New Jersey offers deal to those behind on taxes

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey officials are giving a break to people who have unpaid tax liabilities as the state struggles to meet revenue projections.

But the state treasury department says the deal, announced Wednesday, is not an amnesty.

Gov. Chris Christie has previously said he opposes using an amnesty program to get a shot of revenue.

The state announced earlier this year that it expected to fall $1.3 billion short of its revenue target for the fiscal year that ended June 30. A bond document last week found that the revenue reported so far was $275 million below even that mark. The state also warned that it could struggle to meet its projections this year largely because of a wave of casino closings. Last week, the bond-rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's debt, citing structurally unsound budgets and delayed pension fund contributions.

The initiative runs through Nov. 17. Taxpayers who participate agree to pay their full tax bill and interest and can ask for penalties to be reduced or eliminated.

Like with an amnesty program, the state and the taxpayer would agree that the matter is closed and not to pursue any further legal action over the bills.

Treasury spokesman Joseph Perone does not have an estimate for how much it might raise. He said that the initiative is being offered as a convenience to taxpayers. Perone said the new effort formalizes arrangements that have previously been available to taxpayers.

People with outstanding liabilities for the tax years 2005 through 2013 are eligible.

It's the first initiative of its kind since Christie became governor in 2010.

Amid the Great Recession in 2009 when Jon Corzine was governor, the state had an amnesty program that brought in $725 million — more than three times what was expected.

Europeans have little appetite for U.S. apples

WASHINGTON -- With the harvest underway, Jon Alegria figures he’ll pack more than 400 million apples from this year’s crop by mid-November, relying on a widely used chemical to keep them looking fresh for months.

Before sending them to warehouses, Alegria will coat roughly half of his apples with diphenylamine, or DPA, to prevent scald that would make the fruit turn brown or black.

“If you get that, nobody’s going to buy it,” said Alegria, 36, an apple grower from Tieton, Wash., calling the chemical “a necessary tool.”

In Washington state, growers boast that their apples are the best in the world. But that view is far from unanimous: Fearing possible ill health effects from the chemical, Europeans want nothing to do with them.

It’s another example of the wide gulf separating the United States and the European Union when it comes to food safety.

While the U.S. government says that DPA is safe, the European Commission in 2012 banned its use on apples and other fruit grown in the 28 EU nations. In March, the commission put into effect strict new DPA residue limits on imported apples, effectively blocking anything from the United States besides organic apples.

Convinced that their product has been unfairly maligned, U.S. growers now want to gain more access to the vast European market as part of the Obama administration’s ongoing trade talks with the EU, set for a seventh round on Sept. 29.

It won’t be easy, with apples stirring just one of many food fights between the two economic giants.

Europeans object to many common American practices, including giving drugs to pigs to make them leaner, rinsing chickens in chlorine and mixing burley tobacco with additives.

Responding to the European objections, the U.S. government in June sent a letter that said there’s no need for consumers to worry.

Treating apples with DPA “is safe and does not present a health risk of concern for the U.S. food supply,” Jack Housenger, who heads the office of pesticide programs for the Environmental Protection Agency, said in the letter to the European Food Safety Authority.

Backers of DPA say the chemical has been targeted for criticism for unscientific reasons.

Mark Powers, executive vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council in Yakima, Wash., said DPA is both safe and “good to use.” He said apple growers now want U.S. negotiators to insist on greater access to European markets to make sure Europeans don’t gain an upper hand.

“We’re very concerned that the U.S. is going to open up and liberalize more for European products and we will not be able to export into the EU,” Powers said.

Some environmental groups want the United States to follow Europe’s lead, with DPA now used on roughly 80 percent of all U.S. apples.

While the federal government says the chemical is of low toxicity and not likely to cause cancer, critics say that more testing should be done.

“This is a provocative move by the European government,” said Sonja Lunder, senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group, a health and environmental research group.

She said it would be a mistake for trade negotiators to push for “the lowest common denominator.” She predicted that it would be tough for the EU to agree to any demands of U.S. apple growers anyway. “I don’t get how you sell that to your people,” she said.

Under the new European limit, no apples can be imported if they contain more than .01 part per million of DPA. Lunder said U.S. apples have a concentration that’s roughly four times higher, at .42 parts per million.

The EU did not find evidence that DPA had caused harm. But it acted after concluding that there was insufficient data from pesticide producers to show that DPA applied to fruit would not break down into nitrosamines, a family of carcinogens.

In April, the Washington State Department of Agriculture said the new rule would close the European market for all conventionally grown U.S. apples. State officials say it could result in lost sales of up to $25 million per year.

“In my opinion, I have no doubt about their safety,” said Washington state Agricultural Director Donald Hover. “For us, we’re the No. 1 producer of apples in the United States and we produce close to 60 percent of all the apples that are grown in the United States. So any kind of restrictions in the European market or any other market are going to have an effect on us.”

Wendy Brannen, director of consumer health and public relations for the Virginia-based U.S. Apple Association, said that U.S. apple growers abide by “rigorous and reliable” regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency. She said DPA helps both reduce storage scald and prevent rotting.

“Our priority is to assure consumers that U.S.-grown apples are safe and that DPA is used sparingly and safely,” Brannen said.

DPA was first registered as a pesticide with the federal government in 1947. When the EPA reviewed it 16 years ago, the agency said that dietary exposure to the pesticide residues in foods “is within acceptable limits.” The agency said the greater risk is to workers who handle DPA. It advised them to wear chemical-resistant gloves and long-sleeved shirts and pants to minimize exposure.

In a letter to the agency in April, Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook said that DPA should be banned in the U.S. pending the results of a new comprehensive investigation. In the past, he said, researchers have discovered that pesticides once thought to be safe were found to be toxic, citing arsenic as an example.

“The American public deserves the same level of protection as Europeans from pesticide risks,” Cook wrote in his letter.

The group said it was not satisfied with the EPA’s most recent assurances that DPA is safe, saying a more thorough analysis is still warranted. Among other things, the group wants the EPA to insist that DPA manufacturers collect and disclose data showing whether toxic chemicals can form when raw fruits coated with DPA are stored for long periods or processed into juices and sauces.

The Obama administration is getting pressure from members of Congress to side with U.S. apple growers, too.

Nine senators, led by Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington state and Republican Mike Crapo of Idaho, wrote a letter in November to U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman, complaining that apple and pear exports to Europe already had declined by 73 percent over the past five years. The letter said that EU food rules on pesticides and additives often “diverge” from the U.S. science-based approach and urged the Obama team to make it easier to sell U.S. agriculture products in Europe.

Alegria, the president of CPC International Apple Co., began harvesting his apples in early August and expects to wrap up by Nov. 15. He said he’s expecting to pack at least 4 million boxes this year, each containing an average of 100 apples: Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious and others. He said that not all varieties require DPA, but he expects to use the chemical on 45 to 50 percent of his apples this year. Only 10 percent of his apples are organic.

Alegria, a second-generation apple grower who’s been in the business for 18 years, said there are two ways to apply the chemical: either by drenching the apples or by using a “fogging process.” He said that coating the apples with DPA can allow them to be stored from eight months to a year after harvest.

While apple growers in the U.S. rely on science, Alegria said, he thinks the European system “is a different market” with different concerns.

“This is a tough way to put it, but I’m going to say it’s media-based,” he said. “The concept of a perceived problem is actually worse than the actual problem.”

He said the disputes over food issues with Europe have made it difficult for consumers to understand what foods they can eat, but he has no doubt that U.S. apples are safe.

“Nobody’s gotten sick,” Alegria said. “The biggest thing with DPA is it’s a safe product _ it’s been scientifically proven to be safe. That’s the big thing.”

In the meantime, apple growers face a long wait in knowing whether the trade rules will change.

When Obama announced in February 2013 his plan to expand trade with Europe, administration officials said they hoped to wrap up talks on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, by the end of 2014.

While the next round of talks are set for Sept. 29-Oct. 3 in Washington, D.C., EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told reporters last week that political changes in the European Union and the November elections in the United States have put any big decisions on hold.

