Jacobs Engineering gets $241M contract

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. said Tuesday that it received a Navy contract worth potentially $241 million for work on warfare training equipment.

The contract is through the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons …

Marshall football recruits: A glimpse at the list of recruits expected to sign football grants- in-aid today with Marshall:

Daniel Baldridge OT, 6-9, 265 Opelousas, La., Opelousas HS Thetowering tackle was a late verbal commitment, choosing Marshall overUCLA. ... Visited UCLA two weekends ago. ... Official visit toHuntington last weekend made him lean toward Marshall. ... Gave MUverbal commitment Monday, after returning home. ... Considered asteal that eventually could play for any team in country. ... Notelling how big or how good he could become. Zach Barnard QB, 6-3,202, Owensboro, Ky., Owensboro Catholic HS MUs first commitment inClass of 2005. ... Had such an outstanding senior year went from zerostars on recruiting services to two stars by end of season. ...Connected on 283 of 430 passes for a …

Sarkozy pledges not to surrender on reform plans in the face of strikes

President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted, in the face of broad strikes by civil servants and transit workers Tuesday, that France needs reform, saying "we will not surrender and we will not retreat."

Adopting a defiant tone, Sarkozy said French voters gave him a mandate to carry out economic reforms when they elected him in May. He urged strikers to return to work.

"France needs reforms to meet the challenges imposed on it by the world," he said in a speech to a congress of mayors. "I will not betray the trust of those who elected me."

Sarkozy previously had remained uncharacteristically silent about the …

'Nicholas Brothers' weathers a few missteps at BET

THEATER REVIEW

'MY BROTHER'S KEEPER (THE STORY OF THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS)'

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

- Through May 16

- Black Ensemble Theater, 4520 N. Beacon

- Tickets, $45

- (773) 769-4451; www.blackensembletheater.org

The staircase is there, with daredevil ramps on either side. And there are a couple of brief eye-popping moments when split jumps and other high-flying antics worthy of the Nicholas Brothers -- those innovative, acrobatic dancers who electrified stage and film audiences from the 1930s on into the 1990s -- are re-enacted.

But for the most part, the Black Ensemble Theater's new show, "My Brother's Keeper (The Story …

President sets tone for condos

The president of a condominium association board, as electedleader of the community, has an opportunity to set the tone of theboard's administration during his or her tenure.

Based on my experience, here are some tips for associationpresidents beginning their terms of office:

Always post meeting notices regularly and on time. If possible,meetings should be scheduled at the same time each month (such as onthe fourth Monday).

A meeting toward the end of the month is preferable because theproperty manager's report on delinquent accounts will be available. Hold open board meetings and invite co-owners and renters. Theseare ways of gaining the trust and support …

Canadian Painter Ken Danby Dead at 67

GUELPH, Ontario - Canadian realist painter Ken Danby, best known for his 1972 painting "At the Crease," depicting a masked hockey goaltender, has died. He was 67.

Greg McKee, manager of the Danby Studio in Guelph, Ontario, said Danby was believed to have suffered a heart attack while canoeing Sunday in Canada's Algonquin Park in northern Ontario. However, the official cause of death will not be known until an autopsy is completed.

Danby, born March 6, 1940, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, has been recognized as one of the world's foremost realist painters.

"Ken Danby gave back to his country in many ways," Michael Burtch, director and curator of the Art Gallery of …

'Billy Elliot' takes 7 early Tonys; Lansbury wins

The British musical "Billy Elliot" dominated Sunday night's Tonys, collecting seven awards, including director of a musical, book of a musical and choreography, but the show and its composer Elton John were upset for best score.

That award was taken by "Next to Normal" _ which seemed to stun "Normal" composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey.

Still, the director award to Stephen Daldry of "Billy Elliot" was a big one.

"I have been blessed in my life to spend the majority of last 10 years of my life working on the story of 'Billy Elliot,'" said Daldry, who called it "a long, extraordinary …

Ida Konstant

Ida Konstant, a teacher's aide at Homewood-Flossmoor CommunityHigh School, died of cancer Monday in her Oak Lawn home. She was 63.

Mrs. Konstant had worked with visually and mentally impairedyouths at the south suburban school for the last 15 years. She wasemployed by the Metropolitan Association for Low IncidenceHandicapped, a public school co-operative that leases classroom spaceand organizes special curricula.

