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Jan.-Feb. / March-April / May-June / July-August / Sept.-Oct. / Nov.-Dec. 2005

    "Most newspaper article events happen anywhere from days, to months, to years before they reach publication. Consequently, most newspaper articles on this timeline are preceeded by the date of the newspaper in which they appear." [E.M.]      *Color Code

January 2005

2005 - Astronomic Configuration - January 1st, 2005: "Sun [10 Capricorn], Moon [9 Virgo], Mercury [18 Sagittarius], Venus [19 Sagittarius], Mars [4 Sagittarius], Jupiter [17 Libra], Saturn [24 Cancer R], Uranus [3 Pisces], Neptune [13 Aquarius], Pluto [22 Sagittarius], Chiron [25 Capricorn]."  

2005 - Death Toll / Indian Ocean - [....] January 1st, 2005: "Six days after the earthquake and tsunamis that ravaged 3,000 miles of coastline, the confirmed death toll passed 121,000, and 5 million people were homeless. Remote Indian islanders were said to be facing starvation. [....]" [A.P.]

*Trivia: "[....] Indonesia increased its death toll today from the earthquake and tsunamis to 94,081, raising the total number of people reported killed in 11 countries to nearly 140,000. Aid agencies have said the death toll was expected to hit 150,000. [....]" [Los Angeles Times, 01/03/05]

2005 - Strong Earthquake / Sumatra - January 1st, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 06:25:44 (UTC) on Saturday, January 1, 2005. The magnitude 6.6 event has been located OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2005/usstak/]

2005 - Hottest Year on Record? / Northern Hemisphere - "[....] According to calculations by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.K. Meteorological Office, 2005 was the hottest year on record for the Northern Hemisphere. At roughly 1.3 degrees above the historical average, 2005 was either the hottest or second hottest year in mankind's history, according to the research. [....]" [Based on: Other Views page article, p. D11, S.L.P.D., 02/23/06]

2005 - Inquired About Firing U.S. Attorneys? / Karl Rove - Early January: "The White House dropped its contention Friday [03/16/07] that former Counsel Harriet Myers first raised the idea of firing U.S. attorneys, blaming 'hazy memories.' [NP] The latest e-mails between White House and Justice Department officials show that Karl Rove inquired in early January 2005 about firing U.S. attorneys. [....] Snow [Tony Snow] said it was not immediately clear who first floated the more dramatic idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys shortly after President George W. Bush was re-elected to a second term. [NP] 'This is as far as we can go: We know that Karl recollects Harriet having raised it and his recollection is that he dismissed it as not a good idea,' Snow told reporters. 'That's what we know. We don't know motivations.' Asked if Bush himself might have suggested the firings, Snow said, 'Anything's possible ... but I don't think so.' " [Based on: A.P. article (Memories are 'hazy' on firing attorneys), p. A23, S.L.P.D., 03/17/07]

2005 - Al-Qaida Video / Iraq - January 2nd, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Al-Qaida's arm in Iraq released a video Saturday [01/01/05] showing its militants lining up five captured Iraqi security officers and executing them in the street, the latest move in a campaign to intimidate Iraqis and target those who collaborate with U.S.-led forces. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Aftershock / Sumatra - January 2nd, 2005: "[....] A 5.9 quake rocked Sumatra Sunday [01/02/05], the second strong aftershock on the hard-hit island in two days. But there were no reports of further damage or injury. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Indefinite Detentions? / U.S.A. - January 2nd, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Administration officials are preparing long-range plans for indefinitely imprisoning suspected terrorists whom they do not want to set free or turn over to courts in the United States or other countries, according to intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials. [....]" [Based on: article by Dana Priest, Washington Post]

2005 - Mad Cow / Canada - January 3rd, 2005: "TORONTO - Canada confirmed  its second case of mad cow disease on Sunday [01/02/05], just days after the United States said it planned to reopen its border to Canadian beef. [....] The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the infected cow did not enter the human food or animal feed supply and posed no risk to the public. Authorities said the cow was born in Alberta in 1996, before the introduction of the 1997 feed ban. It is suspected that the animal became infected by contaminated feed before the ban. BSE is a chronic, degenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system of cattle. Since it was first diagnosed in Britain in 1986, there have been more than 180,000 cases. Before the trade ban, animals regularly crossed the border and Canada sold more than 70 percent of its live cattle to the United States. That market was worth $1.5 billion in 2002. [....] The discovery in Washington state a year ago is the only confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States." [A.P.]

*Trivia: "[....] Canada revealed Sunday [01/02/05] that an 8-year-old dairy cow in Alberta tested positive for the brain-wasting illness, confirming preliminary test results released last week. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Suicide Car Bomb / Iraq - January 3rd, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents exposed the vulnerability of Iraq's security forces again Sunday [01/02/05], killing at least 22 national guardsmen and their driver in a suicide bombing and 10 other people in separate attacks with elections just weeks away. [....] It was the deadliest assault on Iraqi security forces since October [2004], when insurgents gunned down about 50 new national guardsmen at a fake checkpoint. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - "Judicial Hellhole" / Madison County, Il. - January 3rd, 2005: "When Prsident George W. Bush arrives in Collinsville [Illinois] on Wednesday [01/05/05] to deliver a policy speech on medical malpractice reform, he will be breaking with a long-standing, if unwritten, presidential custom. [....] Bush's appearance will be an invitation-only event at Collinsville's Gateway Center. It was arranged just two weeks after the American Tort Reform Association ranked Madison County for the second year as the nation's top 'judicial hellhole.' The group ranked St. Clair County second. [....]" [Based on: William Lamb, St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Fire / Hazardous-Waste Incineration Plant, El Dorado, Arkansas - January 3rd, 2005: "A fire at a hazardous-waste incineration plant forced hundreds of residents to flee Sunday [01/02/05] from the southern Arkansas town of El Dorado, officials said. No injuries were reported, and officials were monitoring air quality as thick smoke rose from the Teris plant, said Union County Sheriff Ken Jones. Police estimated about 1,500 people within a few miles of the plant were evacuated, El Dorado has about 23,000 residents." [Based on: News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A3, 01/03/05]

2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - January 4th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents detonated three car bombs Monday [01/03/05], including one that struck the headquarters of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's political party, as part of a campaign to derail the nation's first free election in decades. The bombings, along with two other attacks, killed at least 21 people. [....]" [Knight Ridder Newspapers]

2005 - Foreign Relations / Cuba - January 4th, 2005: "The Cuban government has resumed formal diplomatic contracts with eight European nations, including France, Germany and Britain, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Monday [01/03/05]. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Trivia / U.S. Social Security Benefits - January 4th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush's administration has signaled that it will propose changing the formula that sets initial Social Security benefit levels, cutting promised benefits by nearly a third in the coming decades, according to several Republicans close to the White House. [....]" [Washington Post]

2005 - Weather Forecast / U.S.A. - January 5th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Moisture-laden storms from the north, west and south are likely to converge on much of America over the next several days in what could be a once-in-a-generation onslaught, meteorologists forecast Tuesday [01/04/05]. [....] The last time a similar situation seemed to be brewing - especially in the west - was in January 1950, O'Lenic [Climate Prediction Center operations chief, Ed O'Lenic] said. That month, 21 inches of snow hit Seattle, killing 13 people in an extended freeze, and Sunnyvale, Calif., got an unusual tornado. The same scenario played out in 1937, when there was record flooding in the Ohio River Valley, said Wagner [Prediction Center chief meteorologist, James Wagner], of the prediction center. [....] [Knight Ridder Newspapers]

2005 - Charged / David Banach - January 5th, 2005: "Federal authorities used the Patriot Act on Tuesday [01/04/05] to charge a man with pointing a laser beam at an overhead airplane and temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot. The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called David Banach's actions 'foolhardy and negligent.' [....] Banach was released on $100,000 bail. He could get up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000." [News Services]

2005 - Nuclear Experiments? / Egypt - January 5th, 2005: "The U.N. atomic watchdog agency has found evidence of secret nuclear experiments in Egypt that could be used in weapons programs, diplomats said Tuesday [01/04/05]. The diplomats said that most of the work was carried out in the 1980s and 1990s but said the International Atomic Energy Agency also was looking at evidence suggesting some work was performed as recently as a year ago. Egypt's government rejected claims it is or has been pursuing a weapons program, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes." [Based on: News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A11, 01/05/05]

2005 - Trivia / Brain-Wasting Diseases - January 5th, 2005: "Halting brain cell suicide won't stop prion diseases similar to mad cow disease, Washington University [Mo.] researchers say. The discovery suggests that drugs for human diseases related to mad cow disease must do more than keep brain cells alive to be a cure. It may also mean that prion diseases and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, do other damage to brain cells before killing them. The results of the study appeared Tuesday [01/04/05] in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [....] The diseases result when a normal brain protein, PrP, folds into a disease-causing shape. The prion proteins clump together in fibrils and form plaques. The brain cells, especially cerebellar granule neurons, which control movement and balance, begin to die. [....]" [Based on: Tina Hesman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A4, 01/05/05]

*Trivia: "Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain in which nerve cells deteriorate and die for unknown reasons. [....] The rate of progression of Alzheimer's varies, ranging from 3 to 20 years; the average length of time from onset of symptoms until death is 8 years. [....] Alzheimer's disease affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans, striking men and women of all ethnic groups. Although most people diagnosed with Alzheimer's are older than age 60, some cases occur in people in their 40s and 50s. An estimated 10 percent of the population over age 65 have Alzheimer's, and the disease affects almost half of those over 85. In the United States, annual costs of diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care are estimated at $100 billion. [....] Treatments for cognitive and behavioral symptoms are available, but no intervention has yet been developed that prevents Alzheimer's or reverses its course. [....]" [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 94] [Link:  ] *Further Reading:  

2005 - Assassination / Governor of Baghdad - January 5th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen assassinated the governor of Baghdad province on Tuesday [01/04/05] as insurgents pressed a campaign to derail elections scheduled for Jan. 30 [2005]. The governor, Ali al-Haidari, is the highest-ranking Iraqi official slain since May [2004]. [....]" [New York Times]

2005 - Earthquake / Andaman Islands, India - January 5th, 2005: "[....] A 5.8-magnitude quake, the latest of numerous aftershocks stemming from the monstrous temblor that spawned the tsunami, rattled India's Andaman Islands early today [01/05/05]. There were no immediate reports of further injury or damage on the islands, which were hard hit by the killer waves. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - January 6th, 2005: "Insurgents strike with three suicide blasts [01/05/05] that kill at least 27." [Based on: New York Times]

2005 - Trivia / Heart Disease - January 6th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Decreasing inflammation in the body appears to be just as important for fighting heart disease as lowering cholesterol, according to a pair of new studies. Patients who reduce inflammation were significantly less likely to see their heart disease get worse or to die from a heart attack, even if their cholesterol levels were already low, the studies found. [....]" [Based on: Rob Stein, The Washington Post]