“Let’s be realistic: An agreement on TTIP, in the best of all worlds, would be at the end of next year,” he said.

Fed offers clarity, sort of, as bond buying ends

By Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve Wednesday announced it would trim its bond buying by another $10 billion, leaving it on course to end next month the controversial program designed to support the sluggish U. S. economic recovery.

The Fed has been tapering off its purchases this year with each successive meeting of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, and as of Wednesday will be purchasing just $15 billion starting in October.

“If incoming information broadly supports the committee’s expectation … the committee will end this program at our next meeting,” said Fed Chair Janet Yellen, at the start of a news conference.

Two FOMC members_ Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser_ voted against the statement, each voicing concern that stronger economic growth may spark inflation that’d force the Fed to begin raising interest rates more quickly than many anticipate.

“We do have a range of views in the committee, I don’t consider two dissents to be an abnormally large number,” Yellen said. “Presidents Fisher and Plosser have been quite clear … that they think the time has come to begin normalizing policy.”

The Fed chief herself didn’t anticipate an overheating scenario, noting repeatedly in her news conference that there is plenty of slack still in the job market and the economy is not near full employment.

“There is significant underutilization of labor resources,” Yellen said, suggesting that wages will remain flat as the job market is nowhere near tight and workers can’t demand higher pay. She added that there is debate over whether the unemployment rate today is an adequate gauge of workforce health.

The close Wednesday of the Fed’s two-day meeting also offered an update to the economic projections of Federal Reserve board members and bank presidents. The September forecast is a touch softer on economic growth, with the central tendency of members being within a range of 2 percent to 2.2 percent for 2014 and 2.6 percent to 3 percent in 2015. In June, members saw 2014 growth in a range between 2.1 percent and 2.3 percent and between 3 percent and 3.2 percent next year.

On the labor front, the September forecast sees 2014 closing with an unemployment rate between 5.9 percent and 6 percent, a slight improvement over the June projection of a range between 6 percent and 6.1 percent. The national jobless rate stood at 6.1 percent in August.

Yellen’s announcement to end bond buying was hardly a surprise as economists long expected the effort_ called quantitative easing, or QE_ to end at the late October meeting.

But the end of the bond buying means the start of a very uncertain path.

For the past two years, the Fed’s purchase of trillions of dollars in mortgage and government bonds helped juice financial markets and keep long-term lending rates unusually low for consumers and businesses. When the program ends, some fear a spark in inflation and a related sharper-than-expected rise in lending rates, which could stunt an already sluggish recovery.

To that end, Yellen and Fed colleagues Wednesday released a statement on Policy Normalization Principles and Plans, which the Fed chief insisted does not signal a change” in current or future policy. The Fed is worried that after five years of a near-zero benchmark lending rate, financial markets and ordinary Americans may find it unsettling to return to a more volatile lending-rate environment. The statement was designed to spell out the expected path for a return to past normalcy.

That policy statement also answered one question that economists have long speculated about, how the Fed will seek to influence rate increases. Yellen said the Fed hopes to influence this rate by adjusting the rate its pays private banks on excess reserves parked at the Fed’s district banks.

The Fed will, in a gradual and predictable manner, cease to reinvest earnings from its bond holdings and actually shed its holdings, Yellen said. For the first time, Yellen put a timetable on the reduction of assets the Fed holds, saying “it could take to the end of the decade to achieve those levels.”

But the Fed chair cautioned that mortgage bonds won’t be sold off anytime soon, suggesting the Fed feels the weak housing market is still in need of as much help as it can get.

Yellen punted on comment about a timely sensitive issue worrying financial markets, Thursday’s vote in Scotland on whether to separate from the United Kingdom.

“I wouldn’t want to weigh in on this today,” Yellen said, noting only that “they’ve had a good debate.”

Investors buy German debt at negative rates

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Investors have bought billions of euros in German treasury notes that pay negative interest — meaning the purchasers agreed to pay a small fee for the privilege of lending the German government their money.

The negative yield is a sign of the stresses in the 18-country eurozone, where the economy is struggling to maintain a weak recovery.

Germany auctioned 3.34 billion euros ($4.3 billion) Wednesday in two-year notes at an average yield of minus 0.07 percent.

Rates are very low all over, and German debt is considered ultra-safe, so security-minded investors are paying for safety. Expectation the European Central Bank will buy bonds has also driven down yields, which move opposite to prices. And the small negative yield on the notes is still a better alternative than the minus 0.2 percent that the ECB charges banks deposit money with it.

The European Central Bank has slashed its interest rate benchmarks in an attempt to spur growth and lift inflation. Its refinancing rate charged to banks for credit is at a record low 0.05 percent. Beyond that, it has said it will purchase bonds backed by bank loans, and is considering even larger-scale purchases of government bonds. Both would pump newly-created money into the economy, a step aimed at lowering interest rates even more and getting credit flowing to companies.

The threat faced by the ECB is anemic growth — the eurozone didn't grow at all in the second quarter — compounded by alarmingly low rates of inflation. The current rate of an annual 0.4 percent is well below its goal of just under 2 percent.

Low inflation has raised fears of outright deflation or falling prices. Higher bond prices, and lower yields, could reflect increased expectations of deflation, since bond holders would be repaid in currency that is worth more.

Deflation can be poison for the overall economy, however, if it leads consumers to postpone purchases in the expectation that prices will fall even further.

Chinese shoe manufacturer says CEO, cash vanished

FRANKFURT -- A Chinese shoe manufacturer says two of its top executives have vanished, along with most of the company's cash.

Germany-listed Ultrasonic AG said in a statement Tuesday it has been unable to reach its chief executive, Qingyong Wu, and chief operating officer, Minghong Wu, since the weekend.

Company inquiries indicated that both men "apparently left their homes and are not traceable" and that most of the company's cash in China and Hong Kong has been transferred beyond its control.

It said that the German holding company still has a "relevant six-figure amount" that will allow it to pay its bills.

Earlier this year, Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese menswear retailer Fujian Nuoqi reported that its chairman went missing after he transferred millions of dollars of company money to outside accounts.

Eurozone August inflation revised up to 0.4 pct

BRUSSELS -- The inflation rate in August for the 18 countries using the euro has been revised up slightly.

The European Union's statistics office, Eurostat, said Wednesday the eurozone's annual inflation rate was 0.4 percent, up from its initial estimate of 0.3 percent published late last month.

The news is likely to provide a little relief as economists fear the bloc could slide into a downward spiral of falling prices that could dent economic growth. The European Central Bank announced new measures last month to fend off the risk of deflation and save the stalling recovery.

However, the Eurostat figures showed that the eurozone's third- and fourth-largest economies, Italy and Spain, saw prices fall by an annual 0.2 percent in August. Portugal, Greece and Slovakia also experienced falling prices.

Wynn, gambling regulators sign casino license

BOSTON -- Wynn Resorts and Massachusetts gambling regulators finalized the license Wednesday for a $1.6 billion casino outside Boston.

Wynn brings a track record of success in competitive gambling jurisdictions, including Las Vegas and Asia, said James McHugh, acting commissioner of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

It's also "taking on an enormous challenge" in redeveloping a heavily polluted former chemical plant site along the Mystic River in Everett, he said.

Commission members signed the license at the Boston teacher's union hall in Dorcester, along with representatives from Las Vegas-based Wynn, a day after the commission picked it over rival Mohegan Sun's $1.1 billion plan for the Suffolk Downs horse racing track in Revere.

Going forward, McHugh promised the commission will work to preserve thoroughbred horse racing in the Bay State, now that the lone track, Suffolk Downs, says it will likely have to close because Mohegan Sun has lost its bid.

Wynn will now turn its attention to the work of opening the resort, including securing the permits required to do the environmental cleanup on the site, said Robert DeSalvio, a senior vice president for development.

DeSalvio said the casino company has not decided at this point to wade into the campaign to defeat the November ballot question to repeal the state's casino law.

MGM Resorts and Penn National Gaming, who have won state gambling licenses as well, have pumped at least $1.7 million into a political action committee working to defeat the ballot question.

