Baseball Hall of Fame to render verdict on Steroid Era




















Jon Keller reports




















































Rank-and-file members of baseball’s Steroids Era – most notably Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa – finally were facing a jury Wednesday that would decide whether they are worthy of the Hall of Fame. The 2013 induction announcement is set for 1 p.m. Chicago time.

Their inclusion on this year’s ballot overshadowed those who were thought to have the best chance of being voted into baseball’s hallowed shrine in Cooperstown: former Chicago White Sox outfielder Tim Raines, the Houston Astros’ long-time duo of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell and All-Star pitcher Jack Morris.






Also in contention was former Chicago Cubs closer Lee Smith, who was on the ballot for the 11thtime.

This Hall of Fame eligible class has received more attention than most because of the inclusion of Bonds, who won seven MVP awards; Clemens, who won seven Cy Young awards and Sosa, the former Cub who won a National League MVP award after his famous 1998 home run duel with the Cardinals’ Mark McGwire.

McGwire, the only one of those who publicly has acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs, has failed seven times in his Hall of Fame election bid. Former Cub Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for a drug, has failed three times.

The so-called Steroids Era has caused division within the electorate, comprised of 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association. They historically have been very stingy with their votes, especially considering it takes 75 percent to be included in the summer induction ceremonies.

dvandyck@tribune.com

Twitter @davandyck




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Freed Iranians arrive in Damascus after prisoner swap


DAMASCUS/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Forty-eight Iranians freed by Syrian rebels in exchange for more than 2,000 civilian prisoners held by the Syrian government arrived in central Damascus on Wednesday, a Reuters witness reported.


The Syrian government has not referred to the prisoner swap and the whereabouts of the civilian prisoners was not immediately known.


Opposition groups accuse it of detaining tens of thousands of political prisoners during his 12 years in office and say those numbers have spiked sharply during the 21-month-old civil war.


The Syrian rebel al-Baraa brigade seized the Iranians in early August and initially threatened to kill them, saying they were members of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent to fight for President Bashar al-Assad.


The Islamic Republic, one of his staunchest allies, denied this, saying they were Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims visiting shrines, and it asked Turkey and Qatar to use their connections with Syrian insurgents to help secure their release.


The freed Iranians arrived at a Damascus hotel in six small buses, looking tired but in good health, each carrying a white flower, and they were welcomed by Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani. They did not speak to reporters.


Bulent Yildirim, head of the Turkish humanitarian aid agency IHH which helped broker the deal, told Reuters by telephone from Damascus shortly beforehand that the reciprocal release of 2,130 civilian prisoners - most of them Syrian but also including Turks and other foreign citizens - had begun.


Syrian government forces have struck local deals with rebel groups to trade prisoners but the release announced on Wednesday was the first time non-Syrians were freed in an exchange.


The Damascus government has periodically freed hundreds of prisoners during the conflict but always stressed such detainees "do not have blood on their hands."


Given the number of political prisoners held during the course of Assad's rule, missing persons became a key issue when street protests against him first erupted in March 2011.


Turkey is one of Assad's fiercest critics, a strong backer of his opponents and proponent of international intervention. It has denounced Iran's stance during the Syrian uprising, which has killed around 60,000 people according to a U.N. estimate.


Turkey, Gulf Arab states, the United States and European allies support the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels, while Shi'ite Iran supports Assad, whose Alawite minority is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.


A pro-government newspaper said on December 31 that Syrian forces arrested four Turkish fighter pilots who were trying to sneak into a military airport with an armed group in the northern province of Aleppo.


The Damascus-based al-Watan newspaper said the arrests at the Koers military base, 24 km (15 miles) east of Aleppo city, proved "scandalous Turkish involvement" in Syria's crisis.


TURKEY, QATAR INTERVENE


The al-Baraa brigade, part of the umbrella rebel organization, the Free Syrian Army, said in October it would start killing the Iranians unless Assad freed Syrian opposition detainees and stopped shelling civilian areas.


But Qatar, following a request from Iran, urged the rebels not to carry out the threat.


Insurgents fighting to topple Assad accuse Iran of sending fighters from the Revolutionary Guards to help his forces crush the revolt, a charge the Islamic Republic denies.


The rebels now control wide areas of northern and eastern Syria, most of its border crossings with Turkey and a crescent of suburbs around the capital Damascus.


But Assad's government is still firmly entrenched in the capital and controls most of the densely populated southwest, the Mediterranean coast and the main north-south highway.


The IHH has been involved in previous negotiations in recent months to release prisoners, including two Turkish journalists and Syrian citizens, held in Syria.


