US dollar down in Europe

The U.S. dollar was down against other major currencies in European trading Tuesday morning. Gold rose.

The euro traded at US$1.4118, up from US$1.4086 late Monday in New York.

Other dollar rates:

_95.81 Japanese yen, down from …

A Bigger Pal Than Rival, P.T. Supports Harbaugh

Another man might be enraged right now, lobbying in the press,demanding high-level meetings, crying injustice. Who could blameP.T. Willis if he were P.O.'d Willis? All his good deeds have beenignored this preseason, as if the projector suddenly ate the film.

He has been stiletto-sharp in his exhibition appearances,easily grasping a San Francisco offense that Chicago so willinglyrips off. He throws precise passes, makes intelligent reads, directsscoring drives. And as he was quick to volunteer late Friday night,after playing a major role in the Bears' first victory for thevirginal Dave Wannstedt, it is fallacy to assume he has performedsolely against second-team …

Bullock, Bridges, Berry to present at Oscars

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Academy Awards winners Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry and Marisa Tomei are among stars appearing on the next Oscar show, along with past nominee Oprah Winfrey.

Academy overseers announced Monday that all five will serve as presenters on the Feb. 27 telecast.

At the last Oscars, five-time nominee Bridges won the best-actor prize for "Crazy Heart," while …

Vendor tells of alerting NYC police to car bomb

A street vendor who says he saw the smoking SUV parked with a bomb near New York City's Times Square feels like he dodged a bullet.

Duane Jackson tells The Associated Press he saw the Nissan Pathfinder parked in a no-standing zone at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, with the engine running and the key in the ignition.

The 58-year-old Jackson says he and another vendor who sells trinkets next to him outside a hotel went to peer inside the tinted windows, then smelled smoke and heard a "pop pop pop" like firecrackers.

Jackson says he first thought the car might have been on fire. Once he learned that a bomb had been discovered, he says he realized …

Fancy winning a veggie meal?

Bath-based vegetarian restaurant Demuth's is supporting AnimalAid's Veggie Month by offering one lucky person a FREE meal for two.

All you have to do is say why you should win! Competitionentries, including answer, …

'SHE'S TOO WELL'

Cindy Scinto pulled a CD-ROM from her purse and handed it Dr. John Boehmer, her cardiologist.

"This looks beautiful," Boehmer said about the images from Scintos last heart X-ray Iodine - the dark liquid that illuminates blood flow on an X-ray - shot freely through her artery and venal bypass.

He grinned.

"Aw, man...can't beat that," Boehmer said.

The X-rays showed a vessel had sprouted and formed a loop around a blockage in her artery sparing Scinto from a heart attack. Another vessel appears to have restored blood flow to a bypass that had become blocked. Her stress test was normal.

"This is the point in clinical care when we usually claim victory" …

Cycling body clears Armstrong for comeback race

Cycling's governing body is relaxing its rules to allow Lance Armstrong to make his comeback at a road race in Australia in January. The International Cycling Union said the seven-time Tour de France champion can compete in the Jan. 20-25 Tour Down Under, his first race since coming out of retirement after three years.

A strict application of testing rules would not have allowed the 37-year-old Texan to compete until Feb. 1, 2009, six months after he filed paperwork with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

But the UCI said Wednesday that Armstrong could return early because its drug-testing standards have improved since the rule was drawn up four years ago.

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