A native of Austria, she came to this country as an infant, andher family settled in the Brighton Park area on the Southwest Side.Mrs. Konstant graduated from Gage Park High School before …

Oscar could be coronation for composer Desplat

NEW YORK (AP) — In a film where sound is central, Alexandre Desplat's score to "The King's Speech" enters subtly.

A simple melody slinks in, a soft, demure line of hopeful piano notes, fittingly repetitive, like the stuttering speech of the film's main character, George VI (Colin Firth).

"You have to respect the silence," says Desplat, speaking from London where he's working on the score to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." ''It's quite a challenge to be able to come in in such a delicate way that you're not noticed. I think great scores have to be noticed, but they're wrong when you hear the music come in."

The score, partly recorded with a vintage …

Obama warns Americans to heed tsunami warnings

President Barack Obama says the U.S. is preparing for a tsunami that could reach American shores and he wants people in Hawaii, American Samoa and Guam to follow the instructions of local authorities.

A tsunami warning _ the highest alert level _ is in effect for those Pacific Ocean locations after a powerful earthquake struck Chile.

Obama also is encouraging people along the West Coast …

Morel Madness takes over at Thyme

It's morel season and to welcome the flavorful, spongelike cappedmushroom, the folks at Thyme restaurant are hosting a Morel Madnessspecial menu.

``I went on my first morel hunt about three years ago in Chicagoarea woods and loved the morel and the hunt,'' said John Bubala, chef/owner of Thyme, 464 N. Halsted.

``The morels are interesting mushrooms because they're created byan action and reaction that happen in nature and cannot be replicatedby man,'' says Bubala, who buys morels for the restaurant from a``trusted professional morel forager.''

Bubala says morels add a flavor of nuttiness or earthiness tofoods and can cost as much as $20 a pound in the early …

Sean Connery immortalized with Estonian bust

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — He's been honored with an Oscar and British knighthood. As of Thursday, Sean Connery can count a bronze sculpture in the Estonian capital among his tributes.

The bust of Scotland's most famous actor was unveiled by British Ambassador Peter Carter outside Tallinn's Scottish Club, whose members include Estonians enamored with Scotland and a handful of expatriate Scots.

"Sir Sean Connery is, without a doubt, an icon," Carter told dozens of invited guests. "He is variously known as James Bond or the sexiest man of the century. He's a great British actor, a great Scot actor and a great symbol for Scotland."

The Scottish Club, which started as a whiskey …

Belarus to toughen control over Internet

Belarus' authoritarian leader is promising to toughen control over the Internet and Web users.

Alexander Lukashenko said Wednesday that people posting "lies and dirt" online should be subject to prosecution.

He told journalists that a new Internet bill proposed Tuesday requires the registration and identification of all online publications and of each Web user, including visitors to Internet cafes.

The Internet has been the last fully free medium in Belarus, a former Soviet Republic that Lukashenko has ruled with an iron fist since 1994. Many of the independent newspapers ordered closed have taken refuge in cyberspace. All television channels and most of the print media are state-controlled.

Why did he say that? Rahm says it was a slip

Chicago political tea readers were pondering on Tuesday what was behind the timing of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's admission to PBS' Charlie Rose that he wants to run for mayor of Chicago when Mayor Daley quits.

After all, Emanuel tried mightily in January to douse chatter about his mayoral ambitions when such talk first surfaced. The staunch Daley loyalist said then he hoped Daley would run for another term in February 2011.

Back then, there were no on-the-record quotes from Emanuel about his interest.

Why, then, did he open up when Rose asked him Monday afternoon: "Is there any other job in government you'd like to have?"

Emanuel responded, "One day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago."

Emanuel told me Tuesday night he never intended to go as far as he did with Rose. The question came up at the end of a wide ranging interview. The usually disciplined Emanuel says he slipped up.

Earlier in the day, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who is at odds with Emanuel over the slow pace of comprehensive immigration reform in the Obama White House, told me, "I am sure every word that he spoke was not some sort of off-the-cuff remark but calculated to achieve some political goal.

"When I see Rahm Emanuel, [from now on] I don't know if I am talking to the president's chief of staff and if that is his chief priority, or if I am talking to a future candidate for the mayor of the city of Chicago," Gutierrez said.

FOOTNOTE: Emanuel never liquidated his political war chest when he joined the White House; as of April 15, he had $1,175,109.76 cash on hand that could be transferred to a mayoral campaign.

Comment at suntimes.com.

Sunday's Sports Scoreboard

All Times Eastern

Major League Baseball Playoffs Championship Series

Boston vs Tampa Bay, 8:07 p.m.