The humanitarian group came to prominence in May 2010 when Israeli marines stormed its Mavi Marmara aid ship to enforce a naval blockade of the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board.


(Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes in Beirut and Marcus George in Dubai; Writing by Nick Tattersall)



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Wall Street loses ground as earnings season starts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as the market consolidated from last week's rally on the "fiscal cliff" deal in Congress and investors awaited the start of the earnings season with lowered expectations.


Profits in the fourth quarter are seen above the previous quarter's lackluster results, but analysts' current estimates are down sharply from where they were in October. Quarterly earnings are expected to grow by 2.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.


The benchmark S&P index has fallen 0.7 percent in the wake of the 4.3 percent jump in the two days surrounding the conclusion of the fiscal cliff debate, and investors have found few catalysts to extend the brief rally.


"The path of least resistance at the moment is lower just because we had that explosion to the upside after (the debate) in Washington," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O'Neil Securities in New York.


"People are concerned about earnings," Polcari said, adding that other worries include raising the federal debt ceiling and automatic spending cuts set to take effect in weeks unless Congress acts.


"You are going to get this kind of apathetic market until we start to see what earnings look like," he said.


In Tuesday's results, Monsanto Co shares rose 2.6 percent to $98.46 after hitting a more than four-year high at $99.99. The world's largest seed company raised its earnings outlook for fiscal 2013 and posted strong first-quarter results.


Education provider Apollo Group and Dow component Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, round out the start of earnings season after the closing bell.


The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 66.38 points, or 0.50 percent, to 13,317.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> lost 7.88 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,454.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> shed 17.31 points, or 0.56 percent, to 3,081.51.


AT&T Inc , which fell 1.8 percent to $34.30, was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 after the company said it had sold more than 10 million smartphones in the quarter, topping the same quarter in 2011 but also increasing costs for the wireless service provider.


Providers like AT&T pay hefty subsidies to handset makers so that they can offer device discounts to customers who commit to two-year contracts. Rival Verizon Wireless said on Monday it had its strongest fourth quarter ever.


The S&P telecom services index <.gspl>, down 2.8 percent, was the worst performing of the 10 major S&P sectors.


Shares of restaurant-chain operator Yum Brands Inc fell 4.5 percent to $64.82 a day after the KFC parent warned sales in China, its largest market, shrank more than expected in the fourth quarter.


Sears Holdings shares slumped 5.4 percent to $40.59 a day after the company said Chairman Edward Lampert would take over as CEO from Louis D'Ambrosio, who is stepping down due to a family member's health issue. The U.S. retailer also reported a 1.8 percent decline in quarter-to-date sales at stores open at least a year.


GameStop shares dropped 4.8 percent to $23.57 as the worst performer on the S&P 500 after the video game retailer reported sales for the holiday season and cut its guidance.


(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)



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Saban quickly turns to challenges of 2013 season


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — It didn't take long for Alabama coach Nick Saban to turn his thoughts to next season.


Maybe he let the Gatorade dry from the celebratory drenching first. Maybe.


"The team next year is 0-0," Saban said Tuesday morning. "Even though I really appreciate what this team accomplished and am very, very proud of what they accomplished, we need to prepare for the challenges of the new season very quickly with the team we have coming back. "


Apparently, the coach's 24-hour celebration rule applies mostly to players. He didn't take nearly that long to refocus after a 42-14 demolition of Notre Dame that secured a second straight BCS title and the Crimson Tide's third in four seasons. Shortly after the game, he was already talking about getting back to the office by Wednesday morning.


The 2013 team will almost certainly be regarded among the preseason favorites for a three-peat, even though three Tide stars — tailback Eddie Lacy, cornerback Dee Milliner and right tackle D.J. Fluker — could decide to skip this senior seasons and turn pro.


Saban also emphatically tried to end speculation that he might return to the NFL, where he spent two years with the Miami Dolphins before returning to the Southeastern Conference.


It was a question that really made him bristle in the 30-plus minute news conference.


"How many times do you think I've been asked to put it to rest?" Saban said. "And I've put it to rest, and you continue to ask it. So I'm going to say it today, that — you know, I think somewhere along the line you've got to choose. You learn a lot from the experiences of what you've done in the past. I came to the Miami Dolphins, what, eight years ago for the best owner, the best person that I've ever had the opportunity to work for. And in the two years that I was here, had a very, very difficult time thinking that I could impact the organization in the way that I wanted to or the way that I was able to in college, and it was very difficult for me."