Wynn proposes a resort casino complex on about 30 acres that will include a 27-story hotel with about 500 rooms; 3,000 square feet of meeting and convention space; 94,000 square feet for shopping and retail; about 8 restaurants; and 3,000 slot machines and 150 table games.

Wynn says the development will propose about 4,380 permanent jobs when the casino opens in about three years and about 3,700 temporary jobs during construction.

Cabin interior firm announces Arkansas facility

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A French aircraft cabin interior manufacturer said Wednesday that it is spending $2.5 million to open a new facility in Arkansas that will initially employ 75 people.

Beaudet Aviation said its new facility is adjacent to the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport and that it will supply Dassault Falcon Jet with completion work for its Falcon models. Beaudet Aviation is a subsidiary of JCB Aero.

"We aspire to recreate an exact replica of JCB Aero in Little Rock, with regard to structure, management, production and especially quality," Jean-Claude Beaudet, JCB Aero's chairman, said through an interpreter at a news conference in downtown Little Rock.

Dassault Falcon broke ground earlier this month on a $60 million expansion of its private jet finishing plant.

Beaudet said he hopes the new Beaudet Aviation facility will employ 150 to 250 people within five years.

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission said the project is receiving income tax credits based on the payroll of new jobs and sales tax refunds for building equipment and materials.

Gov. Mike Beebe called the announcement another boost for the state's aerospace industry.

"We are starting to gain a reputation, not just around the country, but worldwide as a place for aerospace manufacturing, production, assembly and finishing," Beebe said. "As a result of that, announcements such as Beaudet, as well as others, are hopefully precursors to many more announcements to come."

Strong euro dents 1st-half profits for Zara owner

MADRID -- Spanish fashion retailer Inditex, which owns Zara stores, says net profit fell by 2.4 percent in the first half of 2014 despite robust sales, mainly due to the impact of a strong euro.

The company said Wednesday that profit for February to July was 928 million euros ($1.2 billion) compared with 951 million euros for the same period in 2013.

The decline came despite a 6 percent rise in sales to 8.1 billion euros.

Inditex says it opened 129 new stores during the period, boosting its global store count to 6,460.

Founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega, Inditex operates eight brands including Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Oysho.

Inditex's shares were down 1.7 percent in morning trading in Madrid while the main Spanish index was up 0.3 percent.

10 Amazing Underwater Photos of Puppies That Will Cheer Anyone Up

There are few things more adorable than a puppy...unless, of course, the puppy is learning to swim. Photographer and New York Times bestselling author, Seth Casteel, has just released Underwater Puppies, a follow-up to his wildly popular series, Underwater Dogs. Working with over 1,500 rescue dogs, Casteel snapped each pooch's pic as he or she dove into the water and produced a set of images guaranteed to brighten your day. Have a look at some of the best shots from the book. And if you're interested in more information about rescue dogs, have a look at Tom Junod's comprehensive feature The State of the American Dog (with photos here).

Photos by Seth Casteel

Originally published by Woman's Day

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Railway wants to build second bridge in Idaho

SANDPOINT, Idaho -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad wants to build a second bridge in northern Idaho to handle an expected increase in traffic that includes coal and oil trains.

The one bridge now at Sandpoint handles about one train every half-hour, a bottleneck for BNSF's busy Hi-Line that connects the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest.

Montana Rail Link trains also use the single-track bridge that crosses Lake Pend Oreille where it meets the Pend Oreille River.

"It's known by rail fans as the funnel," BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas told The Spokesman-Review (http://bit.ly/1uTyNNp) in a story on Wednesday. "And it's a choke point."

BNSF wants to build another bridge about 50 feet to the west that would extend about 4,800 feet across the water on piers sunk up to 150 feet into the lake bed. Before beginning, however, the railway would need approval from federal and state agencies. Melonas said the railway would like to build the bridge by 2018.

"This has been the major transportation route for bulk freight since Idaho's existence, since Washington's existence," Melonas said. "The Northwest relies on an efficient rail system, and a new trestle is going to certainly help meet needs going into the future."

Sandpoint Mayor Carrie Logan said she's concerned that another bridge, plus plans to add about a mile of parallel tracks through Sandpoint, would increase rail traffic through the city. She said that increases the risk of a train mishap that could lead to deaths or a spill that could pollute drinking water

"It doubles the volume of trains that are going to come through town, basically," Logan said. "Twice the track, twice the trains. So we're just going to have the same problem, if not worse."

Each day, BNSF hauls two to three trains of crude oil from the Bakken oils fields of North Dakota and eastern Montana through Sandpoint, Melonas said. Another three to four coal trains also pass through the town heading west.

If there's an accident, Logan said, "The initial responder is us because their equipment and personnel are stationed at least two hours away."

A group that monitors water quality, the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, said it's concerned because it has collected water samples that show coal from open-air trains has entered the lake.

Melonas said the company plans to place an oil containment trailer in Sandpoint early next year. It's already added more mobile firefighting foam trailers in the region, he said.

"There's going to be more traffic whether there's a bridge or not," Melonas said, noting the company expects to hit record volumes of freight soon. "This will allow for a more fluid operation."

The current bridge was built in 1905 and upgraded most recently in 2009. If a new bridge is added, Melonas said, trains would run in each direction and reduce the need to have trains slow or stop as they wait for the OK to cross.

The new bridge, Melonas said, is part of the company's plan to use the safest technology as the company invests billions of dollars in its network.

Sale of Rogers' Rangers New York site is completed

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. -- The sale of the Hudson River site considered the birthplace of the U.S. Army Rangers is complete, ending a decade-long effort by an upstate community to secure the public purchase of a historic island and turn it into a heritage tourism attraction.

Officials said the closing on the sale of the 34-acre parcel on Rogers Island in Fort Edward occurred Wednesday. The village and town of Fort Edward, on the Hudson's east bank 45 miles north of Albany, bought the vacant property from a Long Island businessman who inherited it from his father. The municipalities plan to turn it into a public park.

Village attorney Matthew Fuller said the sale price was $450,000. Of that amount, $400,000 was from state grants and other funding, while the remaining $50,000 came from the village and town, Fuller said.

"There's a lot of work ahead," said village board member Ed Carpenter. "Getting the island was the first step."

Fort Edward was the site of Britain's largest fort in North America during the French and Indian War (1754-63), when some 18,000 British and Colonial American soldiers and civilians lived there. The complex included an encampment that served as the base of operations for Rogers' Rangers, frontier scouts led by Maj. Robert Rogers, who wrote his "Rules of Ranging" at Fort Edward in 1757.

His original 28 rules for waging guerrilla warfare in the North American wilderness have been revised and shortened to 19 by the Army Rangers, who still use "Rogers' Standing Orders" to train Ranger candidates at Fort Benning, Georgia.

One former Ranger referred to Fort Edward as "the spiritual home" of Army Rangers.

"It certainly is the birthplace of the American Ranger," said retired Col. Alan Huffines, an author from Abilene, Texas, who serves as historian for the U.S. Army Ranger Association.

"All Rangers are familiar with Rogers' Rangers," Huffines said.

The sale includes the transfer of nearly 90 boxes of artifacts uncovered during archaeological excavations conducted on Rogers Island over the past two decades. David Starbuck, the archaeologist who ran the digs, estimates the boxes contain tens of thousands of 18th-century artifacts, including buckles, butchered animal bones and musket balls. The artifacts were delivered Wednesday to Fort Edward from the property's owner, Anthony Nastasi, a Hauppauge contractor who inherited the land after the death of his father, Frank.

State and local officials began talks years ago with the elder Nastasi about buying his property. After he died in 2007, the state parks office moved toward buying the site from his son, but budget problems derailed the plans. The two local municipalities then took up the cause, eventually landing state grants to cover most of the purchase cost.

In 2006, a local couple who served as caretakers for the Nastasi property uncovered several skeletons buried at the site. State archaeologists analyzed the remains and determined they were buried in unmarked graves in a large military cemetery located on the island during the French and Indian War.