National Football League

Baltimore vs Miami, 1 p.m.

Dallas vs St. Louis, 1 p.m.

Minnesota vs Chicago, 1 p.m.

New Orleans vs Carolina, 1 p.m.

Pittsburgh vs Cincinnati, 1 p.m.

San Diego vs Buffalo, 1 p.m.

San Francisco vs N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.

Tennessee vs Kansas City, 1 p.m.

Detroit vs Houston, 4:05 p.m.

Cleveland vs Washington, 4:15 p.m.

Indianapolis vs Green Bay, 4:15 p.m.

N.Y. Jets vs Oakland, 4:15 p.m.

Seattle vs Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m.

National Basketball Association Preseason

New Jersey vs Boston, 3:30 p.m.

Denver vs Minnesota at Bismarck, N.D., 6:30 p.m.

Toronto vs L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

National Hockey League

Vancouver vs Chicago, 7 p.m.

Carolina vs Anaheim, 8 p.m.

Top 25 College Football

No games today.

Major League Soccer

Colorado vs CD Chivas USA, 3 p.m.

World Golf Glance

Site: Grand Blanc, Michigan.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club (7,127 yards, 6,517 meters, par 72).

Purse: $5 million (euro3.2 million). Winner's share: $900,000 (euro578,000).

Last year: Brian Bateman won his first U.S. PGA Tour title, birdieing the final hole for a one-stroke victory over Jason Gore, Justin Leonard and Woody Austin.

Last week: Stewart Cink won the Travelers Championship for his fifth tour victory and first since 2004, holding off Tommy Armour III and Hunter Mahan by a stroke.

Notes: The sidelined Tiger Woods won the 2002 and 2006 tournaments. ... Vijay Singh, the 1997, 2004 and 2005 winner, also is absent for the event's 50th year. ... U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate and recent tour winners Leonard and Kenny Perry, all Warwick Hills winners, are in the field along with fellow past champions Austin, Jim Furyk and Scott Verplank. ... The AT&T National is next week at Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland, followed by the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

___

PGA EUROPEAN TOUR

French Open

Site: Versailles, France.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Le Golf National, Albatross Course (7,225 yards, 6,606 meters, par 71).

Purse: $6.2 million (euro4 million). Winner's share: $1,035,655 (euro665,000).

Last year: England's Graeme Storm won his first European tour title, beating Denmark's Soren Hansen by a stroke.

Last week: Martin Kaymer became the first German winner in BMW International Open history, birdieing the first hole of a playoff with Denmark's Anders Hansen after blowing a six-stroke lead in the final round.

Notes: The tournament, first played in 1906, is the oldest championship in continental Europe. ... Jean-Francois Remesy, the 2004 and 2005 winner, tops the French contingent along with Thomas Levet, Gregory Bourdy, Gregory Havret and Michael Lorenzo-Vera. ... Lee Westwood is coming off a third-place finish in the U.S. Open. ... The strong field also includes Storm, Kaymer, Luke Donald, Robert Karlsson, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Ian Poulter and Angel Cabrera. ... Scott Strange and Felipe Aguilar are in position to earn spots in the British Open as the top nonexempt players in a money race that started with the Italian Open. ... The European Open is next week at The London Golf Club, followed by the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and the British Open at Royal Birkdale.

On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com

___

U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION

U.S. Women's Open

Site: Edina, Minnesota.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Interlachen Country Club (6,789 yards, 6,208 meters, par 73).

Purse: TBA ($3.1 million in 2007). Winner's share: TBA ($560,000 in 2007).

Last year: Cristie Kerr won at Pine Needles for her first major title. She finished at 5-under 279, two strokes ahead of Lorena Ochoa and Angela Park.

Last week: South Korea's Ji Eun-hee won the Wegmans LPGA for her first US LPGA Tour title, rallying to beat Norway's Suzann Pettersen by two strokes.

Notes: Ochoa has six victories in 12 starts this year. She won the first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco in April. ... Annika Sorenstam, in her final season on the tour, won the 1995, 1996 and 2006 tournaments. ... Bobby Jones won the 1930 U.S. Open on the Donald Ross-designed course for the third leg of the Grand Slam. ... If tied after regulation, the tournament will be decided in a three-hole playoff. ... The course is the longest in event history. ... Kerr was fifth last week in Rochester. ... The United States won the 2002 Solheim Cup at Interlachen. ... The NW Arkansas Championship is next week in Rogers.

