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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 4:00 p.m., Monday, April 16, 2007

National & world news highlights

Associated Press

SPRING STORM PUMMELS NORTHEAST

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — A menacing spring storm punished the Northeast for a second straight day Monday, dumping more than 8 inches of rain on Central Park and sending refrigerators and pickup trucks floating down rivers in one of the region's worst storms in recent memory.

"This one is really a horror show," Gov. Eliot Spitzer said after touring hard-hit areas north of New York City.

The nor'easter left a huge swath of devastation, from the beaches of South Carolina to the mountains of Maine. It knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people and was blamed for at least nine deaths nationwide, including a New Jersey man who drowned inside a car.

The storm showed no immediate sign of letting up. The National Weather Service predicted showers through Wednesday night in the New York City area, with rain mixed with snow at times.

The storm was especially harsh in the Westchester County suburbs north of New York City and in New Jersey, where the state was placed under a state of emergency and more than 1,400 residents were evacuated — many by boat.

AL-SADR LOYALISTS QUIT CABINET

BAGHDAD — Cabinet ministers loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr quit the government Monday, severing the powerful Shiite religious leader from the U.S.-backed prime minister and raising fears al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia might again confront American troops.

The U.S. military reported the deaths of seven more American service members: three soldiers and two Marines on Monday and two soldiers on Saturday.

In the northern city of Mosul, a university dean, a professor, a policeman's son and 13 soldiers died in attacks bearing the signs of al-Qaida in Iraq. Nationwide, at least 51 people were killed or found dead, and the U.S. military reported two soldiers slain in Baghdad.

The political drama in Baghdad was not likely to bring down Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, but it highlighted growing demands among Iraqi politicians and voters that a timetable be set for a U.S. troop withdrawal — the reason al-Sadr gave for the resignations.

The departure of the six ministers also was likely to feed the public perception that al-Maliki is dependent on U.S. support, a position he spent months trying to avoid. Late last year he went so far as to openly defy directives from Washington about legislative and political deadlines.

BUSH, DEMOCRATS AT STANDOFF OVER WAR FUNDING

WASHINGTON — President Bush surrounded himself with military families on Monday to push anew for a war-funding bill that isn't tied to pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.

The Senate's Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, responded that Bush must choose between holding to "discredited policies" in Iraq or working with lawmakers on a new course.

Bush, who will meet with lawmakers on Wednesday, said: "We should not legislate defeat in this vital war." He said he's willing to discuss a way forward with Congress, but he stood firm in opposing any measure that restricts military commanders, sets a withdrawal timetable or includes billions of dollars of spending unrelated to the war.

"Listen, I understand Republicans and Democrats in Washington have differences over the best course in Iraq," Bush said. "That's healthy. That's normal, and we should debate those differences. But our troops should not be caught in the middle."

Democrats, who do not appear to have the votes to override a presidential veto, are not backing down. They want funding for the war tied to redeploying troops out of Iraq, and possibly contingent on the Iraqis' progress in securing their nation.

SUDAN ALLOWS IN U.N. PEACEKEEPERS

UNITED NATIONS — Sudan agreed Monday to let 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers deploy in Darfur with attack helicopters, opening the door to the first significant U.N. force to help beleaguered African Union soldiers who have been unable to halt the region's four-year war.

After five months of stalling, the government in Khartoum called for a speedy deployment and hinted it could approve an even larger U.N. force that has been demanded by the U.N. Security Council, the United States and others.

But experts were cautious about chances for creating that 20,000-strong force, noting Sudan's leaders have reversed course previously after announcing vague agreements for action in Darfur.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Monday's agreement "a very positive sign" and said the U.N. and the African Union would "move quickly" to put together the 3,000 peacekeepers as well as press for a deal allowing the larger force.

The United Nations has no standing army, and Ban is urging U.N. member states to contribute troop and police quickly for Darfur, but it will likely take months before the U.N. contingent is on the ground.

MANY PARENTS BRIBE THEIR CHILDREN

CHICAGO — Call it a reward, or just "bribery." Whichever it is, many parents today readily admit to buying off their children, who get goodies for anything from behaving in a restaurant to sleeping all night in their own beds. Often, the rewards are for behaviors their own parents would have simply expected, just because they said so.

The new dynamic — sometimes seen as a backlash to that strictness — has some parenting experts wondering if today's parents have gone too soft.

"It's definitely more our generation," Kirsten Whipple, a 35-year-old mom in Northbrook, Ill., says with a quiet laugh. "I'm sure our parents would be appalled if they knew how much we bribe our children."