He said that experience taught him that the college ranks "is where I belong, and I'm really happy and at peace with all that."


As for the players, All-America linebacker C.J. Mosley has already said he'll return. So has quarterback AJ McCarron, who will have a talented group of receivers led by freshman Amari Cooper.


"We certainly have to build the team around him," Saban said, adding that a late-game spat with center Barrett Jones showed the quarterback's competitive fire. "I've talked a lot about it's difficult to play quarterback when you don't have good players around you. I think we should have, God willing and everybody staying healthy, a pretty good receiver corps. We'll have to do some rebuilding in the offensive line. Regardless of what Eddie decides to do, we'll probably still have some pretty decent runners. But I think AJ can be a really good player, maybe the best quarterback in the country next year."


The biggest question mark is replacing three, maybe four, starters on an offensive line that paved the way.


Saban emphasized the difficulty of repeating and said he showed the players a video of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan saying that the first title isn't the hardest — it's the ones after that.


That's because, Saban said, "you have to have the will to fight against yourself."


Now, the 'Bama coach has four titles, including one during his stop at LSU. Saban doesn't wear the championship rings but uses them for a different purpose.


"I just put them on the coffee table for the recruits to look at," he said, cracking up the room.


Saban has already lined up another highly rated recruiting class and already has the next wave of young talents waiting in the wings.


After all, he talked about the sign mentor Bill Belichick hung in the football building during their NFL days together: "Do your job."


Saban jokingly acknowledged that while he prepares for everything, the one thing he has never been able to anticipate is the Gatorade bath. He drew heat for a scowl after the first one, following the title game win over Texas when he got dinged in the head. Monday night's dousing went better.


"It's cold, it's sticky, but I appreciated not getting hit in the head with the bucket," Saban said. "That was an improvement."


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Alabama preps for severe weather preparedness






MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama‘s second annual Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday will be the weekend of Feb. 22-24.


The state Revenue Department says the state will waive its 4 percent sales tax on items used to prepare homes and businesses for hurricanes and tornadoes. Some cities and counties will do the same.






Items covered by the sales tax holiday include batteries, battery-powered radios, flashlights, tarpaulins, duct tape, plywood, self-contained first aid kits and fuel containers costing up to $ 60 per item. Also included are portable generators costing up to $ 1,000 each.


Online: http://www.revenue.alabama.gov


Weather News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Iran faces oil revenue problem









By John Defterios, CNN


January 8, 2013 -- Updated 1535 GMT (2335 HKT)







With elections in June, it remains unclear how energy policy will evolve after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's era




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • The IEA has suggested Iraq surpassed Iran in output for the first time in over 20 years

  • The Iranian people are faced with spiralling inflation and job layoffs within the state sector

  • Iranian oil revenues in the country plummeted 40 percent, while gas export revenues fell by 45%




Editor's note: John Defterios is CNN's Emerging Markets Editor and anchor of Global Exchange, CNN's prime time business show focused on the emerging and BRIC markets. You can watch it on CNN International at 1600 GMT, Sunday to Thursday.


Abu Dhabi (CNN) -- All indications are that sanctions against Iran are really starting to bite and this time it is coming from the oil ministry in Tehran, which for months has denied that oil production was suffering due to international pressure.


In an interview with the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), Gholam Reza Kateb a member of the national planning and budget committee in Parliament referenced a report from Iran's oil minister Rostam Qasemi. In that report, the minister suggested that oil revenues in the country plummeted 40 percent, while gas and gas products' export revenues fell by 45% compared to the same period last year.


Read more: Official: Iran, nuclear watchdog group deal close


This is a hot button issue in Iran, where the currency due to sanctions has dropped 80 percent from its peak in 2011. The Iranian people are faced with spiralling inflation and job layoffs within the state sector.


I spoke with a source in Iran's representative office to OPEC who declined to comment and referred all matters to the Oil Ministry. A spokesman at the state oil company Iran Petroleum would only say "in this political climate it is difficult to confirm these statements."


Read more: Iran steps up uranium enrichment, U.N. report says


Hours later, a spokesman from the Ministry told another Iranian news agency, Mehr, that the numbers quoted about revenue and production drops are not true, although he offered no specific numbers.


Until this report to the Iranian Parliament, Minister Qasemi has maintained that Iran's production was hovering around four million barrels a day, where it was two years ago.


Read more: Opinion: Time to defuse Iranian nuclear issue




Back at the OPEC Seminar in June 2012, the minister told me that sanctions would not have any influence on plans to expand production and investment, shrugging off questions that suggested otherwise. This despite analysis to the contrary from the Paris based International Energy Agency and Vienna based OPEC of which Iran is a member.