On the Net: http://www.uswomensopen.com

US LPGA Tour site: http://www.lpga.com

___

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Commerce Bank Championship

Site: East Meadow, New York.

Schedule: Friday-Sunday.

Course: Eisenhower Park, Red Course (7,021 yards, 6,420 meters, par 71).

Purse: $1.6 million (euro1 million). Winner's share: $240,000 (euro154,000).

Last year: Lonnie Nielsen won his first Champions Tour title, holding off Loren Roberts by two strokes.

Last week: Jeff Sluman won the Bank of America Championship for his first Champions Tour title, closing with an 8-under 64 for a two-stroke victory over Roberts.

Notes: Peter Jacobsen is making his first tour start since his right knee was replaced in March. ... John Harris won the 2006 tournament, birdieing the first hole of a playoff with Tom Jenkins. ... Jim Thorpe won in 2003 and 2004. In 2003, he matched the tour record with a 10-under 60 in the second round. ... The tournament moved to Eisenhower Park five years ago after 15 years at Meadow Brook. ... Walter Hagen won the 1926 U.S. PGA Championship on the Red Course, then part of the Salisbury Country Club. ... The tour will remain in New York next week for the Dick's Sporting Goods Open at En-Joie in Endicott.

On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

___

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Men

ASIAN TOUR: Singha Thailand PGA Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Santiburi Country Club, Chiang Rai, Thailand. On the Net: http://www.asiantour.com

NATIONWIDE TOUR: Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic, Thursday-Sunday, The Georgian Bay Club and Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay, Clarksburg, Ontario. On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

NGA HOOTERS TOUR: NGA Hooters Tour Classic at Kings Creek, Thursday-Sunday, Kings Creek Golf Club, Spring Hill, Tennessee. On the Net: http://www.ngahooterstour.com

CANADIAN TOUR: ATB Financial Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Cottonwood Golf and Country Club, Calgary, Alberta. On the Net: http://www.cantour.com

PGA EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR: Scottish Challenge, Thursday-Sunday, Macdonald Cardrona Hotel Golf and Country Club, Peebles, Scotland. On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com

Women

DURAMED FUTURES TOUR: Horseshoe Casino Classic, Friday-Sunday, Lost Marsh Golf Course, Hammond, Indiana. On the Net: http://www.duramedfuturestour.com

JAPAN LPGA TOUR: Promise Cup, Friday-Sunday, Madame J Golf Club, Hyogo, Japan. On the Net: http://www.lpga.or.jp

West Pullman LSC votes principal out

West Pullman LSC votes principal out

Lifted by a tide of parental and faculty fury during its meeting Wednesday, West Pullman Elementary School's Local School Council voted unanimously to fire principal Jonadab Omeke.

"We are asking it to be done immediately," LSC Chair Felicia Hayes said following adoption of a Council motion "to terminate the current principal for cause."

Omeke, beleaguered by parents and teachers for almost the entire 16 months of his term at West Pullman, 11941 W. Parnell Ave., showed unwavering composure during the two-hour course of the acrimonious afternoon meeting.

Not once did the dignified educator lose his poise as parents and teachers hurled charges ranging from budget mismanagement to incompetence to misogyny at him.

Said 38-year veteran public schools teacher Mary Stroud, "I invite (schools CEO) Mr. Duncan to compare schools in other neighborhoods with this school. You talk about angry. Teachers are spending their own money.

"We're spending $40 to $60 every time we go to Kinko's. I'm not proud of America because America has not found the way to educate the poor."

Promising to continue spending for supplies that for the moment are unavailable at West Pullman, Stroud said, "Kids are not receiving a quality education in this school and in many segregated schools. I invite the superintendent (Duncan) to come out after he surveys schools on the North Side."

Resource Dept. head Verdella Roberts said, "We don't have textbooks. Money was spent in July, but books didn't arrive. Teachers did not have input," in the textbook selection and purchase process, she added.

"We're treated like crap. Maybe that's because of the principal's culture," she said.

Omeke, whose salary is $86,838, sat by helplessly as Catherine Coker, a West Pullman graduate and mother of three current students, complained about his handling of a recent false fire alarm, failure of the school security to allow her daughter into the gym on a cold morning, and then, referring to the issue of his "culture," of Omeke's alleged misogyny.

"I'm not a racist, but when it comes to women, you have a cloud over your head," she shouted at Nigeria-born Omeke. Calmly ignoring the charge he said "I'll investigate" Coker's other complaints.