She can see why they might be — but she and her husband try not to overuse rewards and have found they work best for smaller things. For instance, they might offer their boys, ages 5 and 8, a special dessert or a chance to rent a video game if they listen to their baby sitter. A good report card might earn a dinner out to celebrate.

Whipple has noticed a downside though — what she calls a "sense of entitlement."

PARKINSON'S GENE THERAPY SHOWS NO HARM

WASHINGTON — The first dozen Parkinson's patients to have holes drilled in their skulls for a novel gene therapy attempt weren't harmed — and hints at some improvement have researchers embarking on a larger study to see if the treatment really may work. Doctors reported initial results of the closely watched experiment at a neurology meeting Monday, but cautioned that it's far too soon to raise hopes.

At issue: Using a nerve growth factor to try to rescue dying brain cells.

Some 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson's, a disease that gradually destroys brain cells that produce dopamine, a chemical crucial for the cellular signaling that controls muscle movement. Too little dopamine causes increasingly severe tremors and periodically stiff or frozen limbs.

Standard treatments can control tremors for a while but can't stop the disease's inevitable march. So scientists are hunting ways to protect remaining dopamine-producing neurons, and rescue dying ones.

Previous attempts with growth factors haven't panned out. The new approach uses gene therapy — injecting a virus that carries a gene that in turn produces the growth factor neurturin — to try to get the protective protein right where it's needed.

J.LO, HUBBY SUING NATIONAL ENQUIRER

DUBLIN, Ireland — Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony, are suing the National Enquirer in European courts over the tabloid's claims they were linked to a drug scandal, their Belfast lawyer said Monday.

Paul Tweed, who specializes in bringing U.S.-based celebrities' libel cases to British and Irish courts, said that actress-singer Lopez, 38, and singer Anthony, 37, were seeking "a six-figure settlement" from the Enquirer, based in Boca Raton, Fla., and its parent company, American Media Inc.

Tweed said the lawsuit would be filed Tuesday in a Belfast court, and in subsequent days in courts in Dublin, London and Paris.

A telephone message left at the National Enquirer wasn't immediately returned Monday. A spokesman for AMI, Richard Balvo, said he had no comment.

"It would be our policy to not comment on it at this time, Balvo said.

CITIGROUP REPORT CAUSES STOCKS TO RISE

NEW YORK — Wall Street began the week with a strong start Monday as better-than-expected profits at Citigroup Inc. and a healthy increase in consumer spending renewed investors' optimism about the economy. The Dow Jones industrials soared more than 100 points.

Earnings reports begin arriving at a steady clip this week, giving investors fresh indications about companies and the overall economy. This week nearly half the 30 companies that make up the Dow industrials report results.

While investors have been girding for a slowdown in growth of corporate profits, they are hoping consumer spending will remain robust. The Commerce Department on Monday reported that consumers spent strongly last month, sending retail sales up by about 0.7 percent. The figure was close to what analysts predicted, and up from a revised 0.5 percent increase in February.

Investors were also pleased by news of a buyout of SLM Corp., the student lender better known as Sallie Mae. SLM agreed to be sold to two private investment funds and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. for $25 billion, or $60 per share. Sallie Mae rose $8.29, or 17.7 percent, to $55.05.

But analysts warned that Wall Street's good humor was unlikely to last. Robert N. Schaeffer, portfolio manager at Becker Value Equity Fund, contends that a pop in stocks is typical when earnings reports begin to flow in and are better than expected.

DALLAS STARS NEED SCORERS TO DO THEIR JOB

DALLAS — Getting goals from the checking line is the kind of thing NHL teams need in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. And the Dallas Stars can proudly say they're getting that.

Problem is, the guys they pay to score aren't.

Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen, Philippe Boucher, Mike Ribeiro and Niklas Hagman — Dallas' top five goal-scorers in the regular season — have yet to beat Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, a big reason why the Stars are trailing Vancouver 2-1 going into Game 4 of their first-round series Tuesday night.

"Some of those people, a timely goal by them would certainly help the cause," Stars coach Dave Tippett said Monday. "Even though our team is built around scoring by committee, we need those top players to contribute."

All of Dallas' goals the last two games have come from guys who earn their ice time with grit. OK, so that's only been three goals, but everyone knew coming into this series there wouldn't be many. So the most-skilled players were on notice from the start.

Vancouver hasn't scored much either. The teams have combined for seven goals by seven different players. The difference is that the Canucks' goal-scorers have included the usual suspects like Daniel Sedin, Markus Nasland and Taylor Pyatt. Pyatt's goal was the winner in overtime of Game 3 on Sunday night.