast, as of 3:00 p.m. EDT Sunday.

Connecticut

--Bristol: 17.0 inches

--East Farmington Heights: 13.0 inches

--Manchester: 9.0 inches

New Hampshire

--Hillsboro: 21.5 inches

--Peterborough: 24.0 inches

--Jaffrey: 31.4 inches

Maine

--Bridgton: 17.5 inches

--Gray: 12.9 inches

--Otisfield: 14.0 inches

Massachusetts

--Plainfield: 30.8 inches

--Ashfield: 25.5 inches

--Worthington: 24.0 inches

--Goshen: 25.0 inches

New York

--Harriman: 16.0 inches

--Armonk: 12.5 inches

--Yankee Lake: 16.5 inches

--White Plains: 7.5 inches

--Yonkers: 7.0 inches

Pennsylvania

--Laurel Summit: 12.2 inches

--Freeland: 13.0 inches

--Mount Cobb: 12.7 inches

--Hazeleton: 16.0 inches

New Jersey

--West Milford: 19.0 inches

--North Caldwell: 12.0 inches

--Ringwood: 10.5 inches

Rare October snowstorm pelts the Northeast

UPDATE!
PHILADELPHIA — The unusually early snowstorm bringing heavy, wet snow to the East Coast has knocked out power to nearly 580,000 customers.

Most are in Pennsylvania. Utilities there say 428,000 customers have lost power. PPL spokeswoman Lissette Santana says 200 crews were working to restore it and would be joined by 30 more crews from Kentucky and standby contractors if needed.

The utility serves customers in northeast and central Pennsylvania.

More than 160,000 customers in lost power in Philadelphia and its suburbs Saturday afternoon.

In Connecticut, utilities reported more than 125,000 without service.

In New York, sporadic power outages are centered near Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. Scattered outages have been reported in New Jersey.

And spokesman Todd Meyers says Potomac Edison, the dominant utility in western Maryland, had more than 26,000 outages

BOSTON (Reuters) - Heavy snow was falling across parts of Pennsylvania on Saturday where thousands of households were already without power from a rare October snowstorm barreling up the East Coast.

Snow was coming down from central Pennsylvania up into southeastern New York and Connecticut after blanketing parts of Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland earlier in the day, AccuWeather.com forecasters said.

In Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, more than 63,000 customers were without power, according to Allegheny Power. At least 30,000 additional customers were without power in Pennsylvania and New Jersey based on Penelec reports.

Airport delays were reported at Philadelphia International Airport and at New York area airports. At John F Kennedy International Airport some arriving flights were delayed more than four hours.

Video: Hurricane Rina forms off the coast of Central America

The snow threatened posed traffic problems for some 100,000 college football fans trying to attend the game on Saturday afternoon between Penn State and the University of Illinois in State College, Pennsylvania.

The university warned fans not to park on grassy areas and to avoid pitching tents or driving large campers that might get stuck at the football stadium.

"It's a strong storm for October," said AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Paul Walker.

"We don't usually see storms this deep and this strong," he said, adding it was unusual to get accumulating snow this month.

The rare early season snowstorm was expected to unleash heavy, wet snow and wind across much of the Northeast on Saturday with some areas bracing for up to a foot of snow and major power outages.

For some, the big flakes and accumulation caused excitement, instead of headaches.

"There's almost like an electric buzz when the first snow falls," said Anna Weltz, communication director for Seven Springs Mountain Resort, located about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

By early afternoon, six inches of snow was already on the ground at the family ski resort, where phones were ringing off the hook with people asking about opening day.

"And it's still coming down," said Weltz. "What a sight."

The storm was moving northeast, starting as rain and changing to snow as temperatures dropped, and was expected to hit hardest areas west and northwest of the I-95 highway corridor, Walker said.

While October snow is not unprecedented, this storm could be record-setting in terms of snow totals.

Hartford, Connecticut, Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Worcester, Massachusetts were among the cities that could be blanketed with up to a foot of snow, forecasters said.

Allentown, for example, typically sees its first measurable snow around December 5, according to The Weather Channel.