The IEA back in July suggested that Iraq surpassed Iran in production for the first time in over two decades and production in Iran dipped to 2.9 million barrels a day. OPEC in its October 2012 survey said it slipped to 2.72 million at the time Minister Qasemi said output remained at 4 million barrels.




Minister Qasemi was recently quoted at a conference in Tehran that Iran needs to invest $400 billion over the next five years to maintain production targets and to play catch up after years of under investment.


Iran is a land full of potential. According to the annual BP Statistical Review, Iran sits on nearly 10 percent of the world's proven reserves at 137 billion barrels. The South Pars field which it shares with Qatar is one of the largest natural gas fields in the world -- but Iran, due to sanctions, cannot expand development.


This is a highly charged period. With elections in mid-June, it remains unclear how energy policy will evolve after the era of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad passes. It has been eight years of his tough line against Washington, Brussels and other governments that put forth sanctions against Iran. It is not clear if a new President will usher in a new nuclear development policy to ease the pressure on Iran's energy sector and the country's people.












Part of complete coverage on








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Brown's Chicken killings: 20 years ago today













Brown's Chicken 1993


Seven people were found shot to death at Brown's Chicken & Pasta in Palatine on Jan. 8, 1993. Juan Luna and James Degorski were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
(Chicago Tribune)






















































Twenty years ago today, Juan Luna and Jim Degorski entered a Brown's Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine and committed one of the most awful crimes in Illinois history, killing seven people in what jurors later found to be premeditated murder.


The pair escaped justice for nearly a decade until investigators caught a break. Degorski had told an ex-girlfriend of his role in the killings, and a friend who overheard her talking about it in 2002 went to police.


Another piece of evidence was crucial to the case. Investigators had saved a discarded meal from the scene, and as DNA analysis improved, they were able to match DNA left on a chicken bone with Juan Luna's saliva. The two were arrested in May 2002.





Luna was convicted of murder in 2007, and Degorski followed two years later. Jurors spared them the death penalty, but both are serving life sentences with no possibility of parole.


Joy Ehlenfeldt, 38, daughter of slain restaurant owners Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt, said this year's milestone has been harder than most because her parents have been gone for more than half of her life.


She said she hoped the memory of the crime would lead to action to reduce violence in America.


"Every time (a mass shooting) happens, people say, 'This will make the difference,' " said Ehlenfeldt, now a Chicago physical therapist. "We really need to say enough is enough. I don't want the community of Palatine to have this as a black mark. It was a great place to grow up. But we need to remember that this happened, and is still happening, and we need to deal with it with greater urgency."


jkeilman@tribune.com


Twitter: @JohnKeilman 






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Tunisia frees man held over attack on U.S. consulate in Libya


Tunis (Reuters) - Tunisia has freed, for lack of evidence, a Tunisian man who had been suspected of involvement in an Islamist militant attack in Libya last year in which the U.S. ambassador was killed, his lawyer said on Tuesday.


Ali Harzi was one of two Tunisians named in October by the Daily Beast website as having been detained in Turkey over the violence in which Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other American officials were killed.


"The judge decided to free Harzi and he is free now," lawyer Anouar Awled Ali told Reuters. "The release came in response to our request to free him for lack of evidence and after he underwent the hearing with American investigators as a witness in the case."


A Tunisian justice ministry spokesman confirmed the release of Harzi but declined to elaborate.


A month ago, Harzi refused to be interviewed by visiting U.S. FBI investigators over the September 11 assault on the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.


The Daily Beast reported that shortly after the attacks began, Harzi posted an update on an unspecified social media site about the fighting.


It said Harzi was on his way to Syria when he was detained in Turkey at the behest of U.S. authorities, and that he was affiliated with a militant group in North Africa.


(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Mark Heinrich)



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Wall Street falls on banks' settlement, doubts on earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Monday as banks agreed to pay billions in a settlement with U.S. regulators and investors speculated that U.S. earnings for the end of 2012 would be only modestly better than in the previous quarter.


Financials declined after a group of home mortgage servicers, including major U.S. banks, agreed to pay a total of $8.5 billion to end a government-ordered, case-by-case review of foreclosures.


The KBW bank index <.bkx>, a gauge of U.S. bank stocks, was down 0.7 percent.


Earnings are expected to be only slightly better than the third-quarter's lackluster results, and analysts' current estimates are down sharply from what they were in October.