The wooded, overgrown parcel sits empty, other than for a Robert Rogers statue and a memorial to the Rangers. Local officials have said their plans for a public park include building trails and installing signage, as well as integrating the site with the neighboring Rogers Island Visitors Center.

New UNIFIL commander chairs tripartite talks

BEIRUT: UNIFIL Force commander Maj.-Gen. Luciano Portolano Wednesday expressed his deepest appreciation for the continued commitment that the parties on the two sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border have demonstrated in maintaining the cessation of hostilities.

Portolano chaired a regular tripartite meeting with senior officers from the Lebanese and Israeli armies at the UN Position at Ras al-Naqoura crossing.

The participants discussed issues relevant to the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, including the situation along the border Blue Line, the ongoing visible marking of the Blue Line, violations and incidents as well as the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar.

This was the first tripartite meeting chaired by Portolano, who took over UNIFIL’s command on 24 July 2014.

”The tripartite forum remains and indispensable instrument to address issues of vital importance to maintaining the cessation of hostilities, and find agreed solutions with the parties on contentious issues along the Blue Line,” he said. “In the current tense regional context, this mechanism has continued to deliver, and has proved effective in containing incidents or violations and de-conflicting the situation at critical moments.”

Portolano said he was very pleased with the constructive discussions and the parties’ commitment to preserve stability along the Blue Line.

He emphasized that the situation in UNIFIL’s area of operations is generally calm.

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Hospitals struggled during Sandy, report says

TRENTON, N.J. -- When Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Northeast nearly two years ago, hospitals found themselves dealing with surges in patients, lost power supplies and employees who couldn't get to work — problems that a new federal report finds they were not prepared to handle.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Inspector General Office released a study Wednesday on the emergency preparedness and response during the storm at 172 hospitals in the hardest-hit areas of New York, most of Connecticut and all of New Jersey.

The report, based on surveys of the hospitals and in-person visits to 10 of them, finds that 89 percent of them experienced "critical challenges," such as electrical and communication failures or problems getting enough fuel or beds to meet their needs. The report did not list which hospitals had which problems, but several were reported at the time of the October 2012 storm.

The report finds that most of the hospitals were cited in the three years before the storm for deficiencies related to emergency preparedness and response. In many cases, the issues cited by accreditation organizations were exactly the same ones that caused problems during the storm.

The surveyors found that 47 hospitals were cited for problems with their utilities — including several that infrequently or incorrectly tested their backup generators.

When the storm came, nearly half of the hospitals had electrical problems. And half of those that lost power had problems with backup generators. At New York City's Bellevue Hospital Center, for instance, the fuel pumps remained in the basement and flooded. The hospital was ultimately evacuated.

Hospitals also said that some workers were not properly trained or experienced in working in no-power environments, meaning nurses had to be trained on the fly to do tasks such as counting IV drips manually rather than relying on technology to do it.

Researchers say that the problems did not lie solely with the hospitals. Some community emergency plans did not consider the needs of hospitals, for instance.

The researchers found that contributed to many problems, including worker shortages. In some communities, doctors and nurses were allowed to travel on roads closed because of the disaster, but other employees needed to keep the hospitals functioning — including maintenance and security staff — were not.

Nearly half the hospitals had surges in numbers of patients. Some received patients from the 12 hospitals that evacuated at least some of their patients. Others received patients from dialysis centers and methadone treatment centers that closed during the storm.

There was also an influx of patients with chronic conditions who needed important but relatively minor help, such as working power outlets so they could use oxygen tanks.

The hospitals said that some of those patients could have been served better by going to shelters, but that there were not enough of them in some cases, and in others those that were open were not publicized adequately. For patients in that category, providing help took staff members' time, but the hospitals were not eligible for reimbursement from Medicaid or Medicare.

Hospitals also suffered financially during the storm as outpatient procedures and elective surgeries were canceled.

Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and an adviser to New York Mayor Dill de Blasio on preparedness, said federal funding to help hospitals ready for disasters has been far less than needed.

"It's so far down the priority list for administrators that nothing gets done," he said.

He also said some hospital procedures have been updates since Sandy, but there is confusion about who should be coordinating plans and actions among hospitals. "You could imagine doing it in many different ways," he said. "The worst thing is not doing it."

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Online:

The report: http://1.usa.gov/1wo9bcD

Vermont airport expansion work to start soon

COVENTRY, Vt. -- Construction is scheduled to start soon on expansion of the Newport State Airport in Vermont after it was awarded $8.8 million in grants for a new runway and other upgrades.

Guy Rouelle, director of aviation for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, tells the Caledonian Record (http://bit.ly/YRZEzr) it will begin with drainage work and will lead to tree removal around the runway.

Construction work on the runway would start in the spring.

The improvements will allow the airport to serve more and larger planes that will be able to bring people to the area for business, tourist and recreational opportunities.

Pizza Hut testing 'skinny slice'

NEW YORK -- Pizza Hut is testing out a lighter pizza in two U.S. markets as it seeks to freshen up its menu and regain its footing against competitors.

The tests of the "Skinny Slice" pies began this week at several dozen restaurants in Toledo, Ohio, and West Palm Beach, Florida. The pies simply use less of the same dough used for regular pies and are lighter on the toppings, said Doug Terfehr, a Pizza Hut spokesman.

Several fast-food and restaurant chains have turned to lighter offerings over the years as a way to update their images, with varying degrees of success. Burger King, for instance, recently said the majority of its U.S. restaurants would stop offering lower-calorie french fries less than a year after the so-called "Satisfries" were introduced.

The test by Pizza Hut comes as the chain fights to win back market share. Last year, Pizza Hut sales fell 2 percent at U.S. locations open at least a year. Domino's, by contrast, saw the figure rise 5.4 percent while Papa John's saw sales rise 4 percent in North America.

Darren Tristano, a restaurant analyst with industry tracker Technomic, noted that Pizza Hut may be suffering in part because it's the biggest player and has the most to lose at a time when the pizza business overall is seeing moderate growth of about 2 percent to 3 percent a year.

But he also noted that the chain has failed to "evolve its product," while Papa John's has played up its quality and Domino's improved its pizza. Pizza Hut is owned by Yum Brands Inc., which also owns Taco Bell and KFC.

Pizza Hut's test varies in the two markets. In Toledo, customers can create their own Skinny Slice pies with up to five toppings, with each slice having 300 calories or less. In West Palm Beach, customers can pick from one of six pre-determined pies, with each slice having 250 calories or less.

The Skinny Slice pies are intended as a lighter version of Pizza Hut's hand-tossed crusts; a plain slice of the regular hand-tossed pie has 300 calories, according to the chain's website. A slice of the pan pizza has 350 calories and a slice of the "Thin 'N Crispy" has 260 calories.

Pizza Hut also rolled out "Fit n' Delicious" pies more than a decade ago that had even fewer calories than the new Skinny Slice pies by going lighter on toppings. If the test proves successful, the Skinny Slice pies would replace the Fit N' Delicious pies, which are still available on request, Terfehr said in an email.

Other pizza chains have tinkered with alternative crusts as well. Domino's introduced a gluten-free crust in 2012 that is still on the menu. During the Atkins craze, Domino's also tested a whole wheat crust but ultimately abandoned the idea.

"It did not take us very long to learn that people did not want that from Domino's," said Chris Brandon, a Domino's spokesman.

Trian wants DuPont to split its business

NEW YORK -- Activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP wants DuPont to separate its business into two companies in an effort to boost shareholder value and improve its financial performance.

Trian, which says it has been in private talks with DuPont for more than a year, sent a letter to the company's board on Tuesday in which it recommends the separation of the agriculture, nutrition and health and industrial biosciences segments into one company. It suggests DuPont's performance materials, safety and protection, electronics and communication segments be housed in another company.

Trian said it has been pleased by some of DuPont's moves, including the spinoff of the performance chemicals unit and a $5 billion buyback, but believes more needs to be done. It remains supportive of a spinoff of the performance chemicals business.

Trian owns about $1.6 billion of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.'s outstanding stock.

Trian estimates DuPont has $2 billion to $4 billion in excessive costs, including $1 billion in unallocated corporate expenses, including the maintenance of a country club, theater and hotel.