Boston will generally see its first measurable snow around the end of November, while New York City and Philadelphia measure their first flakes, on average, mid-December.

The major coastal cities are not likely to be spared from this October nor'easter, meteorologists predicted.

New York City was bracing for up to four inches of snow, tapering off Saturday night, The Weather Channel said.

In Boston, the forecast called for a windy afternoon rain to turn to snow overnight, bringing up to three inches of white stuff, it said.

Wind gusts along the coast could reach 45 miles per hour, it said, adding to the tree limbs and power lines already expected to be down from the heavy, wet snow.

(Additional reporting by Ben Schmitt in Pittsburgh; Editing by Greg McCune)

Cards Win World Series

Allen Craig drifted back, reached up and made the catch, setting off a stampede from the dugout. The St. Louis Cardinals, the team that wasn’t even supposed to be here, had won a most remarkable World Series.

A World Series that saw plenty of drama, some history and a bit of the bizarre ended Friday night with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Texas Rangers by a score of 6-2 in the deciding Game 7.

For the National League champion Cardinals, it's the team's 11th World Series title. They got No. 11 in a year when for much of the season it looked like they wouldn't even be in the playoffs — the team was 10 1/2 games behind in the race for the National League's wildcard slot as recently as August.

Texas, which was also in last year's Series, has yet to win one.

The Cards were led again by third baseman David Freese. His two-run double in the bottom of the first inning erased a 2-0 lead the Rangers had jumped out to in the top of the inning.

Freese was named Series MVP, but not just for his play on Friday. He had already cemented his place in St. Louis and World Series sports lore with his performance in Game 6 on Thursday. He sent that game into extra innings with a triple in the 9th inning that scored two runs — at a moment when Texas had been one strike away from its first championship. Then in the 11th, Freese hit the game-winning home run.

As for Friday's game, here are a few other keys to the Cardinals' win:

— The Cardinals' Chris Carpenter, pitching on three days' rest instead of his usual four, shut down the Rangers after the first inning. He pitched into the 7th and gave up only six hits and no more runs.

— After Carpenter left the game, the Cardinals' four relievers gave up no hits.

— In the third inning, Cardinals left fielder Allen Craig hit his third home run of the Series to put St. Louis ahead.

Now that it's over, here's a quick recap of the highlights of what's already being called one of the best Fall Classics ever:

— Game 1, First Inning; The Dive: Carpenter ran to cover the bag at first base, and had to dive to the ground to get the ball that had been tossed his way by first baseman Albert Pujols. "As his long frame hit the ground he tagged the base with his glove hand, at the same time pulling his pitching hand away to protect it from the batter's oncoming cleats," NPR's Tom Goldman said afterward. "How cool to see a pitcher getting dirty."

The play, Tom added, "served notice that the game, perhaps the Series, is going to be a diving for every out, clawing for every run affair."

— Game 3, The "Greatest Night Ever": Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols bashed three home runs. That tied the record for a single World Series game. And he got five hits total and batted in six runs. His team's manager, Tony LaRussa, called it "the greatest night in World Series history." Interestingly, Pujols would get just one other hit the entire Series, in Game 6.

— Game 4; "NAPOLI! NAPOLI! NAPOLI!": If the Rangers had ended up winning the Series, the MVP might have been Texas catcher Mike Napoli. His three-run homer in the game put the team on its way to a 4-0 victory and had fans in Texas chanting his name.

— Game 5; The Bizarre: The other thing that would have happened if Texas had won Game 7 is more talk about something that has been discussed, and discussed and discussed some more — the Cardinals' huge screwup in Game 5.

As we wrote the next day:

In the 8th inning when the score was tied at 2, Napoli came to bat. Three of his teammates were on base.

Napoli is a right-handed batter. The Cardinals pitcher at the moment was Marc Rzepczynski, a lefty who has a pretty bad record against right-handed batters. So the logical thing for LaRussa to do, as everyone watching knew, was to bring in Cardinals closer Jason Motte to pitch. He's a righty who specializes in getting guys like Napoli out.

But Motte didn't leave the bullpen for the mound.

