Paterno becomes Div. I victories leader with No. 409

Reuters

After 45-plus years at Penn State and one nasty October snowstorm, Joe Paterno is the winningest coach in Division I college football history.

With the 84-year-old Paterno watching from the press box, the Nittany Lions overcame an afternoon of offensive frustration by driving 80 yards in the closing minutes to score the go-ahead touchdown, then held on for a 10-7 victory on a snowy day in Happy Valley, Paterno's 409th in a tenure that began in 1966. Paterno had been tied with Eddie Robinson, the legendary Grambling coach.

Silas Redd ran 3 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 remaining. Illinois, which had taken a 7-0 lead after a scoreless first half, had a chance to tie on the game's final play, but its field goal attempt hit the upright.

"It really is something I'm very proud of, to be associated with Eddie Robinson," Paterno said afterward. "Something like this means a lot to me, an awful lot. But there's a lot of other people I've got to thank."

Partly because of the weather, partly because of sloppy play, the game was sloppy as well. Penn State fumbled six times and lost two of them, and Illinois lost both of its fumbles. The Illini also threw two interceptions, and Penn State threw one.

Illinois had taken the lead on a 10-year pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to Spencer Harris in the third quarter, and Penn State made it 7-3 on Anthony Fera's 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

For more information visit:

http://www.psu.edu/

Rare October snowstorm pelts the Northeast

BOSTON (Reuters) - Heavy snow was falling across parts of Pennsylvania on Saturday where thousands of households were already without power from a rare October snowstorm barreling up the East Coast.

Snow was coming down from central Pennsylvania up into southeastern New York and Connecticut after blanketing parts of Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland earlier in the day, AccuWeather.com forecasters said.

In Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, more than 63,000 customers were without power, according to Allegheny Power. At least 30,000 additional customers were without power in Pennsylvania and New Jersey based on Penelec reports.

Airport delays were reported at Philadelphia International Airport and at New York area airports. At John F Kennedy International Airport some arriving flights were delayed more than four hours.

Video: Hurricane Rina forms off the coast of Central America

The snow threatened posed traffic problems for some 100,000 college football fans trying to attend the game on Saturday afternoon between Penn State and the University of Illinois in State College, Pennsylvania.

The university warned fans not to park on grassy areas and to avoid pitching tents or driving large campers that might get stuck at the football stadium.

"It's a strong storm for October," said AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Paul Walker.

"We don't usually see storms this deep and this strong," he said, adding it was unusual to get accumulating snow this month.

The rare early season snowstorm was expected to unleash heavy, wet snow and wind across much of the Northeast on Saturday with some areas bracing for up to a foot of snow and major power outages.

For some, the big flakes and accumulation caused excitement, instead of headaches.

"There's almost like an electric buzz when the first snow falls," said Anna Weltz, communication director for Seven Springs Mountain Resort, located about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

By early afternoon, six inches of snow was already on the ground at the family ski resort, where phones were ringing off the hook with people asking about opening day.

"And it's still coming down," said Weltz. "What a sight."

The storm was moving northeast, starting as rain and changing to snow as temperatures dropped, and was expected to hit hardest areas west and northwest of the I-95 highway corridor, Walker said.

While October snow is not unprecedented, this storm could be record-setting in terms of snow totals.

Hartford, Connecticut, Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Worcester, Massachusetts were among the cities that could be blanketed with up to a foot of snow, forecasters said.

Allentown, for example, typically sees its first measurable snow around December 5, according to The Weather Channel.

Boston will generally see its first measurable snow around the end of November, while New York City and Philadelphia measure their first flakes, on average, mid-December.

The major coastal cities are not likely to be spared from this October nor'easter, meteorologists predicted.

New York City was bracing for up to four inches of snow, tapering off Saturday night, The Weather Channel said.

In Boston, the forecast called for a windy afternoon rain to turn to snow overnight, bringing up to three inches of white stuff, it said.

Wind gusts along the coast could reach 45 miles per hour, it said, adding to the tree limbs and power lines already expected to be down from the heavy, wet snow.