Trian said it plans to meet with DuPont shareholders about its suggestions and recommends DuPont's board meet with shareholders without management present in order to get their opinions.

DuPont said in a statement that it has had a constructive dialogue with Trian and welcomes open communication with its shareholders. It said it is still committed to executing on its strategic plan to drive growth and profitability.

The company's stock rose $1.32, or 2 percent, to $67.15 in Wednesday premarket trading.

Pelosi: NFL Rice investigation sufficient for now

WASHINGTON -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says that for now the NFL's investigation into its handling of the domestic violence case involving running back Ray Rice is an appropriate response.

When asked whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should resign over the way his office handled the incident, the California Democrat sidestepped the question. But she didn't rule out that Congress would reconsider the NFL'S anti-trust exemption, which allows teams to negotiate radio and television broadcast rights together.

Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday that the outcome of the investigation "will be self-evident to the NFL." Pelosi also says the San Francisco 49ers, her hometown team, should not have let defensive end Ray McDonald play last weekend. McDonald was arrested last month on suspicion of domestic violence.

BC-Noon Oil

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Bankruptcy judge OKs $2.9M W.Va. spill settlement

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal bankruptcy judge in West Virginia has approved a $2.9 million settlement to benefit 300,000 people whose water was contaminated in a January chemical spill.

Judge Ronald Pearson filed the order Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charleston. A U.S. District Court judge's approval is also needed.

The proposal relies on insurance proceeds from bankrupt Freedom Industries. The spill spurred a tap-water ban for days. Freedom filed for bankruptcy eight days later.

The settlement would let a yet-to-be-determined panel pick public interest projects to fund, potentially including long-term health monitoring or more water testing.

The company whose water supply was contaminated opposed the deal. West Virginia American Water said the settlement would keep thousands of creditors from recovering anything on bankruptcy claims.

The Charleston Gazette first reported the order.

Lebanon programmers to battle at AUB

Lebanon programmers to battle at AUB

Student programmers from various Lebanese universities will compete at the American University of Beirut later this...

Stocks up in early trading ahead of Fed statement

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- World stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday, buoyed by hopes that the Federal Reserve will not speed up plans to raise interest rates and reports that China is providing extra liquidity to major state banks.

KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 was up 0.4 percent at 4,425.75 and Germany's DAX added 0.3 percent to 9,665.27. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent to 6,798.69. Wall Street was set for a flat open. Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were both barely changed.

FED WATCH: Some investors are hoping that the statement from the Fed meeting that ends Wednesday will maintain the phrase "considerable time" to remain in its plan to raise interest rates. Some analysts said the recent rally in the U.S. dollar, which may dampen some areas of the U.S. economy, has become a reason for the Fed to turn cautious. The Fed has held the rate close to zero for more than five years, and stocks have surged against that backdrop.

CHINA BANKS: Sentiment was boosted by news reports that China's central bank will inject a total of 500 billion yuan ($81 billion) into the five biggest state banks over three months. Additional financial system liquidity would build on targeted measures to shore up growth, amid a bout of weak economic data. There was no official confirmation of the reports.

ASIA'S DAY: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.1 percent to 15,888.67 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1 percent to 24,376.41. China's Shanghai Composite added 0.5 percent to 2,307.89 and Seoul's Kospi gained 1 percent to 2,062.61. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7 percent to 5,407.30. Markets in Taiwan, India and Southeast Asia were higher.

THE QUOTE: Chinese support for banks if confirmed "is likely to snap Asian equities out of their Fed-induced slumber," said Evan Lucas, market strategist with IG in Australia. "However I again reiterate that the Fed is still the main driving force in the market currently."

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 31 cents to $94.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose $1.96 to close at $94.88 a barrel on Tuesday.

CURRENCIES: The euro rose to $1.2964 from $1.2957 late Tuesday. The dollar stayed at six year highs against the yen, rising to 107.25 yen from 107.14 yen.

Civitas slips after IPO prices below expectations

NEW YORK -- Shares of Civitas Solutions are inching lower after the company's initial public offering priced at $198.9 million, below its expectations.

The company runs group homes and offers home-based care for the developmentally disabled under the name of The Mentor Network. The company operates in 36 states and had $1.2 billion in revenue in 2013.

The Boston company says its offering of 11.7 million shares priced at $17 a share, below its estimates of $20 to $23 per share. After expenses and discounts Civitas Solutions says it raised $182.2 million.

Shares of Civitas Solutions Inc. lost 25 cents to $16.75 Wednesday morning. The stock is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CIVI."

Tuesday's Sports In Brief

MINNEAPOLIS -- NFL

The Minnesota Vikings placed star running back Adrian Peterson on the exempt-commissioner's permission list, a move that will require him to stay away from the team while he addresses child abuse charges.

The Vikings made the announcement early Wednesday morning after initially deciding that Peterson could play with the team while the legal process played out. Peterson is charged with a felony for using a wooden switch to spank his 4-year-old son.

The Vikings came under heavy criticism for their initial stance. Several sponsors responded by either suspending their deals with the Vikings or severing ties with Peterson.

The stunning reverse course came after a harrowing day on Tuesday that included the Radisson hotel chains suspending its sponsorship with the Vikings.

Castrol Motor Oil, Special Olympics Minnesota and Mylan Inc. all severed ties with Peterson, and Twin Cities Nike stores pulled Peterson's jerseys from its shelves.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The NFL players' union appealed Ray Rice's indefinite suspension Tuesday night.

Rice was originally handed a two-game suspension in July under the NFL's personal conduct policy after he was charged with assault following a Feb. 15 altercation with his then-fiancee in a casino elevator.

The Baltimore running back had already served the first game of that suspension when, on Sept. 8, a video surfaced showing Rice punching Janay Palmer, now his wife, in that elevator.

Within hours, the Ravens released Rice and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell extended the suspension to indefinite based on the "new evidence."

Goodell and the Ravens say they never saw the video before Sept. 8.

The NFLPA said that the collective bargaining agreement requires a hearing date be set within 10 days of the appeal notice. It also said the hearing will require a neutral arbitrator to determine what information was available to the NFL and when it was available.

The union, which had until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday to file the appeal, added that under governing labor law, an employee can't be punished twice for the same action when all of the relevant facts were available to the employer at the time of the first punishment.

The NFL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A prosecutor says Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon will receive probation and undergo a substance-abuse assessment after pleading guilty to a drunken-driving charge in North Carolina.

Acting Wake County district attorney Ned Mangum says Gordon received a 60-day suspended jail sentence and one year of unsupervised probation Tuesday.

He must also comply with any treatment recommended through the substance-abuse assessment, pay a $100 fine along with court costs and perform community service. Mangum says the court has also suspended Gordon's driver's license.

Gordon's attorney, Trey Fitzhugh, entered a guilty plea on Gordon's behalf on a charge of driving while impaired from a July arrest in Raleigh.

Gordon was pulled for going 50 mph in a 35 mph zone and charged with speeding, though Mangum said that charge was dismissed.

AUTO RACING

A grand jury will decide whether NASCAR driver Tony Stewart will be charged in the August death of a fellow driver at a sprint car race in upstate New York, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo said he made the decision to present the case to a grand jury after reviewing evidence collected by county sheriff's investigators.

Tantillo could have determined there wasn't enough evidence to support charges and dropped the case, but instead announced his decision more than a month after Stewart's car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. at a dirt-track race on Aug. 9.

In a statement, Stewart said he respects the time and effort authorities have spent "investigating this tragic accident."

"I look forward to this process being completed, and I will continue to provide my full cooperation," he said.

Stewart spent three weeks in seclusion before returning for the final two races of the Sprint Cup season. He did not make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field, and finished 18th in the first Chase race Sunday at Chicagoland.

Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero spent weeks investigating the accident at the small track in Canandaigua, several times saying investigators did not have any evidence to support criminal intent by Stewart. Ward had spun while racing alongside Stewart and then the 20-year-old climbed out of his car and walked down the track, waving his arms in an apparent attempt to confront the 43-year-old NASCAR veteran.