2005 - Heavy Rain / St. Louis, Mo. - January 6th, 2005: "St. Louis has received more precipitation in the first five days of this month than the first five days of any January on record." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Unsolved Mystery? / King Tut - January 6th, 2005: "LUXOR, Egypt - A team of researchers briefly removed King Tut's mummy from its tomb Wednesday [01/05/05] and laid bare his bones for a CT scan [of 1,700 images] that could solve an enduring mystery: Was it murder or natural causes that killed Egypt's boy pharaoh 3,000 years ago? [....] A simpler X-ray done 36 years ago showed bone fragments inside the skull of Tut ... but that previous test wasn't sophisticated enough to determine if the bone fragments signified a blow to the head. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - African Union Troops? / Somalia - January 6th, 2005: "The African Union agreed Wednesday [01/05/05] to send troops to Somalia to help its new government set up operations, train Somali security forces and stabalize the Horn of Africa nation, officials said. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Readiness Concern? / U.S. Army Reserve - January 6th, 2005: "The head of the Army Reserve has sent a sharply worded memo to other military leaders expressing 'deepening concern' about the continued readiness of his troops, who have been used heavily in Iraq and Afghanistan, and warning that his branch of 200,000 soldiers 'is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force.' In the memo, dated Dec. 20, Lt. Gen. James 'Ron' Helmly lashed out at what he said were outdated and dysfunctional policies on mobilizing and managing the force. He complained that his repeated requests to adjust the policies to current realities have been rebuffed by Pentagon authorities. A senior Army spokesman, Col. Joseph Curtin, said Helmly's concerns were not new and were being taken seriously." [News Services, p. A8, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 01/06/05]

2005 - Election Appeal / Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine - January 6th, 2005: "Losing presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych has appealed the results of last month's election to Ukraine's Supreme Court. He argued that the election be declared invalid because of massive fraud, a court spokeswoman said Wednesday [01/05/05]. [....]" [News Services]

*Trivia: "The Supreme Court rejected an array of motions from defeated Ukranian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych on Monday [01/17/05]. It was the ex-prime minister's apparent last legal chance to fend off the inauguration of his Western-leaning rival. [....]" [News Services, 01/18/05]

2005 - Trivia / Air Fares, U.S.A.- January 7th, 2005: "An all-out price war to boost air travel erupted Thursday [01/06/05], when American Airlines said it would broadly match Delta Air Lines' initiative to slash the most-expensive fares. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A1]

2005 - Charged / Edgar Ray Killen - January 7th, 2005: "PHILADELPHIA, Miss. - More than 40 years after one of the most notorious crimes of the turbulent civil rights era - the 'Freedom Summer' slayings of three young civil rights workers - a reputed Ku Klux Klansman [Edgar Ray Killen] was arrested Thursday [01/06/05] on state murder charges in the case. [....] In 1964, James Chaney, 21, Michael Schwerner, 24 and Andrew Goodman, 20, who were helping to register black voters, were murdered as they drove to a church to investigate a fire. They were believed to have been stopped by Klansmen, beaten and shot to death. Their bodies were found weeks later buried in a nearby dam. Nineteen men - including Killen - were indicted. Seven were convicted of federal civil rights violations in 1967 and sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 10 years. Killen was freed after his trial on federal conspiracy charges ended in a hung jury. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Toxic Train Crash / South Carolina - January 7th, 2005: "A freight train carrying chlorine gas struck a parked train early Thursday [01/06/05], killing eight people and injuring more than 240 others, nearly all of them sickened by a toxic cloud that persisted over this small textile town at nightfall. Authorities ordered all 5,400 people within a mile of the crash to evacuate in the afternoon because chlorine was continuing to leak and the gas was settling near the ground as temperatures dropped. They were unsure when the gas leak might be sealed. State Sen. Tommy Moore said Thursday night that officials at Avondale Mill, the textile plant where the crash happened, told him eight people were found dead, including five inside the mill. Eight others were in critical condition after the 2:30 a.m. wreck of Norfolk Southern trains, in which 16 cars derailed. [....]" [News Services]

*Trivia: "Crews put a temporary patch Sunday [01/09/05] on a railroad car that had been leaking toxic chlorine gas since a train wreck last week, while investigators looked into why a switching mechanism had been set to lead the train into railcars parked on a sidetrack. [....] Hersman [NTSB spokeswoman, Debbie Hersman] said the FBI was fingerprinting the switching mechanism to determine who operated it. She said there was no sign of outside tampering with the mechanism." [Based on: A.P., 01/10/05]

*Trivia: "Ten months ago, government safety officials warned that more than half of the nation's 60,000 pressurized rail tank cars did not meet industry standards, and they raised questions about the safety of the rest of the fleet as well. They were worried that the steel tanks could rupture too easily in an accident. That proved prophetic. [....] Last summer, a derailment in Texas caused a steel tank car to break open, spewing clouds of poisonous chlorine gas that killed three people. [....] Just how ruptured tank cars can endanger a community was underscored three years ago when a Canadian Pacific Railway freight train derailed just outside Minot, N.D. Five tank cars carrying a liquefied type of ammonia gas broke open, releasing toxic fumes that killed one resident and injured more than 300. [....] Among the hazardous materials carried by the tank cars are liquified ammonia, chlorine, propane and Vinyl Chloride. In most cases, chemical or leasing companies own the cars, not the railroad. [....]" [New York Times, 01/08/05]

2005 - Moderate Earthquake / India Region - January 7th, 2005: "A moderate earthquake occurred at 10:49:15 (UTC) on Friday, January 7, 2005. The magnitude 5.7 event has been located in the NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"  

2005 - Consumer Borrowing Decline / U.S.A. - January 8th, 2005: "Keeping a watchful eye on their debt, consumers cut back on their borrowing in November [2004] by the largest amount on record, the Federal Reserve said Friday [01/07/05]. Consumer credit dropped by $8.7 billion from October, marking the largest over-the-month decrease since the Fed began keeping records in 1943. The cutback represents a 5 percent decline at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. The last time consumers trimmed their borrowing was in November 2003. The Fed's report includes credit card debt and loans for such things as boats, cars and mobile homes. It does not include real estate mortgages or home-equity loans." [Based on: Business Section, p. 3, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 01/08/05]

2005 - Directors Payments / WorldCom Fraud - January 8th, 2005: "Ten former WorldCom directors will personally pay $18 million to compensate for investor losses from an accounting scandal that caused one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history. They did not admit to any wrongdoing in the WorldCom fraud. The director payments, equal to slightly more than 20 percent of their combined net worth, will be supplemented by another $36 million from insurance policies taken out by WorldCom on behalf of the directors." [Based on: p. B3, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 01/08/05]

*Trivia: "A lawyer for WorldCom Inc. investors said they will cancel a $54 million settlement with outside directors and take the case to trial. Lawyer Sean Coffey made the comment Wednesday [02/02/05] after a federal judge issued a ruling invalidating a key provision of the settlement. Banks including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which are also defendants in the case, objected to the provision. 'Regretfully, the objection raised by WorldCom's bankers will have an unfortunate consequence: lead plantiff will have to terminate the settlement rather than risk a reduction in any jury verdict against the banks,' Coffey said." [Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Post-Dispatch reports.]

2005 - Snow and Floods / U.S.A. - January 9th, 2005: "LOS ANGELES - About 180 people, including some who spent more than 12 hours stuck in deep snow in the san Bernardino Mountains, were rescued Saturday [01/08/05] as the latest in a series of storms that struck California. The storms quickly moved east, closing all three major highways over the Sierra Nevada. Snow piled up 3 to 4 feet deep along a 15-mile stretch of highway between the Snow Valley ski resort and Big Bear dam, said Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County fire department. [....] Up to 15 inches of snow were reported in parts of Colorado's San Juan Mountains, as well. In the East, rain and snow that fell last week caused flooding along the Ohio River that was chasing some residents out of their homes in communities of West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. The stormy weather had caused widespread outages in parts of Ohio, and utilities said about 100,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity on Saturday [01/08/05]. Elsewhere in California, up to four feet of snow fell overnight in the Sierra Nevada around Lake Tahoe, ski areas reported Saturday. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - U.S. Wounded Status / Iraq War - "The Pentagon reported last Tuesday [01/04/05] that the number of U.S. troops wounded in the Iraq war had passed 10,000. Of the 10,252 wounded since the war began in March 2003, about half - 5,396 - were hurt so badly they couldn't return to duty. The rest were patched up and sent back to work. [....]" [Based on: Kevin Horrigan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. B3, 01/09/05]

2005 - Volcanic Activity / Mount Etna, Italy - January 9th, 2005: "A light plume of ash and steam rose from Mount Etna on January 8, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image. Located on Sicily, not far from the southern tip of the Italian peninsula, Etna has one of the world’s longest records of documented eruptions. The volcano rises to 3,350 meters (10,991 feet) and is Europe’s largest volcano. Mount Etna’s last major eruption was in 2001, though additional small eruptions have been recorded since then. According to local news reports, the most recent eruption did not threaten local communities and seemed to end on January 8.  [....]" [Link: 1] 

2005 - Mistaken U.S. Airstrike / Mosul, Iraq - January 9th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - The United States military said it dropped a 500-pound bomb on the wrong house outside the northern city of Mosul on Saturday [01/08/05], killing five people. The man who owned the house said the bomb killed 14 people, and an Associated Press photographer said seven of them were children. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Run Aground / U.S. Nuclear Sub, Guam - "HONOLULU - A nuclear submarine ran aground Saturday [01/08/05] about 350 miles south of Guam, injuring around 20 sailors and sustaining severe damage, the Navy said. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Campaign Ads? / Iraq - January 10th, 2005: "[....] Far from Madison Avenue - in more ways than one - television advertisements are emerging as a significant element in Iraq's landmark election Jan. 30. The first partisan spots ran last week, produced and aired for free on U.S.-backed Al-Iraqiya, the sole channel based in Iraq that broadcasts nationwide. Bolder still, the Iraqi List, the election slate headed by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, is buying prime-time spots on satellite and local channels. [....]" [Based on: Los Angeles Times]

*Trivia: "In the months before the Iraqi elections in January [2005], President George W. Bush approved a plan to provide covert support to certain Iraqi candidates and political parties, but rescinded the plan because of congressional opposition, current and former government officials said Saturday [07/16/05]. [....]" [Based on: article by Douglas Jehl & David E. Sanger, p. A2, S.L.P.D., 07/17/05]

2005 - Sinkhole / Florida - January 10th, 2005: "A large sinkhole opened Sunday in Orange City, destroying one house, damaging a second and forcing the temporary evacuation of 11 others. No injuries were reported. A woman fled with her baby before their home sank to the level of its roof, Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron said. [....] Sinkholes are common in central Florida. They form when erosion enlarges underground caverns and the formations collapse. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Flooding / S. Indiana - January 10th, 2005: "[....] Indiana officials said some of the worst flooding since 1937 had isolated pockets across the southern part of the state, forcing hundreds of people from their homes." [A.P.]