It turns out that LaRussa had called the bullpen — twice — to say he wanted Motte to be ready to go in. But bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist misheard. So Motte never got ready. And Napoli slapped a double. Two runs scored. The Rangers won.

— The Delay: Game 6 was supposed to be played on Wednesday, but got rained out and bumped to Thursday. That meant a Game 7, if necessary, would be played Friday — allowing Carpenter, the Cardinals' best pitcher, to take the mound. But would he be effective on just three days' rest? Turns out he was. So Mother Nature, some will say, played a part in the Cardinals' victory.

— Game 6; Freese's Magic Night: As we said, not only did Freese put the game into extra innings when all Texas needed was one more strike to be World Champions, he then came back to win the game for St. Louis.

And wouldn't you know it? He grew up in a St. Louis suburb. Sounds like something from the movies.

Paul McCartney: Remakes Ebony and Ivory!

DETROIT (AP) - During a summer visit to a Motown recording studio, former Beatle Paul McCartney wanted to run his fingers along an 1877 Steinway grand piano played by some Detroit music greats he considers idols.

“He was disappointed when we told him it didn’t play,” Motown Historical Museum chief executive Audley Smith Jr., told The Detroit News for a story ( http://bit.ly/trOphs) Saturday.

Undaunted, the legendary roll and roller from England told museum officials following a July concert at Comerica Park that he wanted to help restore it.

On Monday, the piano will be picked up from the Detroit museum and shipped to Steinway & Sons in New York for restoration. The work is expected to take up to five months.

The piano company has to assess the piano’s condition before a cost can be determined.

“Steinway & Sons is honored to restore the historic Steinway piano that was used by such legends as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder _ and to do so in the very same New York factory where it was originally built in 1877,” Steinway & Sons President of Americas Ron Losby told the newspaper in a statement.

“We’re especially proud, as an American company, to help the Motown Museum in preserving the legacy of the Motown Record Company, whose artists and albums played such a vital role in one of the great eras of American music.”

For more information visit:

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Indy: Sugarland returns for emotional, celebratory show

INDIANAPOLIS - Sugarland returned to Indianapolis Friday to perform and pay tribute to those in attendance at an August show canceled by a deadly stage collapse.

Little Maggie Mullen was one of those injured in the stage collapse. She came to Friday's show wearing a pink tutu and a special t-shirt, with her picture on the front and Sugarland on the back.

"Maggie goes through therapy a couple times a week. She has to gain some strength and some motion in her left arm, but she compensates for it and she's tough," said her mother, Laura Magdziarz.

Once inside, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush set the tone.

"We are so happy to be here with you and we are so happy that you are here for everything that means tonight," Nettles said. "We went earlier today out to the site at the fairgrounds, which was the first time we have been there since August and I can acknowledge that it may be an emotional show tonight, but it will also be a celebratory show tonight."

First to sing was Corey Cox of Pendleton, vowing to auction off his guitar strap to raise money for Andrea Vellinga, the young mother still in rehab.

"Our entire town was painted pink in honor of her," he told the crowd.

His act was followed by Rita Wilson, wife of actor Tom Hanks. Then Sugarland took the stage, starting with "All We Are."

"It's just special. She said 'These people need this.' I mean, that's what she told me," Cox said. "It's true. A lot of people needed closure that didn't get to see them on August 13. Now they're getting to see a great show, she was really excited for it and, you know, I think the people are getting what they came to see."

"A lot of us have been hurt and there was a lot of tragedy that happened in August and I think this was going to help kind of start mending and helping people know that some of us that were injured are recuperating, doing better and we made a lot of friends. Lifetime friends and some poor memories or bad memories that I think is going to turn around and we're all going to kind of help each other through this," said Lisa Hite of Logansport.

Seven people were killed and several more were injured when gusting winds blew the stage rigging into the crowd at the band's show at the Indiana State Fair.

Pritzker Family Business Founder Dies at 85

 

CHICAGO October 29, 2011 (AP)

Businessman Robert Pritzker, who led a global industrial conglomerate and whose family founded the Hyatt chain of hotels, has died. He was 85.
Pritzker died Thursday evening in a Chicago nursing facility after suffering from Parkinson's disease, his executive assistant Becky Spooner said Friday.
Pritzker founded and was chairman and president of the Marmon Group, an international conglomerate of manufacturing and service companies. His business acumen helped Marmon Group revenues grow into the billions of dollars and through hundreds of acquisitions over 50 years, company officials said. The company was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2008.

