| First Edition Cycling News
World Champion Paolo Bettini didn't exactly have a dream first season in the rainbow stripes, but he did manage to earn another chance for success in the jersey. Cyclingnews' Ben Atkins caught up with him at his Quick Step team's Benecassim training camp as he prepared for his second – and he hopes more successful – year in the jersey. With his highly emotional win in the 2006 Giro di Lombardia – spurred on by the death of his elder brother Sauro – it looked like, in sporting terms anyway, that Paolo Bettini was going to shrug off the curse that often seems to attach itself to a recently won rainbow jersey. Unfortunately it was not to be, and the insult of a series of near misses added to the injury of multiple pile-ups, and the high win count that we have become accustomed to from Il Grillo (the 'cricket') was conspicuous in its absence.
Falcons' job no longer a distraction for Spagnuolo
The Falcons requested an interview with him after the Giants' wild-card win over the Bucs, but the Giants denied the request. That meant the Falcons, who have since named former Patriots director of scouting Tom Dimitroff as general manager, would have to wait until after the Super Bowl to talk to Spagnuolo.
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Convicted of Bribery, Two Former Judges Report to Federal Prison
Two former judges reported to federal prison Thursday to begin serving lengthy sentences for their roles in a judicial bribery scandal that entangled one of the state's most prominent plaintiffs attorneys. Wes Teel, 57, surrendered to a minimum security prison camp in Atlanta to begin a nearly six-year sentence, federal prisons spokesman Mike Truman said. John Whitfield, 45, reported to the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Ky., for a more than nine-year sentence, Truman said. It was not clear what medical condition Whitfield has. Paul Minor, who was convicted of bribing the judges, is already serving an 11-year sentence in a federal prison in Pensacola, Fla. The 61-year-old Minor was once considered among the top trial lawyers in Mississippi, amassing a fortune from tobacco, asbestos and other litigation.
Westminster talks to set unionist agenda for the future of Scotland
I undertook on that occasion to prepare a short paper setting out the problem as I see it, and the attached is the result: this draws on comments kindly contributed by Mr Mountfield and Mr Buckley.2. I am circulating the paper at this stage mainly for information, and I imagine you will wish to put it to Sir Derek Mitchell on this basis. But the issue seems bound to bulk significantly larger in our consciousness from now on, and I fear that the very existence of the problem, or threat, will have a wholly adverse effect on our external debt management.3. I have not copied this paper to the bank: it occurred to me that the best course might be for Sir Derek Mitchell to give a copy to Mr McMahon.D A WALKER?5 May 1975?___________CONFIDENTIALSCOTTISH DEVOLUTION; EXTERNAL FINANCING ASPECTS1. The Government indicated in the White Paper "Democracy and Devolution Proposals for Scotland and Wales" (Cmd 5732) in September 1974 that it accepted the main conclusion of the Kilbrandon report that it is desirable that there should be a substantial measure of devolution to Scotland and Wales, and that the best way of carrying this forward would be through the creation of directly elected assemblies for Scotland and Wales.
Board votes not to reopen old library building
Asbestos abatement: $70,000. Concrete floor repair: $100,000. Fascia repair: $300,000. Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, elevator, steps and bathrooms, $300,000.Total cost for repairing the current building are $1.024 million.The estimated cost to build a new facility is $6 million to $10 million, Gilbert said.It will cost about $22,000 to open the temporary structure in the library, he said, and costs are unknown concerning a merger with NOC Enid or obtaining another downtown location.Board member Rob Fries preferred a downtown location. Member Fred Overstreet said he is concerned the library will lose its identity if it is merged with NOC Enid. Fries suggested a possible public-private partnership to build a new library with updated technology.City Manager Eric Benson said the library has been the most emotional issue he has faced in a long time.
Merck likely to face 40,000 Vioxx claims
Merck & Co. will face a total of about 40,000 claims over its withdrawn Vioxx painkiller once deadlines for filing lawsuits lapse around the U.S., court records and lawyer estimates show. Most suits over the drug have been filed in state courts in New Jersey and California or are being managed by a federal judge in New Orleans. Merck faced a total of 29,464 claims in those courts just before a Sept. 30 deadline, records show. The remaining 10,000 suits have been or will be filed in jurisdictions with later deadlines, according to lawyers involved with the cases. Even with a surge in filings last week to meet deadlines tied to Vioxx's Sept. 30, 2004, withdrawal of the drug, Merck will face less than half the claims analysts originally predicted, said Mark Lanier, a Texas lawyer who won the first case tried over the drug last year.
Theory a 'pack of lies'
A top aide to slain Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto today rejected the government's explanation of her death as a "pack of lies''. The Pakistan interior ministry said Bhutto died when she hit her head on her vehicle's sunroof as she ducked after a gun and suicide attack on a campaign rally, and that no bullets or shrapnel were found in her. "It is baseless. It is a pack of lies,'' Farooq Naik, Bhutto's top lawyer and a senior official in her Pakistan People's Party, told AFP. "Two bullets hit her, one in the abdomen and one in the head,'' Naik said. "Bhutto's personal secretary Naheed Khan and party official Makhdoom Amin Fahim were in the car and they saw what happened,'' he said. "It is an irreparable loss and they are turning it into a joke with such claims.
More mesothelioma compo claims to come
ASBESTOS campaigner Bernie Banton's "bittersweet" confidential payout is just one of hundreds of mesothelioma compensation claims before the courts, his lawyer Tanya Segelov says. The confidential settlement, made yesterday during the final stages of Mr Banton's battle with aggressive peritoneal mesothelioma, was the second victory against his former employer James Hardie. The 61-year-old was scarcely able to speak, except to confirm he wanted to settle with the building products giant. Ms Segelov, a partner in law firm Turner Freeman, said the difficulty in Mr Banton's case was that it was the first of its kind. "No one knew what would happen, how the court will treat the case or award damages," she said. "It was a relief to finish it in his (Mr Banton's) lifetime and be able to get him the compensation in his lifetime, that was a relief for everybody," she said.
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