2005 - Trivia / Southern Sudan - January 10th, 2005: "Africa's longest-running conflict officially ended Sunday [01/09/05] as representatives of the Sudanese government and rebel forces signed a comprehensive peace accord in Nairobi, Kenya. The deal gives southern Sudan religious and political autonomy and a share of Sudan's oil riches. Sudan's first vice president, Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, and the leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, John Garang, signed the agreement. The two-decade civil war pitted the Islamic government against rebels based in the mostly animist and Christian south. It left 2 million people dead, primarily from famine and disease, and 4 million homeless. Under the accord, Islamic law will apply to the north but not the south. The south will have a six-year interim period of self-rule, after which it will vote in a referendum on whether to remain part of Sudan or secede. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, representing the United States, also signed the agreement as a witness. Joining Powell at the ceremony was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth. The deal does not address an unrelated conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan." [Based on: News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A5, 01/10/05]

2005 - Heavy Snow / Sierra Nevada - January 10th, 2005: "RENO, Nev. - Areas of the Sierra Nevada, famous for paralyzing amounts of snowfall, have been hit with a dumping like they haven't seen in generations. Steep drifts stranded an Amtrak train, knocked out the Reno airport and shut down major highways across the mountains. The string of moisture-laden storms has dropped up to 19 feet of snow at elevations above 7,000 feet since Dec. 28 and 6 1/2 feet at lower elevations in the Reno area. Meteorologista said it was the most snow the Reno-Lake Tahoe area has seen since 1916. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Shipping Accident / Ohio River - January 10th, 2005: "INDUSTRY, Pa. - A towboat and three barges sank Sunday [01/09/05] after being swept over a dam spillway on the Ohio River by currents made stronger by heavy rain, killing three crew members. One person was missing and believed to be aboard the sunken boat. [....] The river normally flows at 3 to 4 mph, but the current was about 10 to 15 mph Sunday because of recent rain and flooding, said John Anderson, the lockmaster. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Mahmoud Abbas / Palestinian Authority - January 10th, 2005: "RAMALLAH, West Bank - Mahmoud Abbas claimed a landslide victory [62.3 percent] Sunday [01/09/05] as voters ushered in a new era with a Palestinian Authority president they hope will steer them beyond the turbulent reign of the late Yasser Arafat. [....]" [Cox News Service]

2005 - Mud Slide / S. California - January 11th, 2005: "LA CONCHITA, Calif.. - A huge mudslide crashed down on homes in a coastal hamlet with terrifying force Monday [01/10/05], killing at least two people and leaving up to 12 missing as a Pacific storm hammered Southern California for a fourth straight day. [....]" [A.P. - The New York Times contributed to this report.]

*Trivia: [....] "From the start of the latest dose of violent weather on Friday [01/07/05] through Monday [01/10/05] evening, several mountainous areas in Southern California had recorded more than 20 inches of rain, including more than 27 inches in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. [....] The average amount of winter rainfall in downtown Los Angeles is 15 inches, but nearly 22 inches had fallen as of Monday, including a Jan. 9 record of 2.6 inches, said national Weather Service meteoroligist Bruce Rockwell. [....] The train of storms that has slammed into California also spread rain, snow and ice eastward across the nation. The storms have piled up 10 feet of snow in the Rockies, where three skiers on a family outing were reported missing Monday. Last week's heavy rain and snow also produced flooding along the Ohio River that has affected communities in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, covering riverside roads and forcing some residents to evacuate. One person died Monday in Ohio when he drove into high water." [A.P. - The New York Times contributed to this report.]

2005 - Adopt-A-Highway / Ku Klux Klan - January 11th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court rejected on Monday [01/10/05] Missouri's appeal in a long-running drive to bar the Ku Klux Klan from the Adopt-A-Highway program, possibly spelling the end of the state-sponsored litter control effort. Without comment, the court let stand a lower court ruling that said Missouri had violated the freedom of speech rights of a Klan group by refusing to enroll its members in the highway cleanup program. The court's rejection was a setback for Missouri and other states hoping to avoid being forced to let racist groups take part in highway programs and then publicly acknowledge their work. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau]

2005 - Trivia / State Farm Insurance Co. - January 11th, 2005: "The nation's largest car insurer disclosed Monday [01/10/05] that it had mistakenly resold some 30,000 cars, SUV's and trucks without disclosing that they had been in wrecks. State farm Insurance also said it would pay $40 million in damages - once it finds the drivers who bought those vehicles. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Fourth-Quarter Profit  Loss / Alcoa Inc. - January 11th, 2005: "Alcoa Inc., the world's biggest aluminum maker, said fourth-quarter profit fell 7.9 percent because of costs to sell some businesses and the weaker U.S. dollar. [....]" [Bloomberg News]

2005 - Settlement / Southwest Securities Inc. - January 11th, 2005: WASHINGTON - Regional brokerage Southwest Securities Inc. of Dallas has agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations of failing to supervise brokers who engaged in fraudulent and improper trading of mutual fund shares, it was announced Monday [01/10/05]. Three of Southwest's managers, including its former president and chief executive, have agreed to pay an additional total of $257,000. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Cancer Suit / R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. - January 11th, 2005: "R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the No. 2 U.S. cigarette maker, must pay an Arkansas man more than $9 million for his wife's death from cancer, a federal appeals court in St. Louis has ruled. The court upheld an Arkansas jury's verdict that Pall Mall cigarettes caused the fatal lung cancer of Mary Jane Boerner, who smoked the cigarettes for 36 years. The court also cut the punitive damage award to $5 million from $15 million." [Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.]

2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - January 12th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 22 Iraqis were killed in a fresh round of attacks Tuesday [01/11/05] as interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi acknowledged that parts of the country were too lawless to take part in the upcoming national election. [....]" [Los Angeles Times]

2005 - FTC vs. X-Rated Spam - January 12th, 2005: "Claiming a victory against X-rated spam, the Federal Trade Commission said it had won an order to shut down illegal Internet advertising for six companies accused of profiting from sexually explicit e-mail. [....] Frank Cremen, who represents the companies named in the complaint, said that his clients have 'no quarrel' complying with the law and that the spamming had stopped before the FTC filed its complaint." [Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.]

2005 - End / Iraq Survey Group - January 12th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has ended nearly two years after President George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley, Va. In interviews, officials who served with the Iraq Survey Group said the violence in Iraq, coupled with a lack of new information, led them to fold up the effort shortly before Christmas. [....]" [Washington Post]

2005 - House Arrest / Daniel Bayly - January 12th, 2005: "The most senior of four former Merrill Lynch & Co. bankers [Daniel Bayly] convicted of helping Enron push through a bogus deal to book false earnings has been placed on house arrest pending sentencing, and his bond has been increased to $2 million from $100,000." [Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.]

2005 - Mad Cow / Alberta, Canada - January 12th, 2005: "Authorities confirmed on Tuesday [01/11/05] another case of mad cow disease in Alberta, the second this month. [...] Canadian officials said no part of the cow has entered the human or animal feed system. [....] Canada's first case of mad cow surfaced in May 2003." [From News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A11, 01/12/05]

2005 - Car Bomb Trivia / Iraq - January 13th, 2005: "lBAGHDAD, Iraq - Car bombs echo across Baghdad and a constellation of cities around Iraq nearly every day, inflicting slaughter and billowing oily smoke, a reminder to all who see or hear them that the country's insurgents can strike almost anywhere. [....] An Associated Press tally shows there have been at least 181 of them since Iraq's interim government took over June 28 - just a handful at first but surging to a rate of one or maore a day in recent months. Those bombs killed about 1,000 people, both Iraqis and Americans, and wounded twice as many. The tally found that 68 bombings were suicide attacks and the rest were detonated by other means. Most involved cars, but some used trucks and even motorcycles. [....] The bombing total was compiled from the AP's daily reports, based on government and police statements as well as information gathered by the AP staff. No official statistics on such attacks have been publicly released, and the number of incidents is almost certainly higher than reported. The U.S. military and the Iraqi government were asked for their figures but provided none. [....]" [Based on: Nick Wadhams, A.P.]

2005 - Launch / "Deep Impact" - January 13th, 2005: "A NASA spacecraft [Deep Impact] ... blasted off Wednesday [01/12/05] on a mission to smash a hole in a comet [Temple 1] and give scientists a glimpse of the primordial ingredients of the solar system. [....] It will be a one-way trip that NASA hopes will reach a catacylsmic end on the Fourth of July [2005]." [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Trivia / Foreign Criminals, U.S.A. - January 13th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday [01/12/05] that the government may not indefinitely detain criminals who are illegal immigrants, undercutting an administration policy applied to foreigners deemed too dangerous to be freed. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Huygens Probe / Titan - January 14th, 2005: "A 705-pound European spacecraft is scheduled early today to probe the surface of Titan, one of Saturn's moons." [E.M.]

*Trivia: "A European space probe Friday [01/14/05] sent back the first detailed pictures of the frozen surface of Saturn's moon Titan, showing black-and-white images of what appeared to be hilly terrain riddled with channels or riverbeds carved by a liquid. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Truck Bomb / Gaza Strip - January 14th, 2005: "GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian militants set off a large truck bomb as gunmen stormed an Israeli base at a vital Gaza crossing Thursday [01/13/05], killing six Israelis and wounding five in an attack that defied peace efforts by new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Unfree Speech? / Saudi Arabia - January 14th, 2005: "A religious court has sentenced 15 Saudis, including a woman, to as many as 250 lashes each and up to six months in prison for participating in a protest against the monarchy, judicial officials said Thursday. [....]" [News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A9, 01/14/05]

2005 - Evolution Disclaimers Removed / Atlanta - January 14th, 2005: "ATLANTA - A federal judge has ordered a suburban Atlanta school system to remove stickers from its high school biology textbooks that call evolution 'a theory, not a fact,' saying the disclaimers are an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. [....] The stickers were added after more than 2,000 parents complained that the textbooks presented evolution as fact, without mentioning rival ideas about the beginnings of life, such as the biblical story of creation. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Asbestos Suit / St. Louis, MO. - January 14th, 2005: "The city of St. Louis and Lambert airport officials have been notified [01/13/05] that they are being sued for hundreds of violations of federal environmental laws by using an illegal asbestos removal technique to demolish homes and businesses in the path of a new runway. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A1, 01/14/05]

2005 - Word Control, Thought Control, World Control - January 14th, 2005:

Anyone familiar with George Orwell’s 1984 is already aware of the idea that controlling a people’s definition of words, controlling the meanings that those words evoke in the minds of the general public, is integral to achieving actual thought control of the populace.

[Based on: Mathew Kristin Kiel - http://signs-of-the-times.org/signs/thought_control.htm]  

2005 - Assassination / Sheik Mahmoud al-Madaini, Iraq - January 14th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen killed a representative [Sheik Mahmoud al-Madaini] of Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, and five other people in an attack south of Baghdad on Wednesday [01/12/05], the cleric's office said Thursday [01/13/05]. [....]" [New York Times]

2005 - Social Security Trivia / U.S.A. - January 15th, 2005: "Social Security taxes will have to rise by half if lawmakers don't revamp the giant program, President George W. Bush's budget chief [Joshua Bolten] said Friday [01/14/05] [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Dirty Water? / Missouri, U.S.A. - January 15th, 2005: "[....] As reported in a Jan. 6 article, Missouri has had 20 years to comply with clean water standards, yet we have still failed to clean up over 90 percent of our waterways. According to a Jan. 9 article, the Metropolitan Sewer District is arguing that its sewage treatment plants should be exempt from disinfecting sewage before discharging it into certain streams. MSD plans to get around upgrading the equipment by claiming an exemption for waters that are too shallow for swimming. [....]" [Based on: Editorial Section, p. 30, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 01/15/05]

2005 - Bitter Cold Temperatures / U.S.A. - January 15th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Bitter cold hit the nation's midsection Friday, with temperatures falling enough to cancel an ice fishing contest in Minnesota. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Broken Contact / Israel & Palestine - January 15th, 2005: "JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cut all contact Friday with the newly elected Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Sharon said Abbas must halt militant attacks if he wants peace talks. The decision came on the eve of Abbas's inauguration." [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Damaged Ruins / Babylon, Iraq - January 16th.2005: "LONDON - U.S.-led troops using the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon as a base have damaged and contaminated artifacts dating back thousands of years in one of the world's most important archaeological sites, the British Museum said Saturday [01/15/05]. [....] The remains of Babylon have been occupied since the early days of the invasion by U.S. Marines and, more recently, by soldiers from Poland and other countries. Babylon is 50 miles south of Baghdad. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Crime Statistics / St. Louis, Mo. - January 16th, 2005: "Somebody is robbed in the city of St. Louis every three hours, on average. At least, that is what the official crime statistics suggest. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A1, 01/16/05]