NASCAR spokesman Brett Jewkes said the series was closely following the case.

BASKETBALL

ATLANTA (AP) — Mayor Kasim Reed said Tuesday he has already talked with six potential buyers of the Atlanta Hawks and expects a sale of the team to move quickly after racially charged comments by owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry.

Flanked by Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins and other city leaders, Reed said the crisis engulfing the NBA team would be solved "the Atlanta way" and predicted the franchise would come out stronger in the end.

The Hawks have been under fire since it was revealed Levenson sent an email two years ago theorizing that many suburban whites would not attend NBA games because of the team's African-American fans. He agreed to sale his share of the team, but it also emerged that Ferry had disparaged then-free agent Luol Deng on a conference call with team owners this past summer, saying he "has a little African in him."

Reed, who did not identify the prospective buyers, said whoever buys the team would have majority ownership. While Levenson owns 24 percent of the team, his Washington partner Ed Peskowitz has also agreed to sale his share, meaning that 50.1 percent of the team is available, according to the mayor.

For now, the Atlanta-based owners — including Michael Gearon Jr. and Rutherford Seydel (the son-in-law of former owner Ted Turner) — want to keep their shares of the team.

BASEBALL

ATLANTA (AP) — The Washington Nationals are again champions of the NL East, wrapping up their second division title in three years against the team that knocked them out of the top spot last season.

Tanner Roark pitched five-hit ball over seven innings, Ian Desmond's two-run homer broke a scoreless tie and the Nationals celebrated another trip to the playoffs with a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

The clinching victory was especially sweet coming against the Braves, who finished 10 games ahead of the Nationals in 2013. The roles were reserved this season as Washington steadily pulled away down the stretch.

Atlanta lost for the 11th time in 14 games, further damaging its hopes of making a third straight playoff appearance as a wild card. The Braves dropped to 75-76 with their fifth straight loss, the first time they have been under .500 since losing on opening day.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles won their first AL East crown since 1997, using home runs by Steve Pearce and Jimmy Paredes to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 Tuesday night.

With their ninth win in 10 games, the Orioles clinched their second playoff appearance in three years following a run of 14 consecutive losing seasons.

Afterward, the Orioles converged behind second base, fireworks soared in the outfield and streamers sprayed throughout the crowd.

It was Baltimore's ninth AL East title and only its second since 1983, when the Orioles last won the World Series.

The franchise has enjoyed a rebirth under the guidance of manager Buck Showalter, whose 1,254th victory thrust him past mentor Billy Martin into sole possession of 36th place on the career list.

Baltimore is 42-23 in a division that includes the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox, the free-spending New York Yankees and pitching-rich Tampa Bay. The Orioles led by only four games on Aug. 6 before going on a 27-11 run.

GOLF

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Rick Cloninger advanced to the U.S. Senior Amateur quarterfinals Tuesday, beating qualifying medalist Alan Fadel and David Szewczul at Big Canyon.

The 57-year-old Cloninger, from Fort Mill, South Carolina, routed Fadel, from Toledo, Ohio, 7 and 6 in the second round, and edged Szewczul, from Farmington, Connecticut, with a birdie on the 19th hole.

Cloninger is a construction equipment consultant. He played baseball and football at Wofford College.

On Friday morning in the event for players 55 and older, Cloninger will face Frank Dial of Auburn, Alabama. Dial beat James Gallagher of Yorktown, Virginia, 2 and 1.

DEAL, N.J. (AP) — Former Alabama tennis player Susan West won two matches Tuesday in the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur to advance to the quarterfinals at Hollywood Golf Club.

The 50-year-old West, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, beat Susan Cohn of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, 2 and 1 in the second round, and topped Martha Leach of Hebron, Kentucky, 1 up in the third round. Leach upset two-time defending champion Ellen Port of St. Louis 3 and 2 in the second round.

West will face Kareen Markle of Meridian, Idaho, a 2-up winner over South Africa's Louella Kanew.

In the other upper-bracket quarterfinal, Joan Higgins of Glendora, California, will play Canada's Helene Chartrand. Higgins beat Andrea Kraus of Baltimore 3 and 1, and Chartrand edged Noreen Mohler of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1 up.

In the lower bracket, Terri Frohnmayer of Salem, Oregon, will face Kim Eaton of Tempe, Arizona; and Canada's Judith Kyrinis will play Mexico's Mina Hardin. Frohnmayer beat Patricia Brogden of Garner, North Carolina, 1 up; Eaton edged Corey Weworski of Carlsbad, California, in 19 holes; Kyrinis routed Laura Algiero of White Plains, New York, 8 and 6; and Hardin topped Sherry Herman of Jackson, New Jersey, 4 and 3.

Sony forecasts $2B loss as smartphones lag

TOKYO -- Sony expects its annual loss to swell to more than $2 billion after writing down the value of its troubled mobile business as phone sales were battered by brutal competition.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate said Wednesday it anticipates a net loss of 230 billion yen ($2.15 billion) for the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2015. Its previous forecast was for a 50 billion yen ($466 million) net loss.

Sony has been trying to reshape its business after years of red ink. It said the bigger loss stems from a lower valuation of its mobile phone business due to weaker than expected sales. The company is recording an "impairment charge" of 180 billion yen ($1.7 billion) in the July-September quarter.

The impairment charge is purely an adjustment to the company's balance sheet, involving no cash, but it reflects that the mobile business is far less valuable and will generate lower profits than previously thought.

Sony said it revised its mobile communications business strategy to reduce risks and stabilize profits in light of "significant change in the market and competitive environment of the mobile business."

It plans to concentrate on its "premium lineup" of smartphones and reduce the number of mid-range models.

Sony plans three Xperia Z3 smartphone and tablet models, with its signature waterproof capabilities, for this fall. For the first time, one of the phones will be available in the U.S., through T-Mobile, at about the same time as the rest of the world, rather than months later.

It also plans a new SmartBand fitness device that will include a small display to show the status of various activities. Its SmartWatch 3 will have GPS capabilities built in, allowing for more accurate tracking of outdoor fitness activities.

The smartphone business has proven tough for Sony. Apple and Samsung dominate at the top end of the market while Chinese and other Asian manufacturers are hogging the market for cheaper phones that are most likely to appeal in fast-growing developing countries.

The profit warning followed a surprise eightfold jump in Sony's April-June quarterly profit thanks to gains from selling buildings and its stake in a video-game maker.

Sony on Wednesday left its full-year sales forecast unchanged at 7.8 trillion yen ($72.8 billion). It said it won't pay a dividend to shareholders for the first half or full year.

The company reported a 128.4 billion yen loss in the fiscal year that ended March 31.

US stocks rise slightly in opening trade

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks are rising slightly in early trading, ahead of a Federal Reserve announcement this afternoon that might signal when the central bank will raise interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,146. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,001. The Nasdaq composite nudged up four points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,557.

The Fed wraps up a two-day meeting later today with a statement and press conference.

Group levels abuse allegations against NM dairy

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The New Mexico Livestock Board has launched an investigation into a southern New Mexico dairy after an activist working with an animal welfare group recorded secret video showing workers whipping cows with chains and wire cables, kicking and punching the animals, and shocking them with electric prods.

Board officials confirmed the investigation into the practices at the Winchester Dairy near Dexter on Tuesday, saying they are working to schedule interviews with the activist as well as the workers identified in the video.

"We are investigating it very aggressively. The district attorney is on board and everybody is working hard to make sure we do this right," said Shawn Davis, an area supervisor with the livestock board.

Dairy officials have been cooperating since investigators first arrived last Friday, board officials said.

The dairy said in a statement to The Associated Press that animal care and well-being are central to its operation. As a result, the dairy fired all employees and referred the abusive workers to law enforcement for further review following its own internal investigation.

The dairy also halted milking operations, stopped shipments to all vendors and dispersed thousands of cows to other dairies with strong track records in animal welfare.

"We remain committed to the ethical and responsible treatment of the animals and have learned from this incident," the dairy said.