"There is little doubt that concerns about the fiscal cliff created spending hesitancy in both consumers and businesses in the fourth quarter, and it is likely that will adversely impact earnings season," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.


Aluminum company Alcoa Inc will unofficially launch the reporting season by announcing its results after Tuesday's market close.


The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 77.33 points, or 0.58 percent, at 13,357.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 8.69 points, or 0.59 percent, at 1,457.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 12.39 points, or 0.40 percent, at 3,089.26.


The day's decline came a session after the S&P 500 finished at a five-year high and investors booked profits on stocks' best weekly gain in more than a year, boosted by a budget deal and economic data. The S&P 500 rose 4.6 percent last week.


Ten mortgage servicers - including Bank of America , Citigroup , JPMorgan , and Wells Fargo - agreed on Monday to pay $8.5 billion to end a case-by-case review of foreclosures required by U.S. regulators.


Bank of America also announced roughly $11.6 billion of settlements with mortgage finance company Fannie Mae and a $1.8 billion sale of collection rights on home loans.


The bank also entered into agreements with Nationstar Mortgage Holdings and Walter Investment Management to sell about $306 billion of residential mortgage servicing rights.


Bank of America shares were down 0.6 percent at $12.04 while Nationstar Mortgage Holdings jumped 11.3 percent to $36.97.


JPMorgan shares were down 0.4 percent at $45.16 and Citigroup shares were down 0.8 percent to $42.07. Wells Fargo shares fell 1.1 percent to $34.55.


Walt Disney Co started an internal cost cutting review several weeks ago that may include layoffs at its studio and other units, three people with knowledge of the effort told Reuters. Disney shares fell 2.4 percent to $50.95.


Video-streaming service Netflix Inc shares gained 5.8 percent to $101.55 after it said it will carry previous seasons of some popular shows produced by Time Warner's Warner Bros Television.


Amazon.com shares hit their highest price ever at $269.22 after Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the stock. Shares were up 3.3 percent at $267.77.


Major U.S. technology companies could miss estimates for fourth-quarter earnings as budget worries likely led some corporate clients to tighten their belts last month.


(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)



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RG3 defends himself as Redskins await knee results


ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — As the Washington Redskins awaited word on Robert Griffin III's health, teammates defended the rookie quarterback's decision to keep playing after reinjuring his right knee.


Griffin also chimed in. He did not appear in the locker room during the two hours it was open to reporters Monday morning, but offered some thoughts on Twitter.


"Many may question, criticize & think they have all the right answers. But few have been in the line of fire in battle," Griffin tweeted.


The Redskins were expected to announce results of Griffin's MRI later Monday.


Already playing with a heavy black brace in his third game since spraining a ligament in his knee, Griffin hurt the knee again when he fell awkwardly while throwing a pass in the first quarter of Sunday's 24-14 playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.


Griffin stayed in the game, but he was far from his usual self, clearly favoring the knee and unable to run with the world-class speed that helped define his play early in the season.


Then, in the fourth quarter with the Redskins trailing by seven, the knee buckled the wrong way when Griffin tried to field a bad snap. The Seahawks recovered the fumble deep in Washington territory, setting up a short field goal that helped put the game out of reach. Griffin was done for the night.


If Griffin had been pulled earlier, the critical turnover might not have happened. And, of course, his knee probably wouldn't be hurt as badly as it is.


"I thank God for perspective and because of that I appreciate the support from everyone. I also appreciate the criticism," Griffin tweeted.


Coach Mike Shanahan said after the game he essentially left the decision for Griffin to keep playing in Griffin's hands, and Griffin said he would probably have defied his coach if ordered to the bench.


"It's a slippery slope, I guess you can say, because you want to help the team," said receiver Pierre Garcon, who faced similar questions this season while dealing with a painful toe injury. "But you want to help yourself in the long run and your career.


"You want to look out for all sides, but it's hard to really know exactly if you're doing the right thing because if you sit out and the team losses, it's like 'I could probably have helped.' If you go out there and don't help the team, it's like, 'I probably should've sat out.' You've just got to make a decision and live with it."


Shanahan was scheduled to address reporters Monday afternoon, but said after the game that he perhaps should have pulled Griffin sooner.


"It's a very tough decision," Shanahan said Sunday. "You have to go with your gut. You have to go with your gut and I did. I'm not saying my gut is always right, but I've been there before. In different situations, I get to know Robert better as time goes on and I'll know how stubborn he is — probably more so as time goes on. He's a competitor and I'll probably second guess myself. ... In the second half, should you have done it earlier? I think you always do that, especially after you don't win."


___


Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP


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