*Trivia: "[....] The Post-Dispatch disclosed Sunday [01/16/05] that for at least two years, St. Louis police avoided writing full reports on at least hundreds of incidents called in as crimes. It meant they would not be counted in the city's crime statistics, a clear violation of FBI guidelines and department policy. [....]" [By Jeremy Kohler, St Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A1, 01/17/05]

2005 - Manpower Crisis? / U.S. Army - January 16th, 2005: "ATLANTA - The Army may not be scraping the bottom of the manpower barrel yet, but critics say the service is coming dangerously close. [....] Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resourse Center, a veterans advocacy group in Washington, said the Army is now dipping into its last pool of resources. 'The only thing they have left is the draft.' [....] The initial plan to stop the manpower drain was the stop-loss policy, by which the Army can keep soldiers in uniform beyond the expiration of their active duty contracts. As of Jan. 1, more than 12,000 retired soldiers were under the stop-loss orders, including 6,657 on active duty, Hilferty [Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a Pentagon spokesman] said. Last year the Pentagon began recalling Individual Ready Reserve soldiers. They are soldiers who have fulfilled their active duty contract but remain eligible for recall for up to eight years after enlistment. Just under 4,000 Ready Reserves received mobilization orders. [....]" [Cox News Service]

2005 - Strong Earthquake / Micronesia - January 16th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 20:17:50 (UTC) on Sunday, January 16, 2005. The magnitude 6.6 event has been located in STATE OF YAP, FED. STATES OF MICRONESIA. The hypocentral depth was poorly constrained. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"

[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2005/ustiaq/] 

2005 - Sentenced / Spc. Charles Graner Jr. - January 16th, 2005: "FORT HOOD, Texas - Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr. was sentenced Saturday [01/15/05] to 10 years behind bars for physically and sexually mistreating Iraqis in the first court-martial stemming from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - January 17th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents stepped up their attacks Sunday [01/16/05], two weeks ahead of national elections, ambushing a car carrying a prominent female candidate [Salama al-Khafaji - the second attempt on her life since May 2004] and killing 16 people in other assaults. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - January 18th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents kidnapped a Catholic archbishop [Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of the Syrian Catholic Church] and targeted Iraqi security forces in a series of  brazen assaults Monday [0117/05] that killed more than 20 people. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Fatality / Zhao Ziyang, China - January 17th, 2005: "Reportedly died this date in history: Zhao Ziyang."

2005 - Oldest  Woman to Give Birth? - January 18th, 2005: "BUCHAREST, Romania - A 66-year-old professor who writes children's books claims to have become the world's oldest woman to give birth. Doctors said Monday [01/17/05] she and her day-old baby daughter were in good condition in intensive care. [....] Doctors at the Giulesti Maternity Hospital in Bucharest said Adriana Ilescu became pregnant through in vitro fertilization using sperm and egg from anonymous donors. They said she delivered her her first child, Eliza Maria, by Caesarean section on Sunday and that a twin sister was stillborn. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Trivia / COX-2 Inhibitors - January 18th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Two studies released Monday [01/17/05] have turned up new evidence that all of the popular arthritis painkillers known as COX-2 inhibitors may put users at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes. [....]" [Washington Post]

2005 - Peabody Coal Plant? / Illinois - January 18th, 2005: "The company planning to build a controversial $2 billion power plant in Illinois' Washington County says it could begin construction as soon as the end of this year, now that it has received its air pollution permit. Illinois environmental officials overruled objections about haze, acid rain and asthma in approving the permit late Friday [01/14/05] for the large new coal-fired power plant between Marissa and Lively Grove, about 40 miles southeast of St. Louis. [....]" [Based on: Sara Shipley, St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Suicide Bomber / Gaza - January 19th, 2005: "GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - In the biggest test of his brief tenure, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday [01/18/05], hoping to persuade militants to halt attacks on Israel. But in a show of defiance, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a settler road in Gaza, killing an Israeli security agent and wounding seven other Israelis. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Traffic Jam / Ohio River - January 19th, 2005: "Traffic on a 42-mile stretch of the Ohio River was restricted Tuesday [01/18/05] because gates used to control the water level were jammed in the open position by wrecked barges. [....] The water is normally 12 feet deep at the Belleville lock, which was built in 1968. By Tuesday afternoon, it had dropped to 6 feet, 9 inches and was expected to fall to 6 feet, the lowest level along that stretch since the late 1880s, when locks and dams were first built on the Ohio." [News Services]

2005 - John Dunham / May Dept. Stores Co. - January 19th, 2005: "NEW YORK - May Department Stores Co. shares surged 16 percent, the biggest gain in more than 25 years, after Chief Executive Eugene Kahn resigned last week amid declining sales and profit. [....] May named President John Dunham acting chief executive while it conducts a search for a successor [....]" [Bloomberg News]

2005 - Robert P. May / Charter Communications Inc. - January 19th, 2005: "Charter Communications Inc. signaled a new  emphasis on improving operations and customer service Tuesday [01/18/05] by putting Robert P. May in charge as interim chief executive and president. May takes over from Carl E. Vogel, 47, whose resignation was announced Tuesday after more than three years on the job. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Stephen F. Cooper / Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. - January 19th, 2005: "[....] Shares of Krispy Kreme jumped more than 10 percent on the news that Livengood [Scott A.], chief executive for the last seven years, will be replaced by Stephen F. Cooper, who has been overseeing the bankruptcy reorganization of Enron Corp. as interim CEO. Cooper has three decades of experience in corporate restructurings at Enron, Polaroid, TWA, Boston Chicken and Pegasus Gold. [....]" [Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg News reports.]

2005 - Trivia / Somalia - January 20th, 2005: "Somalia's transitional government in exile said Wednesday [01/19/05] it would start moving back to Mogadishu by the end of the month, despite threats of attack by Islamic militants. [....] Somalia has had no central government since 1991, when opposition leaders ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on eachother." [News Services]

2005 - Sun in Aquarius - January 20th, 2005: "Reported date when the Sun entered the constellation Aquarius." [Based on: http://www.astro.com/swisseph/swephae.htm - 2005 A]

2005 - Health Study / Plavix - January 20th, 2005: "BOSTON - A heart drug recommended by medical groups as an easy-on-the-stomach substitute for aspirin instead showed a much higher risk of recurrent ulcers in a small but provocative study. The study of the drug Plavix could upend the treatment guidelines for tens of thousands of Americans who must take anti-clotting drugs for their hearts but are prone to gastriointestinal problems. The study is published in today's New England Journal of Medicine. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Car Bombs / Baghdad, Iraq - January 20th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents unleashed a deadly wave of five car bombings across the capital Wednesday [01/19/05], despite stepped-up U.S. and Iraqi measures to protect this month's elections. The U.S. military put the death toll from the day's Baghdad bombings at 26, saying the number was based on initial reports at the scene. Iraqi officials gave a lower toll - 12 people killed in the bombings and one when gunmen fired at the office of a major Kurdish party. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Profit Loss / General Motors Corp. - January 20th, 2005: "General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, said fourth-quarter profit fell 37 percent as health costs climbed and losses increased in Europe. The company projected a decline in first-quarter profit. [....]" [Bloomberg News]

2005 - U.S. Treasurer / Anna Escobedo Cabral - January 20th, 2005: "Anna Escobedo Cabral was sworn in Wednesday [01/19/05] as the nation's 42nd U.S. treasurer. Cabral, who had served as a longtime aid to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, succeeds Rosario Marin, who resigned in May 2003. The treasurer's signature, along with that of the treasury secretary, appears on all U.S. currency." [News Services]

2005 - Cancer / Leading Cause of Death, U.S.A. - January 20th, 2005: "LOS ANGELES - Cancer is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 85, surpassing deaths from heart disease for the first time, researchers said Wednesday [01/19/05]. [....] In 2002, the most recent year for which data are available, 476,009 Americans under 85 died of cancer, compared with 450,637 who died of heart disease, according to the American Cancer Society's annual report issued Wednesday. [....]" [Based on: Los Angeles Times]

2005 - Waksals  Settlement / Imclone Systems Inc. - January 20th, 2005: "Samuel Waksal, the former chief executive of Imclone Systems Inc., and his father said Wednesday [01/19/05] that they'll pay more than $5 million to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [....] Sam tried to sell nearly $5 million worth of Imclone shares and tipped off his father after learning in December 2001 that the Food and Drug Administration was expected to reject the company's Erbitux drug, the SEC alleged in a civil suit." [Bloomberg News]

2005 - Bird Flu / Vietnam - January 21st, 2005: "Vietnam confirmed on Thursday [01/20/05] the sixth human death from bird flu in three weeks. Neighboring Thailand recorded its first case among poultry this year as health experts expressed concern about a possible repeat of last year's devastating outbreak. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Trivia / Doe Run, Peru - January 21st, 2005: "About 475 years ago, Francisco Pizzaro and a small group of Spanish conquistadors arrived in Peru. They destroyed the Inca empire - then the largest and most advanced in the Western Hemisphere - and seized its gold and silver.
   "That was then.
   "This is now: About 18,000 children live in La Oroya, Peru. Virtually every one of them is lead poisoned, independent researchers concluded two years ago. About 28 percent were so severly poisoned that they should have been hospitalized immediately.
   "The source of that lead poisoning is a giant metal smelter in the town. Since 1997, it has been owned by Doe Run Resources Group of Maryland Heights [Mo.]. That's the same company that owns the smelter in Herculaneum, Mo. Coincidentally, tests conducted during 2001 found 28 percent of the children living around the Herculaneum smelter were lead poisoned, although they didn't require hospitalization.
   "The Peruvian smelter polluted long before it was purchased by Doe Run. But when Doe Run bought the La Oroya smelter in 1997, it agreed to an environmental cleanup plan. In return, it got permission to exceed Peruvian pollution standards for 10 years. The former Peruvian official who negotiated the deal later went to work for Doe Run. [....] The company's threat to close its La Oroya smelter was characterized by Hunter Farrell, an American Presbyterian missionary working in Peru, as 'economic blackmail.' The smelter employs 3,500 people, a good chunk of the local work force. If it closed, they would have no work. [....] The Roman Catholic Bishop of La Oroya recently asked St. Louis University to visit the town to assess possible contamination in workers' homes. If Doe Run is sincerly concerned about its workers' welfare, it should support the testing, tell its workers they won't lose their jobs for having their homes tested for contamination, and immediately act on the results.
   "Since Doe Run bought its Peruvian smelter, the prices of lead, copper and gold - the metals refined there - have increased by 66 percent, 74 percent and 76 percent respectively. Somewhere, Francisco Pizzaro is smiling." [Based on: Editorial Section, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. B6, 01/21/05]

*Trivia: "[....] The people of Doe Run Peru and its corporate parent, the Doe Run Company of Maryland Heights [Mo.], are compassionate, hardworking individuals doing what's right for their communities, both here and abroad. Given the complex issues in Peru, slinging accusations and placing unwarranted blame not only oversimplifies and challenges, but also insults our employees and the people of La Oroya, who continue to work hand-in-hand with the government and the company on future plans that are far from ugly." [Based on article by Bruce Neil & Barbara Shepard, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. B7, 02/01/05]