It was not immediately clear whether the dairy's closure was temporary. Winchester is one of more than 140 family-owned dairies in New Mexico, a state that ranks in the top 10 nationally when it comes to milk production. The industry employs about 4,200 workers and has a direct economic impact of about $1 billion.

The Los Angeles-based animal welfare group Mercy for Animals first sent the video footage to the livestock agency last Thursday. It planned to publicly release a compilation of clips that show the abuse during a news conference Wednesday in Albuquerque.

An activist with Mercy for Animals shot the video while working on the farm in August and September. Aside from the whipping, kicking and punching, the video shows calves being tossed into the back of a truck and cows that can't stand being dragged with heavy equipment or lifted with clamps.

The group said the types of abuses uncovered during its investigations of six separate dairies around the country — including the New Mexico dairy — are all similar.

"So this isn't a matter of a single dairy farm failing to meet industry standards. This is a matter of industry standards allowing for blatant animal abuse," said Matt Rice, the group's director of investigations. "That's why we're calling on the industry to make improvements at all of its facilities to prevent this type of abuse."

Mercy for Animals is specifically calling on Denver-based Leprino Foods, which is supplied by the New Mexico dairy and produces cheese for major pizza chains, to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for kicking, punching and shocking cows and require suppliers to provide safe and sanitary environments for the animals.

"A lot of times, these are really wet, slippery environments that these animals are in and then they fall and injure themselves and that's often when we see workers abusing the animals in an effort to get them up again. They resort to kicking and punching and whipping them," Rice said.

Leprino Foods did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Auxilium Pharma board adopts anti-takeover plan

The board of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. has adopted a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan to ward off a hostile takeover after Endo International PLC announced an unsolicited offer worth about $1.41 billion for its fellow drugmaker.

Shares of Auxilium soared Wednesday before markets opened and after it said it adopted the one-year plan "to ensure that the (board) remains in the best position to perform its fiduciary duties and to enable all Auxilium stockholders to receive fair and equal treatment."

Auxilium also said it would carefully review the Endo proposal.

Under the plan, stockholders will receive a right that essentially entitles them to buy additional shares. That right will be triggered if a person or group accumulates a stake of 15 percent or greater in the company at a price that the board deems to be not in the best interest of Auxilium and its shareholders.

Endo announced on Tuesday a cash-and-stock bid that values Auxilium at $28.10 per share. Dublin-based Endo said the two companies have complementary products and added that there are significant opportunities for savings.

Auxilium, based in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, is struggling with reduced sales of its testosterone gel Testim and said this month that it would cut about 190 jobs, or 30 percent of its workforce, as part of a plan to save $75 million per year.

In June, it announced plans to combine with Canadian eye drugmaker QLT Inc. in an all-stock deal worth about $345 million that is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The companies characterized that deal as a merger, and it is structured so that QLT is technically the acquiring company even though Auxilium shareholders will own a majority stake in the combined company.

Auxilium stock jumped 46 percent, or $9.81, to $31.33 in premarket trading. The stock had only climbed about 4 percent so far this year, as of Tuesday.

Miss. oyster season could open in late Oct.

BILOXI, Miss. -- The Department of Marine Resources says the Mississippi Sound oyster reefs are either depleted or stressed, but there will still be an oyster season this fall that could extend into winter.

The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/XB1NhM ) the season, which will begin at the discretion of DMR Executive Director Jamie Miller, probably in late October, will be only for the tonging reefs off Pass Christian. Dredging will not be allowed.

DMR scientists had proposed just a one-week harvest, but Commissioner Richard Gollott talked the other commissioners into an open-ended season that essentially will end when tongers stop finding oysters and quit fishing.

Miller also could close the reefs if the water quality becomes unacceptable.

Watchdog: 10 Lebanese candidates win uncontested

BEIRUT: An election watchdog said Wednesday that 10 candidates had won uncontested in the upcoming parliamentary elections, after the deadline for presenting candidacies expired Tuesday night.

“Article 50 of the Law 25/2008 says that if the deadline for submitting nominations to run for elections elapses and there is only one candidate for a certain seat, that candidate is considered the uncontested winner,” the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections said in a statement.

“Accordingly, 10 candidates, among the 514 hopefuls, including 35 women, are officially considered uncontested winners, and, as such, the Interior Ministry is under the obligation to notify immediately and in writing the speaker of Parliament."

The statement, which comprised a breakdown review of the process of preparing for elections, said the Interior Ministry respected the legal deadline by issuing a decree calling on the electorate to cast their vote in the upcoming poll 90 days ahead of actual voting.

However, the statement added, the decree failed to provide for the voting of Lebanese expatriates, except in two countries, namely Kuwait and Australia.

“Many countries where Lebanese expats had registered to be able to vote were left out, depriving thousands from participating in the ballot in countries of their residence,” the statement said.

It underlined the government’s failure to set up the election monitoring committee tasked with overseeing electoral campaigns, including spending, within the legal deadline.

“The monitoring committee was supposed to start functioning 100 days ahead of election date, which is set on Nov. 16, 2014. In other words, it should have been launched on August 8, 2014, a delay that was not respected,” the statement added.

It pointed out that polling stations should be determined and their locations announced publicly at least 30 days ahead of elections. “Hence, the (interior) minister should issue a decision in that regard and publish it in the Official Gazette by Oct. 17, 2014.”

Disagreement over the feasibility of having elections in the absence of a president of the republic and under the existing unstable security conditions is weakening the possibility of holding the poll as scheduled in mid-November.

Parliament might be extending its mandate for a second time if elections failed to take place. The legislature extended its term in May 2014 because rival politicians could not agree on an electoral law.

Atlanta mayor: Plenty of potential Hawks buyers

ATLANTA -- The mayor has already heard from plenty of potential buyers for the Atlanta Hawks.

And the city is ready to kick in a hefty sum to make the deal happen.

Flanked by Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins and other city leaders, Mayor Kasim Reed said Tuesday he expects the sale of the team to move briskly after racially charged comments by owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry.

"I have had conversations with no less than six prospective buyers," Reed said during a City Hall news conference. "All six of those prospective buyers will have to go through a process to be vetted by the NBA. That process is going to occur very quickly."

The Hawks have been under fire since it was revealed Levenson sent an email two years ago theorizing that many suburban whites would not attend NBA games because of the team's African-American fans. He agreed to sell his share of the team, but it also emerged that Ferry had disparaged then-free agent Luol Deng on a conference call with team owners this past summer, saying he "has a little African in him."

Ferry has taken an indefinite leave of absence.

The NBA, meanwhile, is left to deal with another embarrassing case after stripping the Los Angeles Clippers from longtime owner Donald Sterling. He was forced out for telling his girlfriend on a secretly recorded audio not to bring black fans to his games.

Reed said he plans to meet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Sept. 26 in New York to discuss the sale of the Hawks. According to the mayor, the league is already lining up an investment bank to look into the finances of any potential buyer.

"I think we're going to end up in a superior position, based on everything we know today, than we were before," Reed said.

He didn't identify the prospective buyers, but whoever steps in would apparently have majority ownership. Levenson owns 24 percent of the team, and his Washington partner, Ed Peskowitz, has also agreed to sell his share, meaning that 50.1 percent of the team is now available, Reed said.

In addition, Reed said the city will likely be willing to offer concessions to any new owner to ensure the Hawks commit to remaining in Atlanta for another 30 years. He said there could be as much as $150 million available after the city sells Turner Field, the current home of the Braves, though the mayor said that process has been held up by the baseball team's refusal to negotiate terms for its departure.

The Braves are planning to move to a new stadium in suburban Cobb County in 2017.

Team spokeswoman Beth Marshall said the Braves aren't required to notify the stadium authority of its plans until Dec. 31, 2015, but added, "It is our hope to be able to work with them, the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, on negotiating an exit so they can best prepare for the future of the Turner Field site."

In the meantime, Reed said the city would be heavily involved in efforts to find new ownership for the Hawks, since it is responsible for the debt on 15-year-old Philips Arena.

