Little League scores in Israel debut

JERUSALEM (AP) The Jerusalem Schleppers took the field, and itwas one, two, three strikes, you're "bahutz" at the old ball game.

Little League baseball made its debut in Israel yesterday.

No hot dog or peanut vendors were about. No one made like HarryCaray on "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." The game lasted only fiveinnings. And the jargon may have sounded strange.

But Opening Day in Israel did have its American touches:cheering fans, bats hurled in disgust by strikeout victims, screamingcoaches, a head coach from Texas and the mayor - Jerusalem's TeddyKollek - tossing the first ball.

Baseball debuted with an all-star game drawn from the …

70 Punished in Accidental B-52 Flight

WASHINGTON - The Air Force said Friday it has punished 70 airmen involved in the accidental, cross-country flight of a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber following an investigation that found widespread disregard for the rules on handling such munitions.

"There has been an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base," said Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations.

Newton was announcing the results of a six-week probe into the Aug. 29-30 incident in which the B-52 was inadvertently armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown from Minot in North Dakota to Barksdale in …

Utah ushers in a new era of choice for bar patrons

For the last 40 years, dropping into a bar in Utah has been a complicated affair: Patrons have to fill out an application, pay a fee and become a member before they can go in for a drink.

It is one of several restrictive rules governing alcohol consumption in Utah that made the heavily Mormon state one of the toughest places in the nation to get a drink.

But some of that will change on Wednesday when a new state law kicks in eliminating the need for people to become members of bars to go inside.

"I've owned clubs for eight years now, and I never thought this was going to happen," said Jason Rasmussen, owner of A Bar Named Sue. "This is …

Man Receives Probation, Fine For Phony Kidnapping Report

A 21-year-old man who told Naperville police a phony story abouta child abduction was sentenced Thursday to two years' probation and500 hours of public service and fined $500 and ordered to undergopsychological evaluation.

Richard Nieves, of Aurora, also has a possible 90-day jailsentence hanging over his head as part of DuPage County Circuit JudgeJames W. Jerz's sentence. If Nieves has no violations at the end ofhis probationary period, he can ask Jerz not to impose the jail term,said Assistant State's Attorney Carmen Polo, deputy chief of theDuPage criminal division.

But even if Nieves has no violations, Jerz could impose the jailtime, Polo said. Nieves …

US to require biggest traders report activity

WASHINGTON (AP) — Large traders will be required to register with the government and make available more information about their trades under a rule adopted by federal regulators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission agreed unanimously on the rule, which would take effect in 60 days. The rule is a response to the May 2010 "flash …

NFL union seeks fees

WASHINGTON The union that represents 300-pound defensive linemenis threatening to get tough with fantasy geeks.

Many of the geeks are just laughing.

The National Football League Players Association contends it cancharge a licensing fee to fantasy game operators for using statisticsto run their contests. The union says compiling touchdowns andyardage is the same as using a player's picture without permission.

Just by threatening companies, the union said this year it's goingto collect $1 million in fantasy football licensing fees, enough topay each NFL player about $500.

But until the union shuts a company down or wins a court case,many game operators will take the association about as seriously as aNew Orleans Saints fan guaranteeing a Super Bowl victory, fantasysports executives said.

"You either get scared and pay them, or else you throw the letterin the trash," said Charlie Wiegert, vice president of CDM Inc.,which said it will collect $15 million in fantasy sports revenue thisyear. "Most are just tossing it in the garbage."

The union's fees, plus a share of profits, run from as little as$10,000 for the smallest entrepreneur to more than $125,000 for St.Louis-based CDM and large media companies such as Walt Disney Co. andCBS Corp.-backed Sportsline.com.

When the NFL union started taking on the fantasy football industrysix years ago, the association had one person combing throughmagazines for a few hours a week looking to find game operators theirlawyers could threaten to sue.

Since then, the Internet has helped fantasy sports grow from anarcane hobby to an industry that generates an estimated $100 millionin revenue a year and involves about 30 million Americans, accordingto a Harris Interactive poll.