2005 - Icy Conditions / North Carolina - January 21st, 2005: "RALEIGH, N.C. - A mere inch of snow was all it took to cripple North Carolina's capital, causing gridlock and leaving 3,000 students stranded in classrooms overnight. Dry snow hit already frigid streets at midday Wednesday [01/19/05] and turned to ice as schools and businesses scrambled to close early. Thousands of drivers were on the roads before salt trucks could treat the pavement. While a TV weatherman hung his head in shame Thursday - telling viewers his forecast of a mere dusting was 'embarrassing' - the mayor criticized meteorologists for leaving Raleigh unprepared. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Research / Alzheimer's Disease - January 21st, 2005: "Some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease may be reversible, suggests new research from Washington University [Mo.]. [....] About 4.5 million people in the United States have the debilitating memory-robbing disease, and the number is expected to grow as the population ages. [....] No one knows whether antibody therapy could help people with Alzheimer's disease. Clinical trials of antibodies against beta-amyloid were halted when some people developed serious side effects. But scientists are now testing a variety of drugs aimed at stopping plaque formation or breaking them up, Gandy [Samuel Gandy, director of the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia] said." [....] [Based on: Tina Hesman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, pp. A1 & A12, 01/21/05]

*Trivia: "Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain in which nerve cells deteriorate and die for unknown reasons. [....] The rate of progression of Alzheimer's varies, ranging from 3 to 20 years; the average length of time from onset of symptoms until death is 8 years. [....] Alzheimer's disease affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans, striking men and women of all ethnic groups. Although most people diagnosed with Alzheimer's are older than age 60, some cases occur in people in their 40s and 50s. An estimated 10 percent of the population over age 65 have Alzheimer's, and the disease affects almost half of those over 85. In the United States, annual costs of diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care are estimated at $100 billion. [....] Treatments for cognitive and behavioral symptoms are available, but no intervention has yet been developed that prevents Alzheimer's or reverses its course. [....]" [Based on: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2005, p. 94] [Link:  ]  *Further Reading:  

2005 - Flooding / Guyana, South America - January 21st, 2005: "Thousands of flood-stricked Guyanese waited for food aid along a main highway Thursday [01/20/05], as the South American country of Guyana struggled to recover from flooding caused  by the heaviest rains in a century. More than 40 inches of rain have fallen in the former British colony since Dec. 26, including 25 inches this month alone. Two people have been reported killed. [....] [News Services]

2005 - Audiotape / Abu Musab al-Zarqawi? - January 21st, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - An audiotaped message attributed to Iraq's most feared terrorist leader called on his followers Thursday [01/20/05] to show patience and prepare for a long struggle against the Americans. [....] The 90-minute message - purportedly from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and posted on the internet - appeared to be aimed at rallying his forces after the loss of their base in Fallujah and at marshaling support as Iraqis prepare for their first elections since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. [....] [A.P.]

2005 - Confirmation Trivia / Bush Administration - January 21st, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Senate on Thursday [01/20/05] confirmed the first two new members of President George W. Bush's Cabinet, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Four More Years / George W. Bush - January 21st, 2005: "WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush took the oath of office for his second term on Thursday [01/20/05]...."

2005 - Research Trivia / Mad Cow Disease - January 21st, 2005: "NEW YORK - Mad cow disease has long been thought to occur in just the brains and nervous systems of infected animals. But scientists are reporting today that the proteins thought to cause the disease can travel to other organs as well. The research is based on experiments with mice, but if the finding is born out in other species, it may suggest that no part of an infected animal is safe to eat. The disease leads to a fatal brain infection in humans. [....]" [Based on: New York Times article posted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A12, 01/21/05, right beside the [rest of the] article about Alzheimer's disease - depicting a large syringe next to the head of a mouse, a nerve cell, and damaged brain tissue.]

*Trivia: "Mad cow, first diagnosed in 1986 in the United Kingdom, is thought to have resulted from the feeding of meat and bone meal containing infected sheep parts to cattle. The outbreak probably was then made worse by 'amplification'- feeding meat-and-bone meal made from those cattle to young calves. [....]" [Based on: St. Petersburg Times, 03/12/01]    *Further Reading:  

2005 - Car Bombs / Iraq - January 22nd, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 16 Iraqis were killed and dozens were wounded Friday [01/21/05] in separate car bomb attacks outside a mosque in Baghdad and near a wedding party south of capital, according to Iraqi government and hospital officials. [....] [New York Times]

2005 - Chinese Hostages / Iraq - January 22nd, 2005: "[....] Eight Chinese workers were kidnapped this week, and on Friday [01/21/05], insurgents who have threatened to kill them said they would be treated mercifully' if China banned all its citizens from entering Iraq, according to a video obtained by Reuters. [....]" [New York Times]

2005 - Trivia / Muslim Hajj - January 23nd, 2005: "MECCA, Saudi Arabia - As rains lashed the Saudi Desert, tens of thousands of drenched Muslim pilgrims welcomed the deluge Saturday [01/22/05] as an act of God while they circled the cubic Kaaba shrine in this holy city's Grand Mosque, the final rite in the hajj pilgrimage. A record 2.56 million people attended this year's hajj, which all able-bodied Muslims must perform at least once in their lifetime if they can afford it. Saudi authorities, jittery over fears that terrorists might strike the event, said increased security and improved crowd management saw the pilgrimage go off without a hitch. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Died / Johnny Carson - January 23rd, 2005: "Reportedly died this date in history: Former 'Tonight' show host, Johnny Carson. He was 79."

2005 - Contaminated Stem Cells? - January 24th, 2005: "The human embryonic stem cells available for reaearch are contaminated with nonhuman molecules from the culture medium used to grow the cells, researchers have reported. The nonhuman cell-surface sialic acid can compromise the potential uses of the stem cells in humans, say scientists at the University of California at San Diego. Their study was published Sunday [01/23/05] in the online edition of Nature Medicine. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Winter Storm / New England, U.S.A. - January 24th, 2005: "BOSTON - A powerful blizzard crashed with all its fury Sunday [01/23/05] on New England, shutting airports, closing highways, flooding streets in coastal communities, knocking out power and dumping what in some areas appeared to be a record 24-hour snowfall. The storm was accompanied by howling, hurricane-force winds that caused whiteout conditions and left snowdrifts that resembled frozen dunes. Ocean waves 30-feet high rolled over seawalls. Temperatures averaged about 10 degrees with wind chills more like 10 below. [....]" [Los Angeles Times]

2005 - President Viktor Yushchenko / Ukraine - January 24th, 2005: "KIEV, Ukraine - Before a vast crowd of supporters celebrating with a burst of orange ballons, doves and chants, newly inaugurated President Viktor Yushchenko promised Sunday [01/23/05] to steer a new course for Ukraine - away from corruption and political cronyism and into the European Union. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Revelation? / Human Hybrids - January 25th, 2005: "Scientists have begun blurring the line between human and animal by producing chimeras—a hybrid creature that's part human, part animal. Chinese scientists at the Shanghai Second Medical University in 2003 successfully fused human cells with rabbit eggs. The embryos were reportedly the first human-animal chimeras successfully created. They were allowed to develop for several days in a laboratory dish before the scientists destroyed the embryos to harvest their stem cells. In Minnesota last year [2004] researchers at the Mayo Clinic created pigs with human blood flowing through their bodies. And at Stanford University in California an experiment might be done later this year [2005] to create mice with human brains. Scientists feel that, the more humanlike the animal, the better research model it makes for testing drugs or possibly growing 'spare parts,' such as livers, to transplant into humans. [....] There are currently no U.S. federal laws that address these issues. [....] A chimera is a mixture of two or more species in one body. Not all are considered troubling, though. For example, faulty human heart valves are routinely replaced with ones taken from cows and pigs. The surgery—which makes the recipient a human-animal chimera—is widely accepted. And for years scientists have added human genes to bacteria and farm animals. What's caused the uproar is the mixing of human stem cells with embryonic animals to create new species." [....]  [based on article by, Maryann Mott, National Geographic News, 01/25/05 - paragraph indents removed by E.M. - see link  ]

2005 - Captured / Terrorist Aides, Iraq - January 25th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Security forces in Iraq have captured two senior aides to the most wanted militant [Abu Musab al-Zarqawi] in Iraq, bringing in his top bomb maker [Sami Muhammad Ali Said al-Jaaf] and his propoganda chief [Hasam Hamad Abdullah Muhsin al-Dulaimi] in the past 10 days, an Iraqi government spokesman said Monday [01/24/05]. [....]" [Based on: New York Times]

2005 - Plans to Raise Gas Prices? / Bolivia - January 25th, 2005: "Thousands of Bolivians took to the streets Monday [01/24/05] in Santa Cruz in the latest in a series of protests against President Carlos Mesa's plans to raise gasoline prices in South America's poorest country. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Snowed In / Parts of Massachusetts - January 25th, 2005: "WAYLAND, Mass. - Across Massachusetts, communities struggled Monday [01/24/05] to recover from the weekend blizzard. Schools, courts, government offices and many businesses remained shut. 'We just can't handle it,' said Bob Burns, the emergency management operations officer for the town of Plymouth, which tied with Salem for the most snow in the state: 38 inches, according to the National Weather Service. [....]" [New York Times]

2005 - Dire Warning / Climate Change Panel - January 25th, 2005: "Global warming is approaching the point of no return, after which widespread drought, crop failure and rising sea levels will be irreversible, an international climate change task force warned Monday [01/24/05]. [....] The independent report was made by the Institute for Public Policy Research in Britain, the Center for American Progress in the United States and the Australia Institute. 'An ecological time bomb is ticking away,' said Stephen Byers, who was co-chairman of the task force with U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine." [From News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A3, 01/25/05]

2005 - Coolant Leak / Fermi 2 Plant, Michigan - January 25th, 2005: "The reactor at a nuclear power plant in Michigan was shut down Monday [01/24/05] after a coolant leak was detected, officials said. Officials with the Nuclear regulatory Commission and DTE Energy said water leaked from a nonradioactive cooling system at the plant, about 30 miles south of Detroit. No radioactive water leaked, officials said. [....]" [From News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A3, 01/25/05]

2005 - First-Quarter Costs / Norfolk Southern Corp. - January 25th, 2005: "Norfolk Southern Corp. of Norfolk, Va., the fourth-largest U.S. railroad, said it will have first-quarter pretax costs of $30 million to $40 million from a Jan. 6 derailment in Graniteville, S.C. The company said it expects to have adequate insurance to cover potential claims or settlement. The cost estimate doesn't include fines or penalties that might be imposed, the company said in a statement. In the incident, a Norfolk Southern freight train hit a parked train, causing a chemil spill of chlorine gas, the Associated Press reported. Nine people died and 250 became ill." [Compiled from Bloomberg News, Associated Press and Dow Jones reports.]