Wilkins, a former Hawks star who now serves as a team vice president and television commentator, said he would "absolutely" be interested in taking on a greater role with the franchise. The city already plans to honor him with a statue outside Philips Arena before a March 6 game against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Reed said city leaders would look favorably on Wilkins' involvement with any new ownership group, especially if it gives the team more diversity in the front office.

Hawks CEO Steve Koonin has refused calls to fire Ferry, saying he believes the general manager can learn from the experience. Ferry met privately Monday with civil rights leaders, hoping to mend fences within the city, and has said he will undergo sensitivity training during his leave.

But Ferry's future is still very much in doubt, with the start of training camp only two weeks away.

Wilkins would neither endorse Ferry nor call for him to be ousted, knowing that any decision about the general manager will likely rest with the new owner.

"That's not a choice I can make," Wilkins said. "The only thing I can say is whatever pieces are put in place are going to be the right pieces to help our franchise heal from what we've been through."

Spain family to sell WTVA-TV to Heartland Media

TUPELO, Miss. -- The Spain family is selling Tupelo's WTVA-TV to Heartland Media and MSouth Equity Partners.

No price was disclosed for the sale, announced Tuesday.

WTVA was founded 57 years ago by the late Frank Spain. Jane Spain, who had a 51 percent stake in the company that her late husband, said Heartland "is particularly well-suited to build on the service that WTVA has provided viewers in Northeast Mississippi and northwest Alabama for over five decades."

Jane Spain told WTVA (http://bit.ly/1uGBLXl) she will remain in Tupelo and continue working with the Tupelo Automobile Museum.

The Federal Communications Commission must approve the sale of WTVA, an NBC affiliate which broadcasts ABC on a subchannel. Approval is expected in early 2015, with current owners running the station until then.

The sale doesn't include WLOV, a separately owned Fox affiliate. WTVA's new owners will continue managing WLOV through a shared-services agreement.

Atlanta-based Heartland bought stations in Eugene, Medford and Klamath Falls, Oregon earlier this year for $29 million. Last year, he bought a station in Utica, New York, for $16 million.

'NBA 2K15' drafts 3D face mapping for latest game

By DERRIK J. LANG The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- "NBA 2K15" is angling for a slam dunk with an innovative new way to put players in the game.

The developers of the interactive basketball franchise are adding the option for gamers to digitally graft lifelike 3D renditions of their faces onto virtual players in the series' latest installment, set for Oct. 7. The process uses the camera for either the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One game consoles to create faces for wannabe Kobe Bryants and Kevin Durants.

"It's all done using the processing power of the next-gen systems," said Jeff Thomas, vice president of sports development at "NBA 2K" developer Visual Concepts. "We've been talking about doing this for a number of years, but it really wasn't possible until we knew the processing power of the next-gen machines. It took some time to get it right."

The technology utilizes the stereoscopic cameras for Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One consoles to amass several angles of gamers' faces. It then renders photorealistic 3D models on screen that can be tweaked and placed onto the bodies of virtual players in the game's career and online modes. The process requires a well-lit room and takes about three minutes.

"That doesn't sound like a lot of time," said Thomas. "But if you think of things in milliseconds like you do when you make games, with the computer processing power inside that box, three minutes is like an eternity. That just shows how much math and things are required to compute these points in 3D space, then construct a model that looks like you."

The face mapping marks the latest effort by a game creator to add virtual representations of players in a game, following similar endeavors, like EA Sports crafting virtual athletes based on still images of players' faces, and developer Rare harnessing Microsoft's Kinect camera to fashion cartoony avatars for its motion-detecting title "Kinect Sports Rivals."

When demonstrated for The Associated Press with a PS4 camera and console, the process required two attempts to generate an accurate hairless model, which was then further detailed with skin textures, hair and eye color. The available modifications are based on Visual Concept's own library of facial features of actual NBA and Euroleague players.

"That means there can't be any more alien players," said Thomas. "You used to be able to pull and tug players' faces and create crazy noses and stuff. Because we're referencing real people, it only allows you to create human-looking players. I think that's a big deal. The combination of these techniques will give you a really solid-looking image of yourself."

For privacy-minded players who don't want their console capturing a map of their face or those without a PS4 or Kinect camera, Thomas said they'll still be able to create players from scratch using the game's customization system, as in past editions of the series. He also noted that while the system can scan female faces, the game — like the basketball league — doesn't include female bodies.

Thomas expects the proprietary technology to be evolve in the future and is hopeful it will be implemented in other games from 2K Games, which also publishes the "MLB 2K," "NHL 2K" and "WWE 2K" series, as well as the "BioShock" and "Borderlands" first-person shooter franchises.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Thomas. "I think in the future that every triple-A title is going to want to have some sort of tech like this. It's so much more engaging to actually look at yourself when you're playing a video game compared to some random character."

---

Online:

http://bit.ly/YSodME

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://bit.ly/M4KQ9i

3 La. metro areas among top 20 in GDP growth

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Metropolitan areas across south Louisiana fared well in 2013 in terms of the value of goods and services they produced.

The percentage gains in gross domestic product placed Lake Charles among the nation's 10 fastest-growing metro areas. Two other metros — Baton Rouge and Houma-Thibodaux — were among the top 20.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1ygcDui ) those findings were released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Lake Charles' goods and services were valued at nearly $14.9 billion last year, and its growth rate was 7.9 percent.

The Houma-Thibodaux area's GDP grew to nearly $13 billion in 2013. Those numbers revealed a growth rate of 6.8 percent.

The Baton Rouge area's GDP of nearly $52.3 billion was an increase of $2.6 billion over 2012.

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MP Hariri meets south Lebanon security officials

MP Hariri meets south Lebanon security officials

MP Bahia Hariri meets the chiefs of the security agencies in South Lebanon to discuss the safety and security of the...

House Could Vote $500 Million To Arm, Train Syrian Rebels

i i

House Speaker John Boehner has expressed cautious support for the White House plan. He and other House GOP leaders are backing a measure to authorize the arming and training of moderate Syrian rebels. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

itoggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP

House Speaker John Boehner has expressed cautious support for the White House plan. He and other House GOP leaders are backing a measure to authorize the arming and training of moderate Syrian rebels.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

President Obama will be meeting today with military officials at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants, as House lawmakers prepare for a vote to authorize training for moderate rebels to oppose the extremist group.

Meanwhile, ISIS militants released a 52-second video entitled "Flames of War" that features footage of military vehicles being blown up and promises "fighting has just begun."

YouTube

Islamic State video entitled "Flames Of War" warns that "the fighting has just begun."

In voting to approve a $500 million package to train and equip rebels, "House Republican leaders plan to offer the legislation as an amendment to a broader bill to keep the government funded into December and the Export-Import Bank open through June. The Senate would try to pass the bill by the end of the week," The New York Times reports.

According to a Washington Post story in June: "Up until now, the CIA has clandestinely trained moderate rebels in Jordan and armed them with small arms. The U.S. has also allowed other countries to provide the rebels with anti-tank missiles."

The Hill says:

"A vote on the broader use of military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) isn't expected to happen until after Election Day.

"'I think after November, there's an opportunity and probably a debate for that, seeing what transpires,' [House Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy told reporters in the Capitol on Monday. 'I know a lot of members would want to start to have that debate or have that discussion.'"

The Associated Press writes: "Republican leaders have swung behind Obama's request, though they're not pressuring the GOP rank and file to follow suit. Top Democrats promised the measure would pass."

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey appeared on Capitol Hill to outline the administration's plans to combat the Islamic State.

Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he supports the president's plan, but that if he deemed it necessary at some future date, he "would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of ground forces."

Who are the Syrian rebels the White House hopes to make allies?

NPR's Deborah Amos, reporting for Morning Edition from Turkish-Syrian border, says it's really more about who the rebels are not than who they are.

"What they are not is hardcore Islamists – that's ISIS, that's the Nusra Front, that's Ahrar Al-Sham," Deborah says.

"Those groups are on the ground here in Syria. But what the White House and certainly the people working with rebels here call the 'moderates' are more non-ideological rebels. They put out these core statements that say they are for an inclusive Syria. It doesn't mean they aren't religious. They're conservative Muslims as are most of the country."