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Chile names 23-man WCup squad

Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa has omitted defender Roberto Cereceda from his final 23-man squad for the World Cup.

Cereceda was included in the initial squad as cover for Universidad de Chile midfielder Marco Estrada, who has since proven his fitness.

The final squad named Tuesday, which is dominated by European-based players, includes Real Zaragoza forward Humberto Suazo, who has been reported in various media as having suffered a hamstring injury in training this week.

Bielsa reduced his 30-man squad to 25 players last month, before further paring it back with the omission of striker Hector Mancilla shortly after.

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County man catches a robber without its mask: Rare albino raccoon caught outside city

Conward "Red" Humphreys is used to finding fat, sneaky raccoonsraiding his chicken coop at night.

What threw him a couple of days ago was the white fur, glowing redeyes and missing mask of the animal that padded onto his property.

Humphreys on Tuesday found what seems to be an albino raccoon, arare white or off-white breed of the familiar creature often foundmaking a racket with garbage cans and pet food dishes.

Humphreys, who uses a cage to catch and release raccoons thatfrequently creep into his yard and dine on his chickens, planned torelease the strange and surprising creature back into the wild today.

He found it sitting in the cage late Tuesday …

Sundhage Hired to Coach US Women

Former Swedish star Pia Sundhage was hired Tuesday to lead the U.S. women's soccer team through the 2008 Olympics, as American officials turn to a foreign coach for the first time.

Sundhage, an assistant for China during this year's World Cup, is familiar with many of the U.S. players after coaching in WUSA during the league's three years of existence.

The 47-year-old Sundhage replaces Greg Ryan, whose contract was not renewed after the Americans finished third at the World Cup. His departure followed a contentious decision to switch goalies before the U.S. team's lopsided semifinal loss.

Ryan was 45-1-9, with the lone loss resulting in the …

Are you ready for the new Apple tablet?

For all the excitement and discussion about the next great thing from Apple, its groundbreaking new tablet computer, one things seems to get lost in translation:

IT DOESN'T EXIST …

At last - McCaskey's shot at a McRoast

There probably isn't anyone who would enjoy roasting Jim McMahonmore than Michael McCaskey.

Now the Bears owner has his opportunity.

McCaskey - ridiculed extensively by McMahon in his best-sellingbook McMahon! - has been invited to be a roaster at "McMahon of theYear - A Roast."

And you thought Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvelous Marvin Hagler wasthe fight of the century.

McCaskey has yet to respond to the invitation, and yesterday didnot return a phone call on the subject.

If he decides to attend the April 24 event at the ChicagoHilton, …

Official: Japan Prime Minister to Resign

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose year-old government has suffered a string of damaging scandals and a humiliating electoral defeat, has told ruling party leaders he intends to resign, an official said Wednesday.

Tadamori Oshima, parliamentary affairs chief for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Abe would make a statement later in the day.

"Unfortunately, he will announce that he will resign," Oshima told party members.

National broadcaster NHK said Abe made the announcement in a morning meeting with ruling party leaders, citing unidentified top officials of the Liberal Democratic Party. Other TV networks carried similar reports.

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Italy's Mediaset looks to grow in pay TV market

In one small corner of the media market, the world of Italian pay television, it's Berlusconi vs. Murdoch.

The chief financial officer of Mediaset, founded by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi before he went into politics, doesn't look at it that way, though.

Marco Giordani says Mediaset's push into pay television, which until two years was inhabited only by Murdoch's Sky Italia, was sparked by the advent of new technology in the form of digital terrestrial and the decline of advertising revenues on traditional free-to-air television _ not as an epic battle of media moguls.

"The decision to enter this market is not a decision to go up against …

Contrasting wines best with ham, lamb

It's lamb and ham time. It's spring. It's Easter. Celebratethe season with wines that make special occasions even more festiveand flavorful.

I love Pinot Noir from almost anywhere in the world with lamb.But I found some great Pinot Noir renderings closer to home inOregon.

Over-all, my old Oregon favorites are still pleasing my palatewith their 1989 releases.

Ponzi 1989 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley ($15) offers a licoriceand orange bouquet and plenty of ripe cherry flavor. The color isslightly light cherry, but the flavor is intense. The price isroughly $20-$22 a bottle.

Adelsheim Vineyards 1989 Pinot Noir, Seven Springs Vineyard($20) is …

UN launches new assessment of NKorea food needs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United Nations said Monday it had begun a new assessment of impoverished North Korea's food needs, as an influential Republican U.S. senator warned the Obama administration against resuming such aid to the communist nation without adequate monitoring.