2005 - Convicted / Jeffrey Royer & Anthony Elgindy - January 25th, 2005: "NEW YORK - A former FBI agent and an Internet penny stock adviser were convicted Monday [01/24/05] of mining government computers for confidential information they used to manipulate the stock market. Former agent Jeffrey Royer was convicted of racketeering, securities fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering for leaking details of FBI investigations and executives' criminal histories to san Diego Stock picker Anthony Elgindy. Elgindy was convicted of racketeering, securities fraud and extortion. [....] The two men could face between 10 and 20 years in prison. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]

2005 - Fourth-Quarter Profit  Loss / Union Pacific Corp. - January 25th, 2005: "Union Pacific Corp., the largest U.S. railroad, said fourth-quarter profit fell 76 percent as delays and asbestos claims increased costs. The company also said flooding in California and Nevada will reduce first-quarter earnings by almost half and cost about $200 million. [....]" [From News Services, S.L.P.D., p. C3, 01/25/05]

2005 - U.S. Troop Status / Iraq - January 26th, 2005: "[....] Counting all the military services, the United states has 150,000 troops in Iraq, spends more than $1 billion a week and is continually killing and capturing suspected insurgents. Still, the level of insurgent activity is about the same as it was six months ago, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said Sunday [01/23/05]. [....] [A.P.]

2005 - Trivia / Human Trafficking - January 26th, 2005: "VIENNA, Austria - Dealing in people for forced labor and sexual slavery has become the world's No. 2 most lucrative crime, a senior U.S. countertrafficking official warned Tuesday [01/25/05]. Human trafficking, particularly the smuggling and enslavement of young women for prostitution, is tied with weapons smuggling as the second-largest illegal moneymaking activity, said T. March Bell, the Justice department's senior special counsel for trafficking issues and civil rights. Only the narcotics trade reaps more profits for organized crime. But trasffickers are earning billions of dollars exploiting tens of millions of victims each year, Bell said. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Larceny Retrial / Tyco Execs' - January 26th, 2005: "Jury selection was completed Tuesday [01/25/05] for the larceny retrial of two former top Tyco International Ltd. executives accused of looting the company of $600 million. Opening statements begin today [01/26/05]. [....] The jurors will hear the trial of L. Dennis Kozlowski, 58, Tyco's former chief executive, and Mark H. Swartz, 44, the conglomerate's former finance chief. The men are charged with first-degree grand larceny, securities fraud, and related counts. [....]" [Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.]

2005 - Settlement / James Blair Down - January 26th, 2005: "[....] Judge Philip J. Kardis approved a settlement against Canadian con man James Blair Down, who was accused of bilking 400,000 people out of an estimated $200 million in a lottery scam in the 1990s. The settlement calls for Down to pay $10 million. His victims would get full reimbursement if they have a receipt, canceled check or other proof of loss. Those without proof, but whose names are in a database Down maintained, will get $100 to $200 dollars. [....] (Down, who now lives in Canada, pleaded guilty in 1998 of conspiring to mail gambling materials. He served a six-month prison term and paid about $12 million in restitution.) [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Budget Deficits / United States - January 26th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The federal budget deficit will hit $368 billion this fiscal year, Congress' top budget analysts predicted Tuesday [01/25/05] - and that doesn't include mushrooming spending on the war in Iraq. The Congressional Budget Office made public its projection just as the White House announced it will seek $80 billion in emergency spending for this fiscal year, most of it to pay for military operations in Iraq. [....] America's massive federal budget and foreign-trade deficits are already spawning global financial concerns and driving down the value of the dollar. The United nations warned Tuesday that the U.S. deficits are pulling the world economy off balance. Bush has promised to cut the federal budget deficit in half during his second term, but world governments and financial markets increasingly fear the United States cannot control its spending. The Congressional Budget Office projects that federal budget deficits will total $855 billion over 10 years starting in 2006, a number that also does not include the costs of war in Iraq or any of Bush's new proposals. [....]" [Knight Ridder Newspapers]

2005 - Moderate Earthquakes / Turkey - January 26th, 2005: "A string of moderate earthquakes [the strongest with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5] shook Turkey's border with Iran on Tuesday evening [01/25/05] , killing two people and damaging dozens of buildings, seismologists and officials said. [....] The quakes occurred about 870 miles southeast of the Turkish capital, Ankara." [News Services]

2005 - Accounting Fraud Trial / Bernard Ebbers - January 26th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Former WorldCom Inc. chief Bernard Ebbers orchestrated an $11 billion accounting fraud, then lied about the telecommunication giant's crumbling finances to protect its stock price and his personal fortune, a prosecutor said Tuesday [01/25/05] in opening statements at Ebbers' trial. Ebbers began the lies in October 2000, painting a false picture for investors and ignoring the fact that WorldCom had not met Wall Street expectations, federal prosecutor David Anders told jurors. [....] Ebbers, 63, is accused of orchestrating an accounting fraud at WorldCom, which collapsed in 2002 in the largest U.S. bankruptcy ever. The charges - fraud, conspiracy and making false regulatory filings - include penalties of up to 85 years in prison. His attorney, Reid Weingarten,  told jurors the case reminded him of 'one of those well-crafted docu-dramas you see on television.' 'This man is not capable of committing the crimes charged,' Weingarten said." [Based on: A.P.]

*Trivia: "[....] ... Bernard J. Ebbers, the former chief executive of WorldCom Inc., is the federal government's biggest catch since it began pursuing alleged corporate wrongdoers three years ago. He could spend the rest of his life in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for June 13th. Ebbers, 63, was found guilty on Tuesday [03/15/05] of orchestrating the $11 billion fraud that sank WorldCom in 2002, the biggest corporate fraud and bankruptcy in U.S. history. As a jury forewoman read the verdict - guilty on all nine counts, including fraud and conspiracy - Ebbers' face reddened noticeably. His wife, Kristie, seated in the front row, broke into tears. [....] Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales called the conviction a 'triumph of our legal system.' He said the jury had recognized the fraud 'extended from the middle-management levels of this company all the way to its top executive.' [....] WorldCom, which had been based in Clinton, Miss., emerged from bankruptcy last year as MCI Inc. of Ashburn, Va." [Based on: A.P., 03/16/2005]

2005 - Corporate Fraud Trial / Richard Scrushy - January 26th, 2005: "BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Fired HealthSouth Chief Executive Richard Scrushy made millions from a seven-year scheme to overstate earnings by about $2.7 billion as investors large and small suffered, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday [01/25/05] as testimony opened in Scrushy's corporate fraud trial. [....] The government also charged that Scrushy spent more than $200 million on such luxuries as waterfront mansions, opulent cars, a racing boat, bronze statues, a 21-carat diamond ring and a $3.2 million airplane. [Based on: A.P.]

*Trivia: "Fired HealthSouth chief executive Richard Scrushy told his staff to 'fix the numbers' to conceal a potential earnings shortfall in mid-1996, when a massive accounting scandal was just beginning, the company's first chief financial officer [Aaron Beam] testified Wednesday [01/26/05]. [....]" [Compiled from Associated Press & Bloomberg News reports, 01/27/05]

2005 - Settlements / Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs - January 26th, 2005: "Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs agreed Tuesday [01/25/05] to pay $40 million each to settle regulators' allegations that they improperly doled out shares of hot new stocks to certain customers to get them to buy more at inflated prices once trading began. The brokerages neither admitted to nor denied the allegations made in two civil lawsuits by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Wall Street firms also agreed to refrain from further violations. The settlements are subject to approval by federal courts in new York and Washington. The violations of securities laws and brokerage industry rules allegedly occurred in 1999 and 2000, during the height of the tech-stock boom and the frenzy of initial public offerings of stock." [Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg News and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.]

2005 - Elections Trivia / Iraq - January 27th, 2005: "[....] Iraqi officials had announced this month that the country's borders would be sealed for three days around the election to try to prevent insurgents from moving in and out of the country. On Wednesday [01/26/05], Iraqi officials offered more specifics on the extraordinary security procedures planned. The Interior Ministry announced that Iraqis would not be allowed out of their homes between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. starting Friday night [01/28/05]. Vehicle traffic would be banned between provinces for three days and even inside cities and towns throughout the country on election day, unless the motorists possess special credentials. A three-day holiday has been declared, closing offices and schools Saturday, Sunday and Monday. [....]" [Cox News Service]

2005 - Trivia / Tsunami Death Toll - January 27th, 2005: "[....] Differing government tallies in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the two hardest-hit countries, have put the total number of dead in 11 countries between 144,000 and 178,000. As many as 147,000 people are missing - many of them presumed dead - raising the possibility that more than 300,000 died. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - U.S. Helicopter Crash / Iraq - January 27th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Americans on Wednesday [01/26/05] suffered their deadliest single day in Iraq since the invasion 22 months ago. A U.S. Marine transport helicopter [53E Super Stallion] crashed during a sandstorm, killing 30 Marines and a sailor aboard. Insurgents killed six other American troops elsewhere in the country. [....] The Associated Press said the latest deaths pushed the number of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq to at least 1,409. [....] According to data from the Brookings Institution, the United States has lost 35 helicopters since May 2003, with at least 20 having been brought down by enemy fire. [....]" [Cox News Service]

2005 - Plans to Resign? / Douglas J. Feith - January 27th, 2005: "Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's top policy adviser [Douglas J. Feith] said Wednesday [01/26/05] he has informed Rumsfeld that he will leave his Pentagon position sometime this summer. [....] He offered no specific resignation date and stressed that he was leaving on his own terms. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Guilty Plea / Kent D. Kalkwarf - January 27th, 2005: "A former chief financial officer of Charter Communications Inc. pleaded guilty Wednesday [01/26/05] to defrauding shareholders. And the prosecutor said the investigation into fraud at Charter is continuing. [....] U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson set sentencing for April 22nd. Kalkwarf faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors agreed to drop 13 other counts against him at sentencing. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Trivia / International Space Station - January 27th, 2005: "[....] During their 225-mile-high excursion, the spacewalkers also inspected the station's vents and found a large patch of dark, oily residue and a white, honeycombed substance. It was not immediately known what the substances were. The gunk might explain the frequent breakdowns in the space station's air-supply equiptment." [News Services]

2005 - Compensation Trivia / Stanley O'Neal - January 27th, 2005: "Merrill Lynch & Co., the biggest securities firm by capital, paid Chief Executive E. Stanley O'Neal a 2004 bonus of $31.3 million in stock and a salary of $700,000, the company said in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2003, O'Neal's total compensation was only $28 million." [Compiled from Associated Press & Bloomberg News reports.]

2005 - Growing Violence? / U.S.-Mexican Border - January 27th, 2005: "U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza told Mexican leaders Wednesday [01/26/05] that he is concerned that growing drug-related violence and kidnappings on the border between the two countries will have a chilling effect on trade and tourism. [....] The department alerted Americans visiting Mexico that violent crime, including murder and kidnapping, has increased in its northern border region. The warning attributed the increased crime to a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade. [News Services]

*Trivia: "[....] In Washington on Thursday [01/27/05], State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said 27 Americans have been abducted in Mexico's northern border region over the past six months. Two of them were killed, he said, while 14 were released. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Proposed / New Anti-Terror Powers, Britain - January 27th, 2005: "Prime Minister Tony Blair's government on Wednesday [01/26/05] proposed sweeping new powers to tackle terrorism, including electronic bugging, curfews and house arrest for terrorism suspects without charge or trial. Home Secretary  Charles Clarke said the new control orders would apply to both foreigners and British nationals. He promised to introduce legislation as soon as possible. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Train Derailment / Glendale, California - January 27th, 2005: "A Metrolink commuter train derailed Wednesday [01/26/05] in Glendale, California. The train struck a vehicle parked on the tracks by a man who was planning to commit suicide, authorities said. The train derailed, then hit another train and a locomotive. At least 11 people were killed." [Based on: A.P.]