In 2002, at age 76, Pritzker acquired several caster, medical device and hardware companies to form Colson Associates.
Pritzker was the brother of Jay Pritzker, who was founder and chairman of the Hyatt Hotel chain and among the richest people in the United States when he died in 1999 in Chicago.
Pritzker was born in Chicago on June 30, 1926. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with an industrial engineering degree in 1946 and later became chairman of the school's board of trustees. The school now has a Pritzker Institute for Medical Engineering.
Throughout his career Pritzker taught management and engineering courses at IIT, the University of Chicago and Oxford University. He also was chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers and worked with the National Academy of Engineering.
Pritzker is survived by his wife, Mayari, five children, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

NBA Cancels Games Through Nov. 30

by The Associated Press 

NBA Commissioner David Stern has canceled all NBA games through Nov. 30.
The move came Friday after labor negotiations broke down for the second time in a week.
"It's not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now," Stern says.
After two days of making some progress on salary cap issues, the two sides brought the revenue split back into the discussion and got stuck on both.
Owners are insistent on a 50-50 split of revenues, while players last formally proposed they get 52.5 percent, leaving them about $100 million apart annually. Players were guaranteed 57 percent in the previous collective bargaining agreement.
No further talks have been scheduled.

Australia has the best surfing beaches on the planet.

WE'VE proudly boasted about it for years but now the world's experts have agreed - Australia has the best surfing beaches on the planet.

The acknowledgment came from an international gathering of scientists, legislators, environmentalists and surfers at the Global Wave Conference in France this week.

"Australia has long been regarded as having many great beaches," National Surfing Reserves chairman Brad Farmer, who's attending the conference, said yesterday. "Now this conference is recognising Australia's 10,000 plus beaches as the world's best."

Four times world professional surfing champion Mark Richards, from Newcastle, said the world's biggest island was blessed by a coastline which offered something for every wave rider.

"Except for the Northern Territory - and even there they surf in Darwin when cyclones make waves - every state has just so many waves," Mr Richards said. "There is something for everyone on our coast. You can be a raw beginner and easily find non-threatening warm little waves or you can challenge yourself to big, gnarly, thick-lipped cold slabs of water.

"And the coast itself is so varied; beaches with yellow sand, beaches with white sand, beaches backed by high cliffs or beaches backed by amazing dunes. The surf writer Tim Baker got it right when he said India has the Taj Mahal, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, London has Big Ben but Australia's iconic symbol is its beaches."

Surfing Australia CEO Andrew Stark said many other countries, even those with long coastlines, had only small stretches where there were waves.

"Even places like Hawaii and Indonesia have relatively small coasts where rideable waves happen," he said.

"Then you can add amazing water quality in most beaches here - there's a reason we have the world's biggest learn-to-surf industry."

Mr Farmer, founder of the organisation he represents, is lobbying for the establishment of a ministry for coasts in Australia to help protect beaches.

"The world is looking to Australia to manage and protect beaches."

Norway: Tromsø wants Arctic oil base

The city of Tromsø wants to build a permanent base for oil and gas operations in the Arctic. Local authorities in the city, the biggest in Norway north of the Polar Circle, are keen to proceed with plans for a permanent base. –With the increasing level of activities in the High North, there is a major need for such a base, Assistant Port Director Randi Thørring says to newspaper Nordlys.

The city this summer proved that it was able to handle base operations for the oil industry when technical maintenance operations on the Polar Pioneer rig were successful carried out in local facilities.

Tromsø now wants to start developing the local Grøtsund Industrial Park with 80,000 square meters of land and a 220 meter long pier. Water depth in the area is 22 meters. The development of the base area can start from March 2012 and be completed in mid-2013, Thørring says.

-Tromsø has everything needed; hotels, an airport and other facilities required by the industry, she underlines.

(barentsobserver)