Hayes did not dispute the misogyny accusation.

"I believe the charges about Mr. Omeke's attitude toward women," she said. As for expressions of disrespect toward her, she said she has sensed it "on occasion."

LSC member Dee Taylor concurred and said Omeke's alleged misogyny is one of the reasons for the dismissal action.

"Disrespect for women. We've lost five good teachers. All women," she said.

Complaints about textbook shortages persist and before the LCS motion to fire Omeke, Hayes said she awaits response to a letter from him to a textbook publisher demanding delivery of basic texts in science, math and social studies.

"The science book company wants to give us books, K to 8th grade, and accept payment next year. I don't have full details, but we will buy the books and pay next year," Omeke said.

"Let us know," Hayes said.

CPS Chief of Staff Peggy Davis said three reasons explain the textbook shortage.

"The principal didn't have enough books at the start of school and there were more students than were anticipated," she said.

"The LSC didn't vote to transfer discretionary funds. They had a lot of time to use supplementary funds for textbooks. The LSC didn't transfer funds until Oct. 17. Why? It's a mystery. It could have been done."

Finally, Davis said, "Books were not delivered from the vendor."

"The textbooks have been ordered and they are being distributed at this moment," Omeke said Thursday.

"The parents have been calling me all kinds of names, and this is a man who has traveled seven continents. All the principal is looking for is the education of children.

"We need an after-school program and they brushed aside the need for $27,000," to pay for it," he said of the LSC. "They are supposed to vote that I spend the money. Maybe they don't know their priorities," he said.

Article Copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.

Giuliana Rancic says she has breast cancer

NEW YORK (AP) — "E! News" co-host Giuliana Rancic (RAN'sik) says she has early stages of breast cancer.

The 37-year-old made the announcement Monday on NBC's "Today" show.

Rancic says the cancer was discovered during a mammogram while she was undergoing a third round of in-vitro fertilization in an effort to get pregnant.

Rancic says she will have surgery this week, followed by six and one-half weeks of radiation therapy.

She is married to Bill Rancic, winner of the first season of "The Apprentice."

Rancic says she still wants to get pregnant because "this baby will have saved my life."

___

Online:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/

U.S. sanctions firms in China, Iran, and Moldova

On May 9, the United States imposed sanctions on a Chinese company, an Iranian firm, and Moldovan entities for what the State Department described as missile-proliferation activities.

The Chinese and Iranian companies will be prohibited from signing contracts with the U.S. government or receiving U.S. aid for two years. They will also be forbidden from importing or exporting any civilian goods or services from the United States. The two Moldovan companies and one individual will be barred for two years from any U.S. contracts or deals for missile-related items.

The sanctions are expected to have the most impact on the Chinese company, North China Industries Corporation (NORINCO), because it conducts a lot of U.S. business. According to its Web site, NORINCO makes 4,000 different kinds of products, including oil field equipment, vehicles, explosives, and firearms. No penalties were imposed on the Chinese, Iranian, or Moldovan governments.

NORINCO has been sanctioned by the United States previously. A State Department official dryly noted May 23 that the recent event marks "chapter 20 in an ongoing story."

It is uncertain whether the Chinese activities triggering the sanctions took place before or after the Chinese government issued its new policy regulating missile and missile-related exports in August 2002. Beijing unveiled the new guidelines, which parallel those followed by the United States and the 32 other members of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), after extensive prodding by Washington. MTCR members, which do not include China, pledge to restrict transfers of missiles and related technologies that could deliver a 500-kilogram payload at least 300 kilometers.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue said May 27 that China has "strictly and effectively implemented" its new guidelines and that NORINCO has done nothing wrong.

A Central Intelligence Agency report released in April on proliferation activities during the first half of 2002 stated that Chinese firms provided Iran, as well as others, with "dual-use missile-related items, raw materials, and/or assistance" to their missile programs.

Last year, the United States levied sanctions on several Chinese companies it accused of chemical, biological, and missile proliferation. (See ACT, September 2002.)

UK, Iraqi leaders speak discuss British hostages case

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke by telephone with Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki following the release of a video showing a British hostage seized in Iraq last May.

The hostage, identified as Peter Moore, was kidnapped from the Iraqi Finance Ministry with four of his British security guards.

The leaders agreed to push efforts to free the men and jointly denounced the parading of a hostage on a videotape, Brown's office said.

The hostage takers have called for the release of nine Iraqis being held in coalition custody in exchange for the Britons.