(Additional reporting by Ben Schmitt in Pittsburgh; Editing by Greg McCune)

Indy: Sugarland returns for emotional, celebratory show

INDIANAPOLIS - Sugarland returned to Indianapolis Friday to perform and pay tribute to those in attendance at an August show canceled by a deadly stage collapse.

Little Maggie Mullen was one of those injured in the stage collapse. She came to Friday's show wearing a pink tutu and a special t-shirt, with her picture on the front and Sugarland on the back.

"Maggie goes through therapy a couple times a week. She has to gain some strength and some motion in her left arm, but she compensates for it and she's tough," said her mother, Laura Magdziarz.

Once inside, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush set the tone.

"We are so happy to be here with you and we are so happy that you are here for everything that means tonight," Nettles said. "We went earlier today out to the site at the fairgrounds, which was the first time we have been there since August and I can acknowledge that it may be an emotional show tonight, but it will also be a celebratory show tonight."

First to sing was Corey Cox of Pendleton, vowing to auction off his guitar strap to raise money for Andrea Vellinga, the young mother still in rehab.

"Our entire town was painted pink in honor of her," he told the crowd.

His act was followed by Rita Wilson, wife of actor Tom Hanks. Then Sugarland took the stage, starting with "All We Are."

"It's just special. She said 'These people need this.' I mean, that's what she told me," Cox said. "It's true. A lot of people needed closure that didn't get to see them on August 13. Now they're getting to see a great show, she was really excited for it and, you know, I think the people are getting what they came to see."

"A lot of us have been hurt and there was a lot of tragedy that happened in August and I think this was going to help kind of start mending and helping people know that some of us that were injured are recuperating, doing better and we made a lot of friends. Lifetime friends and some poor memories or bad memories that I think is going to turn around and we're all going to kind of help each other through this," said Lisa Hite of Logansport.

Seven people were killed and several more were injured when gusting winds blew the stage rigging into the crowd at the band's show at the Indiana State Fair.

Paul McCartney: Remakes Ebony and Ivory!

WRLTHD Music News

DETROIT (AP) - During a summer visit to a Motown recording studio, former Beatle Paul McCartney wanted to run his fingers along an 1877 Steinway grand piano played by some Detroit music greats he considers idols.

“He was disappointed when we told him it didn’t play,” Motown Historical Museum chief executive Audley Smith Jr., told The Detroit News for a story ( http://bit.ly/trOphs) Saturday.

Undaunted, the legendary roll and roller from England told museum officials following a July concert at Comerica Park that he wanted to help restore it.

On Monday, the piano will be picked up from the Detroit museum and shipped to Steinway & Sons in New York for restoration. The work is expected to take up to five months.

The piano company has to assess the piano’s condition before a cost can be determined.

“Steinway & Sons is honored to restore the historic Steinway piano that was used by such legends as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder _ and to do so in the very same New York factory where it was originally built in 1877,” Steinway & Sons President of Americas Ron Losby told the newspaper in a statement.

“We’re especially proud, as an American company, to help the Motown Museum in preserving the legacy of the Motown Record Company, whose artists and albums played such a vital role in one of the great eras of American music.”

For more information visit:

http://www.paulmccartney.com/

Cards Win World Series

Allen Craig drifted back, reached up and made the catch, setting off a stampede from the dugout. The St. Louis Cardinals, the team that wasn’t even supposed to be here, had won a most remarkable World Series.

A World Series that saw plenty of drama, some history and a bit of the bizarre ended Friday nightSt. Louis Cardinals defeating the Texas Rangers by a score of 6-2 in the deciding Game 7.

For the National League champion Cardinals, it's the team's 11th World Series title. They got No. 11 in a year when for much of the season it looked like they wouldn't even be in the playoffs — the team was 10 1/2 games behind in the race for the National League's wildcard slot as recently as August.

Texas, which was also in last year's Series, has yet to win one.

The Cards were led again by third baseman David Freese. His two-run double in the bottom of the first inning erased a 2-0 lead the Rangers had jumped out to in the top of the inning.