*Trivia: "Scores of times each year, people intentionally stand, jump and drive in front of trains, figuring it's a sure way to end their lives. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - U.S. Secretary of State / Condoleezza Rice - January 27th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Condoleezza Rice won confirmation as secretary of state Wednesday [01/26/05] despite blistering criticism from Senate Democrats who accused her of misleading statements and said she must share the blame for mistakes and war deaths in Iraq. [....] Separately, a Senate committee voted 10-8 to send Alberto Gonzales' attorney general nomination to the full senate. Jim Nicholson and Michael Leavitt won confirmation by voice vote as the new secretaries of veterans affairs and health and human services, respectively. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Military Helicopter Crash / North Vietnam - January 27th, 2005: "A Vietnamese military helicopter crashed in northern Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing all 16 people aboard, officials said today [01/27/05]. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - World Economic Forum / Davos, Switzerland - January 27th, 2005: "British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac urged political and economic leaders Wednesday [01/26/05] to take drastic action against poverty and global warming as the World Economic Forum began its annual meeting at Davos. [....]" [News Services]

*Trivia: "The threat of military action to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions became a central theme Friday [01/28/05] at the World Economic Forum, with Germany's leader warning that the Middle East cannot abide another war, a clear message to the United States that is being increasingly echoed throughout Europe. [....] The United States has demanded that Iran be hauled before the U.N. Security Council, and has refused to rule out military strikes against the country unless it stops enriching uranium. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]

2005 - Volcanic Activity / Manam Volcano, New Guinea - January 27th, 2005: "When the Manam volcano erupted explosively in the middle of the night on January 27, 2005, it sent a cloud of ash and sulfur dioxide over New Guinea. The large eruption killed at least one person, injured several others, and destroyed the volcano monitoring station on the small volcanic island. About 12 hours after the eruption (January 28), the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) flew over on NASA’s new Aura satellite. This image was produced from preliminary, uncalibrated data provided by OMI. [....]" [Link: 1] 

2005 - Disproportionate Sacrifice - January 28th, 2005: "The 'wave of steel' that rolled through the Iraqi desert is corroding in the swamp of occupation and insurgency, and America's citizen-soldiers are paying a high price for that. With reserves now making up 40 percent of American Army forces in Iraq and Kuwait - and heading toward 50 percent - the Pentagon's Army Reserve chief is right to warn that this force could be broken.
   "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld owes the country and its service men and women an explanation for that disproportionate commitment of Reserve forces, instead of better redeployment of the nation's sizeable active-duty military force. While today's reserves are better trained and equipped than their predecessors, Rumsfeld's refusal to admit a need for more active-duty deployment is placing a huge burden on the nation's part-time soldiers....
   "America's combination of volunteer regular forces and skilled reserves has been a good one, but this administration's miscalculations in Iraq now have put it at risk." - The Buffalo News (N.Y.) [Editorial Section, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. C7, 01/28/05]

2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - January 28th, 2005: "[....] At least 15 Iraqis and a U.S. Marine were killed Thursday [01/27/05]. Insurgents blew up six polling places, detonated car bombs in three cities, triggered at least three roadside bombs and shot several Iraqi policemen, according to the U.S. military and Iraqi authorities. [....] Leaflets passed out to residents of several neighborhoods in Baghdad warn of more attacks that will 'strike voting centers powerfully and without mercy.' Another insurgent flier says 'a gift' is waiting for each polling place. [....]" [Knight Ridder Newspapers]

2005 - Guilty Plea / Riggs Bank - January 28th, 2005: "Riggs Bank pleaded guilty Thursday [01/27/05] to a criminal charge of failing to report suspicious transactions in the accounts of foreigners, including two dictators. It will pay a proposed fine of $16 million. The guilty plea by Riggs throws into question its deal to be acquired for $779 million by PNC Financial Services Group. [- From wire services]

2005 - Trivia / Peabody Energy Corp. - January 28th, 2005: "[....] Peabody Energy, the world's largest coal-mining company, said higher prices and sales volumes helped to boost revenue for the year and quarter. The company sold 227 million tons in 2004, compared with 203 million tons in 2003. [....]" [From Staff Reports, S.L.P.D.]

2005 - Russian Raid / Southern Russia - January 28th, 2005: "Hundreds of security forces stormed an apartment building Thursday [01/27/05] in southern Russia, killing seven suspected Islamic extremists linked to Chechen rebels, Russian authorities said. [....]" [News Services]

2005 - Gun Ban / Palestinian Authority - January 28th, 2005: "RAMALLAH, West Bank - The new Palestinian Authority leadership on Thursday [01/27/05] banned civilians from carrying weapons and indicated it will appoint a new security minister known for his tough stance against militants - clear signs of seriousness about reining in violence, which is an Israeli precondition for peace talks. [....] Soon after the current round of violence started in September 2000, Israel targeted Palestinian police posts for destruction in response to allegations they were involved in violence. The Israelis declared they would open fire on any armed Palestinian - in effect disarming the police. The main result was to weaken the authority of the Palestinian Authority police forces. The vacuum was filled by large militant groups, like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, as well as small armed gangs who ruled neighborhoods by force of arms, often clashing among themselves. The northern West Bank town of Jenin is a well-known center of militant groups and gangs, and police have no authority there. [....] In local elections in 10 localities in Gaza on Thursday, meanwhile, the Islamic Hamas movement scored some big victories, according to exit polls, handily defeating Abbas' Fatah party in three of the four communities polled. [....]" [Based on: article by Mohammed Daraghmeh, A.P.]

2005 - Sentencing / Chemco Industries Inc. - January 28th, 2005: "A federal judge on Thursday [01/27/05] sentenced Chemco Industries Inc. of St. Louis and Kamal P. Yadav, its owner, after they pleaded guilty in October [2004] to violating the Clean water Act by discharging wastewater and heavy-duty chemicals into a sewer without treatment or a permit. U.S. District Judge Charles Shaw ordered the company to pay a $10,000 fine and $3,601 in restitution to the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. Yadov was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. The company and Yadov were placed on three years of probation. The company and its owner paid $19,001 in fines, restitution and fees after sentencing. The company mainly makes soaps and detergents. It uses various petrochemicals, such as benzene and toluene, in its manufacturing processes. At the time of the violation, the company was at 4888 Baumgartner Road in Oakville. After confirming a tip that Chemco was dumping the materials without a permit, the sewer district turned the matter over to the Environmental Protection Agency. The company has moved to Manchester Avenue, east of Hampton Avenue in St. Louis. It has obtained all necessary permits, said Stephen Jeffery, attorney for Chemco. The company collects the chemicals in a holding tank. A waste-disposal company hauls the contents to its facility in Sauget [Illinois], he said. [Based on: Phil Sutin, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. B2, 01/28/05]

2005 - Sonar Testing Range? / North Carolina Coast - January 28th, 2005: "At least 37 whales beached themselves and died along the North Carolina shore earlier this month soon after Navy vessels on a deep-water training mission off the coast used powerful sonar as part of the exercise. [....] The Navy hopes to establish a 500-square-nautical-mile underwater sonar testing range off the North Carolina coast. [....]" [News Services]

*Trivia: "A toxic chemical used to prevent barnacles from clinging to ship hulls may cause deafness in marine mammals and could lead whales to beach themselves, Yale researchers say. The hearing loss would be the latest environmental hazard linked to TBT, a chemical already known to be harmful to some aquatic life. TBT is banned in many countries but is still widely used. Yale researchers based their theory on a study of guinea pigs, because mammals have similar ear structure. Since many marine mammals use sonar to get around, 'It's possible this could be contributing to whales and dolphins beaching and hitting ships,' said Joseph Santos-Sacchi, professor of surgery and neurobiology at Yale School of Medicine." [From News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. 26, 01/29/05]

2005 - Female Interrogation Tactics / Guantanamo Bay - January 28th, 2005: "SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by sexual touching and by wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear, according to an insider's [former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar] written account. [....] the book - which Saar titled 'Inside the Wire' - is due out this year with Penguin Press. [....]" [Based on article by Paisley Dodds, A.P.]

2005 - Scheduled to leave / Steve Schumm, Charter Communications Inc. - January 28th, 2005: "Charter Communications Inc. has eliminated Steve Schumm's job as chief administrative officer. Schumm, an executive vice president and former interim chief financial officer, is scheduled to leave the company today. He is the seventh top Charter officer to leave the company in the last seven months." [- From staff and wire reports, S.L.P.D.]

2005 - Trivia / Microwave Ship? - January 29th, 2005: "[....] In a forthcoming issue of the journal Acta Astronautica, the Benfords explain how a sail covered with a paint designed to emit gas when it is heated might propel a spacecraft to Mars in just a month. A rocket would take the craft to low-Earth orbit, 300 kilometres up. After the craft unfurls a solar sail 100 metres across, a transmitter on Earth would fire microwaves at it to heat it up. The Benfords calculate a one-hour burst of microwaves could accelerate the craft to 60 kilometres per second, faster than any interplanetary spacecraft to date. [....]" [Based on: Celeste Biever, NewScientist.com news, 01/29/05]

2005 - Sentenced / Bobby Collins Jr. - January 29th, 2005: "A judge sentenced former Washington University football star Bobby Collins Jr. to 540 years in prison for a home invasion and rape that she called Friday [01/28/05] 'the most heinous that I have seen during my 12 years on the bench.' [....] Last month, a jury found Collins guilty of kidnapping, two counts of forcible rape, four counts of forcible sodomy, attempted forcible sodomy, burglary, robbery and 10 counts of armed criminal action. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 01/29/05]

2005 - Defrocked Priests / St. Louis, Mo. - January 29th, 2005: "Archbishop Raymond Burke said Friday [01/28/05] that three St. Louis priests had been laicized, or defrocked, by the Vatican. Burke had asked Pope John Paul II to return Michael McGrath, Donald Straub and Robert Yim to 'the lay state,' according to a statement issued by the archdiocese, because 'all three had credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against them.' [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Israeli Raids Halted? / Gaza Strip - January 29th, 2005: "RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Israel's army chief ordered his troops Friday [01/28/05] to halt raids in the Gaza Strip and move against West Bank militants only with his approval. The order is a major policy change for Israel after more than four years of fighting and a step toward a truce with the Palestinians. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Sentenced / Protestant Bishop, St. Louis, Mo. - January 29th, 2005: "A former Protestant bishop [Shelby E. Shannon] was sentenced Friday [01/28/05] to at least 120 days in prison for committing sodomy with a teenage boy who belonged to his congregation in St. Louis. [....] Shannon, former bishop in three states for the Church of the Living God, pleaded guilty Dec. 13 to two counts of sodomy. He was arrested one year earlier after the boy, now 18, alleged that Shannon abused him beginning in December 2002. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - Trivia / U.S. Social Security - January 30th, 2005: "[....] Even if nothing is done, Social Security's surplus would not be exhausted until 2042 to 2052. After that, there would be enough revenue from the payroll tax to fund 73 percent of scheduled benefits. [....] Looking 65 years ahead, some workers could see benefits cut by more than 50 percent over existing scheduled benefits under proposed changes. [....]" [Based on article by Jack Naudi, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A7, 01/30/05]

2005 - Ice Storm / Atlanta, Georgia - January 30th, 2005: "ATLANTA - Freezing rain and sleet coated parts of the Southeast with a layer of ice Saturday [01/29/05] canceling hundreds of airline flights, knocking out power to thousands of customers and shutting down sections of every interstate highway in the metro Atlanta area. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - "There is No Tomorrow" / Bill Moyers - January 30th, 2005:

One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress. For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington.

Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a worldview despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts.

[....]