Sen. Richard Lugar, the leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said any resumption should depend on ensuring that aid gets to hungry civilians rather than to the military, "whose care is already a priority over the rest of the population."

North Korea suffered a famine in the early and mid 1990s and still struggles to feed its people. It reportedly has asked the United States and other …

Venus Williams aiming to win more titles in 2010

Venus Williams is intent on winning more tournaments in 2010 than her two titles last year and plans to start by retaining the Dubai Tennis Championship.

Williams won back-to-back events in Dubai and Acapulco in 2009 but then lost in the final at Wimbledon, Stanford and the season-ending WTA Tour Championship in Doha.

The American has won five Wimbledon titles, the last in 2008, but hasn't won any other major since the 2001 U.S. Open.

"I may not have won many tournaments but I came close to winning a couple of big ones last year," Williams said. "Obviously, I go into each tournament wanting to win. And I am aware that I haven't won …

[ OUT & ABOUT ]

Odetta, known as "The Queen of American Folk Music," will give twoconcerts on Saturday at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The two free concerts, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., are geared forfamilies and were designed especially for the Art Institute.

The singer …

Belarus police stifle opposition rally in capital

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Police in Belarus detained at least three opposition activists and prevented dozens more from protesting against the jailing of opposition leaders in a rare downtown rally in the capital.

An Associated Press journalist saw police detain the activists on central Oktyabrskaya square Friday evening as dozens came there with portraits of two presidential candidates and activists who have been jailed since December.

Protesters shouted: "Gadhafi for today, Lukashenko tomorrow!" Police did not use violence to disperse the rally, but they took away a megaphone and the portraits of opposition leaders from the protesters, and mingled in their group, preventing them …

Memories abound on 300 march

Commissioner Bud Selig is a history buff, especially when itinvolves numbers.

"I've been enchanted by the number 300 since watching Warren Spahnwin his 300th in 1961 in Milwaukee when I was a boy," said Selig, whowas at Wrigley Field on Sunday to watch Greg Maddux's bid to join theelite club. "I can tell you all about the game. It was 2-1 over theCubs, and Gino Cimoli made a great catch in the outfield.

"I was just thinking about who Maddux reminds me of, and I'd haveto say Warren himself. Maddux is professional like Warren and was atrue pitcher like Warren."

Maddux wasn't the pitcher of record in the Cubs' 6-3 victory,leaving after six innings with the Cubs trailing 3-2. Selig said heprobably will watch Maddux's next attempt at 300 this weekend in SanFrancisco against the Giants.

Phillies manager Larry Bowa was two years removed from the Cubs asa player when Maddux made his debut.

"I don't want to say he was cocky when he first came up, but youcould tell he believed in himself," Bowa said. "Few pitchers changespeeds like he does. He's particularly tough when he has two strikeson the batter.

"He's a good athlete, too. He likes to hit and run the bases, andhe's great with his glove. I've seen him make plays you wouldn'tbelieve.

"He's a pretty special guy as a player and a person, certainly thekind you'd want on your team."

Phillies coach John Vukovich was a Cubs coach when Maddux, then20, beat the Reds 11-3 in Cincinnati on Sept. 7, 1986, for his firstvictory.

"I'd heard a lot about him, but I wasn't smart enough to say atthe time, Hey, this guy is going to win 300 games,"' Vukovich said."He threw harder then, but he didn't have the assortment of pitchesyou need to win consistently up here."

Vukovich remembers the first pregame meeting he had with Madduxand catcher Keith Moreland to go over Reds hitters.

"We were going over the signs -- one for a fastball, two for acurve, three for a slider," Vukovich said. "Maddux felt we shouldhave a sign for the cutter, but Moreland said, I can catch whateveryou throw.'

"Right away, Greg said, You can't catch this one if you don't knowit's coming.'

"What impresses me is, he hasn't changed a bit. He loves to pitch,he likes swinging the bat. He even likes shagging flies."

Cubs bench coach Dick Pole thinks Maddux's boyish looks havehelped his career.

"He doesn't look like a hit man," Pole said. "I've seen a lot ofguys go out to the mound looking like they could kill the batter, butit's the other way around. Greg goes out looking like he's going toget killed, but he's the one doing the slaying."

Water Act Critical for Clinton, Environmentalists

WASHINGTON The Safe Drinking Water Act - environmentallegislation trickling through the legislative process on Capitol Hill- would not seem to be the sort of measure that could color apresident's political future.

And yet, with Congress slated to begin debate on the bill in thecoming week, the nation's principal environmental organizations aremaking the water act the bellwether of their future relations withPresident Clinton.

If in the coming weeks the president joins their fight toprotect water quality standards from compromises sought by manystates and local water-management agencies, environmentalists saythat their relations with the administration - which got off to arocky start - will be amicable.