Freese was named Series MVP, but not just for his play on Friday. He had already cemented his place in St. Louis and World Series sports lore with his performance in Game 6 on Thursday. He sent that game into extra innings with a triple in the 9th inning that scored two runs — at a moment when Texas had been one strike away from its first championship. Then in the 11th, Freese hit the game-winning home run.

As for Friday's game, here are a few other keys to the Cardinals' win:

— The Cardinals' Chris Carpenter, pitching on three days' rest instead of his usual four, shut down the Rangers after the first inning. He pitched into the 7th and gave up only six hits and no more runs.

— After Carpenter left the game, the Cardinals' four relievers gave up no hits.

— In the third inning, Cardinals left fielder Allen Craig hit his third home run of the Series to put St. Louis ahead.

Now that it's over, here's a quick recap of the highlights of what's already being called one of the best Fall Classics ever:

— Game 1, First Inning; The Dive: Carpenter ran to cover the bag at first base, and had to dive to the ground to get the ball that had been tossed his way by first baseman Albert Pujols. "As his long frame hit the ground he tagged the base with his glove hand, at the same time pulling his pitching hand away to protect it from the batter's oncoming cleats," NPR's Tom Goldman said afterward. "How cool to see a pitcher getting dirty."

The play, Tom added, "served notice that the game, perhaps the Series, is going to be a diving for every out, clawing for every run affair."

— Game 3, The "Greatest Night Ever": Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols bashed three home runs. That tied the record for a single World Series game. And he got five hits total and batted in six runs. His team's manager, Tony LaRussa, called it "the greatest night in World Series history." Interestingly, Pujols would get just one other hit the entire Series, in Game 6.

— Game 4; "NAPOLI! NAPOLI! NAPOLI!": If the Rangers had ended up winning the Series, the MVP might have been Texas catcher Mike Napoli. His three-run homer in the game put the team on its way to a 4-0 victory and had fans in Texas chanting his name.

— Game 5; The Bizarre: The other thing that would have happened if Texas had won Game 7 is more talk about something that has been discussed, and discussed and discussed some more — the Cardinals' huge screwup in Game 5.

As we wrote the next day:

In the 8th inning when the score was tied at 2, Napoli came to bat. Three of his teammates were on base.

Napoli is a right-handed batter. The Cardinals pitcher at the moment was Marc Rzepczynski, a lefty who has a pretty bad record against right-handed batters. So the logical thing for LaRussa to do, as everyone watching knew, was to bring in Cardinals closer Jason Motte to pitch. He's a righty who specializes in getting guys like Napoli out.

But Motte didn't leave the bullpen for the mound.

It turns out that LaRussa had called the bullpen — twice — to say he wanted Motte to be ready to go in. But bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist misheard. So Motte never got ready. And Napoli slapped a double. Two runs scored. The Rangers won.

— The Delay: Game 6 was supposed to be played on Wednesday, but got rained out and bumped to Thursday. That meant a Game 7, if necessary, would be played Friday — allowing Carpenter, the Cardinals' best pitcher, to take the mound. But would he be effective on just three days' rest? Turns out he was. So Mother Nature, some will say, played a part in the Cardinals' victory.

— Game 6; Freese's Magic Night: As we said, not only did Freese put the game into extra innings when all Texas needed was one more strike to be World Champions, he then came back to win the game for St. Louis.

And wouldn't you know it? He grew up in a St. Louis suburb. Sounds like something from the movies.

Pritzker Family Business Founder Dies at 85

CHICAGO October 29, 2011 (AP)

Businessman Robert Pritzker, who led a global industrial conglomerate and whose family founded the Hyatt chain of hotels, has died. He was 85.
Pritzker died Thursday evening in a Chicago nursing facility after suffering from Parkinson's disease, his executive assistant Becky Spooner said Friday.
Pritzker founded and was chairman and president of the Marmon Group, an international conglomerate of manufacturing and service companies. His business acumen helped Marmon Group revenues grow into the billions of dollars and through hundreds of acquisitions over 50 years, company officials said. The company was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2008.