It's gotten so big that 100 companies, including Yahoo Inc. andNews Corp., gathered last month in Chicago for a fantasy footballconvention and talked more about revenue than running backs.

"Anybody who wants to view fantasy football the way it was, just anice fun game people played among friends, has their head in thesand," said Pat Allen, the union's chief operating officer, who isspearheading its licensing effort.

In fantasy leagues, fans draft imaginary teams of real players andscore points based on statistics the players compile. Many leaguesare informal, made up of friends and co-workers.

The union said it can't do anything about these so-called backyardleagues but can do something about Internet games. Union lawyers whoseek payment from game operators base their argument on case law theysay supports players' rights to be paid when their names are used forprofit.

The union this year will have as many people working on generatinglicensing fees for fantasy football as it does on video games, whichproduces $10 million in revenue. Two full-timers and an intern spentthis summer scouring publications and Web sites for unlicensedfantasy games.

They helped get the biggest game operators to pay. But when theNational Football League season kicks off Sept. 3, only about 25 ofthe estimated 300 fantasy football games will be licensed, and theunion won't be getting at least $1 million more from those companies,game operators said.

"Until they go out and close a company's doors or win a trial, alot of companies out there will just laugh at the union," said CarlFoster, president of the Fantasy Sports Players Association, anonprofit group that represents the industry.

Canadian inquiry hears testimony about Taser death

A public inquiry began hearing testimony Monday about the death of a Polish immigrant who was zapped with a Taser stun gun at Vancouver International Airport.

Robert Dziekanski died Oct. 14, 2007, after police zapped him with a Taser. Police said they used the Taser after he began acting erratically.

Dziekanski, who spoke only Polish, had apparently become upset after waiting for 10 hours at the airport for his mother, who was supposed to pick him up. His death brought international attention and intense criticism after video of the incident was released.

The first half of the inquiry, a study commission held last year, broadly examined Tasers and their use. A report from that inquiry is due out early this year.

The second phase will focus specifically on what happened to Dziekanski and look for recommendations that could prevent a similar incident in the future.

If the evidence merits, Judge Thomas Braidwood can report misconduct on the part of those involved.

None of Monday's witnesses saw Robert Dziekanski being Tasered by four officers.

Dziekanski, a construction worker who did not speak English, arrived in Vancouver that afternoon to live with his mother, Zofia Cisowski in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Ten hours later, visibly nervous after being unable to find his mother, Dziekanski began throwing furniture in the airport's international arrivals area. He apparently became upset when he did not see his mother in the secure baggage area _ which she was not allowed to enter.

Four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers arrived and within seconds hit him five times with a Taser. The confrontation was caught on video and broadcast around the world on television and the Internet.

The RCMP maintain Dziekanski was in a state of excited delirium and suffering from alcohol withdrawal. A coroner's report indicated signs of alcoholism.

Witnesses Monday said Dziekanski was slightly agitated, attributing that to his emigrating. Vancouver airport greeter Patricia Hunter met Dziekanski went he arrived in Vancouver. She said he appeared disoriented but not intoxicated.

"He was an unusual passenger," she said. "He had an almost robot-like walk and approach."

She said a customs agent recognized the man could not understand English and supplied Polish translations of landing documents.

The most anticipated testimony is that of the four police officers. The inquiry was delayed while police awaited word on charges against the officers.

The province's attorney general announced last month the officers would not face charges and would testify.

Cisowski said Monday she has been lied to repeatedly about her son's condition and the circumstances of his death

"I want to know the truth," she told reporters. "I think everyone tries to lie to save themselves. I have nothing to lose because I lost it."

Cisowski sat quietly in the hearing Monday, occasionally wiping her eyes.

Her lawyer, Walter Kosteckyj, said Cisowski wants a full account of what happened and wants to see all agencies involved _ including the RCMP, the border agency and Vancouver International Airport _ take responsibility.