[Bill Moyers was host until recently of the weekly public affairs series "NOW with Bill Moyers" on PBS. This article is adapted from AlterNet, where it first appeared. The text is taken from Moyers' remarks upon receiving the Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.] See links:
http://signs-of-the-times.org/signs/signs20050202.htm,
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5211218.html

2005 - Elections / Iraq - January 31st, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunday [01/30/05] was a rare day of jubilation in this war-weary nation. A surprise majority of Iraqis cast ballots in their first independent elections in half a century, voting for democracy and defying the insurgency that tried to silence them with a barrage of attacks that killed at least 44 people. [....]" [Knight Ridder Newspapers]

*Trivia: "In the months before the Iraqi elections in January [2005], President George W. Bush approved a plan to provide covert support to certain Iraqi candidates and political parties, but rescinded the plan because of congressional opposition, current and former government officials said Saturday [07/16/05]. [....]" [Based on: article by Douglas Jehl & David E. Sanger, p. A2, S.L.P.D., 07/17/05]

2005 - Bomb Blast / Spain - January 31st, 2005: "A bomb exploded Sunday [01/30/05] in a resort hotel in southeastern Spain after a telephone warning from the Basque separatist group ETA, the Interior Ministry said. One person was injured. The Hotel Port Denia immediately evacuated about 160 people before the bomb exploded about 30 minutes later." [News Services]

2005 - British C-130 Crash / Iraq - January 31st, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq A British C-130 military transport plane crashed Sunday [01/30/05] north of Baghdad, scattering wreckage over a large area, officials said. At least 10 military personnel were killed, said britain's Press Association. [....] The British military has reported 76 deaths since the start of the Iraq war. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - Missing U.S. Funds? / Iraq - January 31st, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The U.S. occupation authority in Iraq was unable to keep track of nearly $9 billion it transferred to government ministries, which lacked financial controls, security communications and adequate staff, a special U.S. inspector general has found. The U.S. officials relied on Iraqi audit agencies to account for the money, but those offices were not even functioning when the funds were transferred between October 2003 and June last year, according to an audit. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]

2005 - Trivia / Monsanto Settlement - January 2005: "[....] It's against American law for an American company to bribe officials overseas. And so, St. Louis-based Monsanto in January [2005] agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle both criminal and and civil charges brought against it by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Monsanto wanted Indonesia to approve its genetically-modified cotton seed. Much of the money was spread around by Monsanto's Indonesian affiliates. But in one case, a senior Monsanto executive in Asia personally ordered a consultant to 'incentivize' a ranking Indonesian environmental official with $50,000. So far, the matter has not sullied Monsanto's executive suite in Creve Coeur [Mo.]. [....] In settling with the government, Monsanto agreed to hire an independent consultant to monitor its compliance with new anti-corruption controls and to cooperate in continuing criminal probes. If Monsanto complies, criminal charges will be dropped in three years. It's a fair settlement, considering the swamp of corruption in which Monsanto found itself operating." [Based on: Editorial Section, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. B6, 04/12/05]

2005 - Lee Enterprises Buys Pulitzer - January 31st, 2005: "Pulitzer Inc. has agreed to a $1.46 billion acquisition by Lee Enterprises Inc., entrusting its Journalistic legacy to a company it views as a fitting steward. The deal, announced late Sunday [01/30/05], ended two months of speculation about the fate of Pulitzer, whose holdings include the Post-Dispatch and the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis. [....]" [P. A1 St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

2005 - SBC Agrees to Acquire AT&T - - January 31st, 2005: "NEW YORK - Local phone giant SBC Communications Inc. has agreed to acquire AT&T Corp. for roughly $16 billion in cash and stock, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday [01/30/05]." [A.P.]

2005 - "Created" / Human Motor Neurons - January 31st, 2005: "MILWAUKEE - Using their own line of embryonic stem cells, researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have become the first to make human motor neurons, the spindly nerve cells that control nearly all movement in the body. [....] While there have been reports of scientists creating animal motor neurons, making human motor cells has been difficult, in part because of the complex nature of the cells. [....] The researchers started with week-old embryonic stem cells, a type of master cell that is harvested a few days after conception and which can become any of the more than 200 cell types that make up the human body. In 1998, University of Wisconsin researchers were the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. In their new study, The Wisconsin researchers first had to coax the embryonic stem cells to become a type of premature brain cell known as a neural stem cell. That entailed using a mix of hormones and growth factors, substances that nourish brain cells. 'We used a cocktail to guide the embryonic stem cells to become neural stem cells,' Zhang [Su-Chun Zhang] said. 'It takes about two weeks.' The neural stem cells then were allowed to develop into progenitor cells of motor neurons, which became actual motor neurons in a lab dish. [....]" [Based on article by John Fauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

2005 - Jury Selection / Michael Jackson Trial - January 31st, 2005: "SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Jury selection begins today in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson - a case that has become a symbol of the American obsession with celebrity. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - U.S. Stinger Missles Collection / Afghanistan - January 31st, 2005: "Authorities are launching a new push to collect U.S.-made Stinger missles that had been distributed to Afghans fighting Soviet troops in the 1980s, an Afghan official said Sunday [01/30/05]. The goal is to keep the weapons from terrorists and governments, he said. The Afghan intelligence service is offering to buy the anti-aircraft missles for an undisclosed sum, continuing a CIA program to recover the weapons." [From News Services, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A9, 01/31/05]

February 2005

2005 - Astronomic Configuration - February 1st, 2005: "Sun [12 Aquarius], Moon [26 Libra], Mercury [2 Aquarius], Venus [27 Capricorn], Mars [25 Sagittarius], Jupiter [18 Libra], Saturn [22 Cancer R], Uranus [5 Pisces], Neptune [14 Aquarius], Pluto [23 Sagittarius]."  

2005 - Shrinking Paper? / St. Louis, Mo - February 1st, 2005:

   I am a lifelong St. Louisan. Where has my Post-Dispatch gone?
   Long ago, the Saturday edition was turned into nothing more than a "magazine" of Associated Press wire stories. Recently, the Monday paper ceased to contain a Business section. The Wall Street Journal articles that used to be carried in Sunday's Business section disappeared. The Tuesday edition is so thin, the only fish one could wrap in it would be a sardine.
   On Sunday, we were informed that the number of op-ed columns we will get from syndicated columnist will be reduced from 13 to 11 per week. The newspaper is adding five new columnists, while losing seven. The list of columnists being dropped contains some pretty big names: William Safire, who is retired, Clarence Page, George Will, Molly Ivans, Cal Thomas, E.J. Dionne and Mona Charen.
   "Although it seems we are becomming a city with zero major newspapers, fortunately we have the internet, where we can read real newspapers. Unfortunately, they all exist in other metropolitan areas.

                                                                                                                   Michael Szerzinski, St. Louis

                                                                                                              [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. B6, 02/01/05]

2005 - Trivia / Zoltek Cos. - February 1st, 2005: "Zoltek Cos. will be featured in an exchange-traded fund of environmentally friendly energy companies. The fund is scheduled to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange on Feb. 4 [....] Zoltek, of Bridgeton [Mo.] makes carbon fibers. In December, Zoltek said it had reached a lon-term supply agreement with Vestas Wind Systems AS of Denmark, a world leader in the making of wind turbines and the rotor blades that power them. Zoltek expects to provide Vestas with $80 million to $100 million worth of carbon fiber and carbon fiber materials over the first three years of the agreement. [....] The company sees the supply of carbon fibers for the growing wind energy industry as one of its most promising opportunities for growth. The exchange-traded fund will track an index of 37 companies that uses more environmentally friendly energy alternatives, such as wind and solar power. The WilderHill Clean Energy Index is benchmark calculated by the Amex. It launched in August [2004]. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. C1]

2005 - Train Derailments / U.S.A. - February 1st, 2005: "An official stands on a Norfolk Southern tanker car that rolled into the Allegheny River after a freight train derailed Monday [01/31/05] in Creighton, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh. The train was carrying a corrosive chemical, and 200 residents were evacuated. Also on Monday, five cars of a freight train derailed in Gallup, N.M., spilling about 600 gallons of a flammable liquid. No injuries were reported." [A.P. Picture-Article, posted in S.L.P.D., p. A4, 02/01/05]

2005 - Humanitarian Crisis / Darfur - February 1st, 2005: "[....] The United Nations has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis, saying the conflict there has killed 70,000 people since March [2005] - mostly from disease and hunger - and now effects 2 million people, up from 1.8 million in September [2004]." [News Services, S.L.P.D., p. A5, 02/01/05]

2005 - Cancer Causing Trivia / U.S.A. - February 1st, 2005: "The government is adding viruses for the first time to its list of known or suspected causes of cancer. They include hepatitis B and C and a third virus that causes sexually transmitted diseases. Lead, X-rays and compounds in grilled meats also are joining the list. [....] The list now identifies 246 known or suspected cancer-causing agents. It was prepared by the national Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and was last updated in December 2002. More information, including the complete list, can be found on the Web site, http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov." [News Services, S.L.P.D., p. A4]

2005 - Chapter 11 / Falcon Products Inc. - February 1st, 2005: "Financially troubled Falcon Products Inc. of Olivette [Mo.] filed Monday [01/31/05] for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking protection from creditors while it attempts to restructure its heavy debt load. The commercial furniture maker already had defaulted on $100 million worth of bonds on Jan. 14, when it was unable to pay interest. The company holds $252 million in liabilities, owing money to more than 1,000 creditors, and has $264 million in assets, Falcon said in its bankruptcy filing. [....] The company will file detailed bankruptcy documents by Feb. 15. [....]" [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. C1]

2005 - Earnings Trivia / ExxonMobil Corp. - February 1st, 2005: "ExxonMobil Corp. said Monday [01/31/05] that it earned a record $8.42 billion in the fourth quarter and $25.33 billion for all of 2004, as higher prices for oil and natural gas erased a slight decline in production. [....]" [A.P.]

2005 - NASD Settlement / Todd Eberhard - February 1st, 2005: "Investment adviser Todd Eberhard, who pleaded guilty in September [2004] to federal charges he defrauded clients of up to $20 million, agreed to be barred from the investment industry in a settlement with the National Association of Securities Dealers. [....] Eberhard, 40, neither admitted nor denied the allegations in his civil settlement with the NASD." [Compiled from Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Dow Jones News reports.]

2005 - Settlement / Marsh & McLennan Cos. - February 1st, 2005: "Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world's largest insurance brokerage, agreed to pay $850 million to settle New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's accusations that it rigged bids and took kickbacks from insurers. [....] Chief Executive Michael Cherkasky, 54, is relying on the agreement to help hold onto clients and employees after Spitzer accused the broker of staging sham bids and steering clients to insurers that paid hidden fees. Shares have fallen 30 percent since the suit. [....] The accord, which exceeds Bank of America Corp.'s $675 million settlement over improper trading of mutual funds, may be the first of many in the $2.4 trillion insurance industry. [....] Marsh finds insurance for Fortune 500 companies. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]

2005 - Trivia / Guantanamo Bay Detainees - February 1st, 2005: "MIAMI - A federal judge [U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green] cleared the way on Monday [01/31/05] for captives in Guantanamo Bay to sue for their freedom, saying the Pentagon has failed to provide due process to suspects held at the prison for up to three years. [....] 'Although this nation unquestionably must take strong action under the leadership of the Commander in Chief to protect itself against enormous and unprecedented threats,' Green wrote in a 75-page ruling, 'that necessity cannot negate ... most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and