In 2002, at age 76, Pritzker acquired several caster, medical device and hardware companies to form Colson Associates.
Pritzker was the brother of Jay Pritzker, who was founder and chairman of the Hyatt Hotel chain and among the richest people in the United States when he died in 1999 in Chicago.
Pritzker was born in Chicago on June 30, 1926. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with an industrial engineering degree in 1946 and later became chairman of the school's board of trustees. The school now has a Pritzker Institute for Medical Engineering.
Throughout his career Pritzker taught management and engineering courses at IIT, the University of Chicago and Oxford University. He also was chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers and worked with the National Academy of Engineering.
Pritzker is survived by his wife, Mayari, five children, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

NBA Cancels Games Through Nov. 30

by The Associated Press 

NBA Commissioner David Stern has canceled all NBA games through Nov. 30.
The move came Friday after labor negotiations broke down for the second time in a week.
"It's not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now," Stern says.
After two days of making some progress on salary cap issues, the two sides brought the revenue split back into the discussion and got stuck on both.
Owners are insistent on a 50-50 split of revenues, while players last formally proposed they get 52.5 percent, leaving them about $100 million apart annually. Players were guaranteed 57 percent in the previous collective bargaining agreement.
No further talks have been scheduled.

Libyan rebel: I killed Gaddafi

Libyan rebel: I killed Gaddafi

The provisional government in Libya is claiming Gaddafi was killed in a shootout in the city of Sirte, where the ousted leader had been hiding.

 However, following his death videos began to surface showing Gaddafi bleeding while being held by rebels, which raised the suspicion he was executed.

The rebel, who identified himself as Senad el Sadık el Ureybi, said: "We grabbed him, I hit him in the face. Some fighters wanted to take him away and that's when I shot him twice, in the head and in the chest."

He noted that Gaddafi didn't die instantaneously, and that it took half an hour. He said he didn't like the idea of Gaddadi being caught alive.

The video also shows a bloodied shirt which allegedly belonged to the dictator and a golden ring with his wife's name engraved on it. The claims cannot be confirmed as of yet.

Torch cams to give masses views from Lady Liberty

NEW YORK (AP) – Give me your tired, your poor — your Internet-connected masses yearning to see. Lady Liberty is getting high-tech gifts for her 125th birthday: webcams on her torch that will let viewers gaze out at New York Harbor and read the tablet in her hands or see visitors on the grounds of the island below in real time.

The five torch cams are to be switched on Friday during a ceremony to commemorate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on Oct. 28, 1886. The ceremony caps a week of events centered around the historic date, including the debut of a major museum exhibition about poet Emma Lazarus, who helped bring the monument renown as the "Mother of Exiles."

The statue's webcams will offer views from the torch that have been unavailable to the public since 1916, said Stephen A. Briganti, the president of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Inc.

"The statue is the most famous symbol in the world," he said. "Most of the people in the world have seen it, but they have not seen it like this. It will be a visit that so many people, including New Yorkers, have never taken before."

Through the webcams, Internet users around the world will have four views, including a high-quality, 180-degree stitched panorama of the harbor with stunning views of Ellis and Governors islands.

They will be able to watch as ships go by Liberty Island and observe as theFreedom Tower at the World Trade Center goes up floor-by-floor in lower Manhattan. They can get a fish-eye look at the torch itself as it glows in the night.

The five cameras, which will be on 24 hours, seven days a week, were donated to the National Park Service by Earthcam Inc., a New Jersey-based company that manages webcams around the world.

The cameras put viewers on the balcony of the torch and high above the crown, said Brian Cury, the founder of Earthcam.

"This is not your dad's picture of the Statue of Liberty," he said. "This is not a view from a tourist helicopter. This is unique."

Friday's ceremony also will be marked by a water flotilla, actress Sigourney Weaver reading Lazarus' poem and a naturalization ceremony for 125 candidates for citizenship representing over 40 countries.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony, with ferry service available between Manhattan and Liberty Island. The interior of the statue — from the pedestal down to the museum base — will close after the 125th celebration for up to a year so that stairwells, elevators and mechanical systems can be upgraded. The park itself will remain open to visitors.