They reason that, after Clinton retreated in the face ofopposition on so many initiatives important to them, he must take astand for the bill. A tough White House posture would scareopponents, rally environmentalists and set a new tone for a welter ofenvironmental legislation to follow.

But if, in their eyes, the president ducks the fight and allowsCongress to lower drinking water standards, environmentalists say thefuture of relations may be irreparably harmed. And that, in turn,could prompt the nation's green groups to sit out Clinton'sre-election campaign, as well as a few races that are seen asimportant to his fate - such as California's gubernatorial race.

How did it come to this?

It is a measure of the ferment in relations between the Clintonadministration and the environmental community that thereauthorization of an obscure law such as the Safe Drinking Water Acthas become a potential turning point for the nation'senvironmentalists.

After 12 years of Republican administrations, whenenvironmentalists found the White House door virtually closed tothem, the first year of the Clinton administration brought themaccess to the president and personnel appointments that surpassedtheir hopes.

And yet, said Jim Maddy, executive director of the League ofConservation Voters, there is a "broadly felt sense" among the greengroups that the Clinton administration's rhetorical embrace of theircauses has not translated into clear policy victories.

The disappointment began when Clinton, facing a storm of Senateopposition, withdrew a proposal to raise fees charged to ranchers forgrazing their livestock on federal lands - an increase that had beenhailed by the green groups. That pattern continued when Clintonbacked down on imposing a broad-gauged energy tax sought byenvironmentalists after congressional critics balked.

On issues as varied as pesticide reform, greenhouse gasreduction and a plan to clean up the Everglades, environmentalistslament that the Clinton administration has reached for politicallyexpedient compromises that pose risks to the environment and publichealth.

In the administration's defense, officials pointed to theenvironmental stature of its appointees, the ambition of Clinton'sagenda and the access and consideration accorded to green groups inadministration deliberations. But they also complained of theenvironmentalists' "overly optimistic view of what could beaccomplished."

Italian govt seeks to cut deficit by (EURO)25 bln

Italians are bracing for spending cuts as the government seeks to put its accounts in order to protect the nation's high debt load from market speculation.

Parliament is set to approve hotly contested spending cuts on Tuesday, which could include pay freezes for most public workers, but cuts for those highest paid, and may include trims to the nation's revered health system. The education minister has even suggested starting schools at the end of September instead of the middle of the month, allowing families to take longer vacations and boost tourism.

Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has pledged to go after high salaries in the nation's bloated bureacracy, reportedly seeking cuts of 5 percent to those who earn more than (EURO)90,000 and 10 percent for those who earn more than (EURO)120,000. In addition, freezing public salaries for three years would save (EURO)3 billion.

That cuts would cut the deficit by (EURO)25 billion ($31 billion), to 2.7 percent of GDP, by 2012. The measure is aimed at keeping Italy's bond auctions healthy. Despite concern of contagion from Greece, the Treasury has had no trouble covering its bond sales in recent auctions.

Italian officials have cited the fact that about half of Italian bonds are sold domestically as reason to believe its high debt, at about 115 percent of GDP, is stable and less liable to fall prone to market speculation.

Such spending cuts would be welcome by Italian workers, among Europe's lowest paid with an average salary of (EURO)14,700 ($18,000) a year, and the hardest hit in Italy by the crisis, which has idled factories and put many on temporary layoff with reduced compensation.

"In Italy, there are many people who earn too much and it is always those who produce wares and primary goods that make sacrifices," said Alfonso Perrotta, who was passing out pamphlets last week against the privatization of the public water supply in central Rome. "I agree with the cuts that Tremonti has proposed. It is right that they should pay for this crisis, and not those who conduct honest lives of sacrifices and hard work."

In Italy, the high debt level maintained by the country has injected cash into the system, creating a false sense of well-being that cannot be sustained, said Bocconi University economist Fabrizio Pezzani.

"We distribute riches without having produced them. This creates a living standard that is above their own possibility. We need to see where we are spending these resouorces, where we are spending badly, and we need to progressively intervene to reduce" the waste," Pezzani said.

As an example, he cited state spending for daycare, which varies from (EURO)6,000 ($7,362) for every child in Modena in the wealthy north, to (EURO)15,000 ($18,405) in Palermo, Sicily. The difference becomes a sort of welfare payment that is siphoned off, and clearly not necessary for the real job.

"If I spend (EURO)15,000 it is clear I am financing a system of masked welfare. We cannot maintain it," he said.

Most economists agree Italy's real issue is finding ways to spur growth, including by loosening up the labor market, and in cutting tax evasion.