The statue, designed by sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, was given by the French government to the U.S. as a token of friendship between the two countries and dedicated by President Grover Cleveland.

And while today it is known as a symbol of liberty for millions of refugees and exiles, initially the famous sonnet by Lazarus in the voice of the statue asking for "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" did not appear on the statue. It was not until 1903 that "The New Colossus" was placed on the pedestal.

Lazarus is the subject of a new exhibit at theMuseum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan, which has views of Lady Liberty. It's to open Wednesday to coincide with the anniversary of the statue's dedication.

Curator Melissa Martens said Lazarus was born into the fourth generation of a Jewish family in New York prominent since colonial times. "They were some of the early people to articulate the Jewish experience in dialogue with the challenges of freedom and religious liberty," she said.

Featuring over 83 original objects from 27 institutions and individuals, "Poet of Exiles" is the first full-fledged artifact exhibit at a major museum to robustly explore the life of Lazarus, from her work as an advocate for immigrants fleeing the Russian pogroms of the early 1880s to her pioneering support for a Jewish homeland.

Lazarus died in 1887 at age 38 from Hodgkin's disease, never having known her poem would be united with the Statue of Liberty.

'Happy Days' lawsuit: Fraud claim thrown out

"Happy Days" stars Anson Williams, Don Most, Marion Ross and Erin Moran are suing CBS for unpaid royalties.

By Scott Zamost, CNN

(CNN) -- A California judge Wednesday threw out a claim by cast members of the hit television show "Happy Days" that CBS committed fraud by not paying them for merchandising sales.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White ruled in favor of CBS on the fraud claim, meaning the case will proceed only with a breach of contract suit. The cast had sued CBS for $10 million, alleging fraud.

The decision means the actors cannot receive punitive damages at the trial, which is scheduled for June 26, 2012.

The actors claim they never received revenue statements related to merchandising, and that CBS intentionally never intended to pay them anyway.

"The exact details of this alleged promise to provide periodic revenue statements when merchandising revenue had been generated have not been pled with the requisite level of specificity required, such as, who said exactly what to whom and they those representations were known to be false when made," according to the court ruling.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the CBS Consumer Products Division said, "We are thrilled that the court has thrown out all claims for punitive damages and significantly narrowed this to a case of contract interpretation."

Jon Pfeiffer, attorney for the actors, told CNN they were disappointed. "But we intend to press forward with the lawsuit. If we can't punish the defendants, we certainly intend to expose their practices," he said

Four members of the cast -- Marion Ross, Don Most, Anson Williams and Erin Moran -- along with the widow of Tom Bosley, in April sued CBS, which owns the show, claiming they have not been been paid what they're owed for the worldwide sale of "Happy Days" merchandise. The series was on the air from 1974 to 1984. Bosley died last October.

Under their contracts, the actors were supposed to receive 5% of net proceeds, or 2 1/2% if their images were used in a group, the lawsuit states.

In court papers, CBS claimed the actors "are attempting to generate a lucrative litigation windfall by riddling their complaint with unsupported and overreaching causes of action" for fraud and breach of good faith. The company said this was "all done in a transparent attempt to introduce the specter of punitive damages" in the case.

CBS said the case was "a garden-variety breach of contract action, nothing more."

The actors accused CBS of "despicable conduct," saying "although defendants routinely rebrand their corporate images, they should not be permitted to rebrand the truth."

In interviews with CNN earlier this year, the actors claimed they were cut out of the merchandising bonanza from the show. Those products include comic books, T-shirts, scrapbooks, trading cards, games, lunch boxes, dolls, toy cars, magnets, greeting cards and DVDs where their images appear on the box covers.

In documents provided to the actors, CBS said it only owes them between $8,500 and $9,000 each for the last four years. Most of that money is from slot machine revenues. The actors claim they are owed millions of dollars.

Muammar Gaddafi killed in Libya 'WARNING GRAPHIC MATERIAL'

Muammar Gaddafi killed in Libya 'WARNING GRAPHIC MATERIAL'

Libya's ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after an assault on his birthplace of Sirte, officials say.

Acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril announced the death, saying it was the moment Libya was waiting for.

Mr Jibril gave few details of how Col Gaddafi died, but video footage emerged showing him captured alive. Other images apparently showed him being dragged through the streets.

Some fighters claim to have shot him, though it is not clear when he died.

US President Barack Obama said it was a "momentous day" for Libya, now that tyranny had fallen.

He said Libya had a "long and winding road towards full democracy", but the US and other countries would stand behind Tripoli.

Col Gaddafi was toppled from power in August after 42 years in charge of the country.

He was fighting his last stand in Sirte alongside two of his sons, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, according to reports.

Acting Justice Minister Mohammad al-Alagi told the AP news agency Saif al-Islam had been captured and taken to hospital with a leg wound; other officials said Mutassim had been killed in battle on Thursday.

Golden gun

Nato, which has been running a bombing campaign in Libya for months, said it had carried out an air strike earlier on Thursday.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said French jets had fired warning shots to halt a convoy carrying Col Gaddafi as it tried to flee Sirte.

He said Libyan fighters had then descended and taken the colonel.

Rana Jawad

BBC News, Tripoli

Residents swarmed the streets of the capital, waving flags and cheering from the windows of their cars.

Tripoli's myriad of streets in various districts has been gridlocked for hours.

People and fighters manning checkpoints shouted out "God is Great", as some distributed mints and biscuits - later dubbed "revolutionary treats" - to passing cars.

There are many who will be wondering "what next?" for Libya as it embarks on a new era unobtainable for almost half a century.

But for many Libyans tonight, it is a time to rejoice.

Proof of Col Gaddafi's fate came in grainy pieces of video, first circulated among fighters, and then broadcast by international news channels.

The first images showed a bloodied figure presumed to be Col Gaddafi.

Later, video emerged of the colonel being bundled on to the back of a pick-up truck after being captured alive.

Some channels picked up footage they said showed the colonel's body being dragged through the streets.

None of the video footage has been independently verified.

Some fighters loyal to the National Transitional Council (NTC) said the colonel was shot when he tried to escape.

One NTC fighter told the BBC that he found Col Gaddafi hiding in a hole in Sirte, and the former leader had begged him not to shoot.

The fighter showed reporters a golden pistol he said he had taken from Col Gaddafi.

Arabic TV channels showed images of troops surrounding two large drainage pipes where the reporters said Col Gaddafi was found.

Mr Jibril held a news conference in Tripoli to confirm the colonel's death.

"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed," he said.

Mr Jibril promised that NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil would give more details of how Col Gaddafi was killed later.

He also said Mr Abdul Jalil would officially announce the "liberation of the country", allowing the NTC to begin pushing through democratic reforms that will lead to elections.

"I think it's for the Libyans to realise that it's time to start a new Libya, a united Libya, one people, one future," Mr Jibril said.

'United Libya'

Libyans gathered in towns and cities across the country to celebrate the reports of the colonel's death.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse has visited the drain where Col Gaddafi was reportedly found by NTC forces

Groups of young men fired guns in the air, and drivers honked horns in celebration.

His death came after weeks of fierce fighting for Sirte, one of the last remaining pockets of resistance.

World leaders urged the NTC to carry through its promise to reform the country.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who had taken a leading role in Nato's intervention, said it was "a day to remember all of Col Gaddafi's victims".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called it a "historic" moment, but warned: "The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges."

Indy Car conducting investigation, hopes will provide answers

October 20, 2011 (AP)

Indy Car CEO Randy Bernard says the best way to honor Dan Wheldon is to take steps to prevent another fatal accident.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was killed Sunday in a 15-car accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Bernard said Wednesday night that IndyCar is conducting a thorough investigation he hopes will provide answers the series can use to improve safety measures.

But neither Formula One's governing body nor the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States are formally involved in the investigation. IndyCar said earlier this week it was receiving assistance from those two organizations.

Bernard says many in the industry have banded together this week to focus on supporting Wheldon's family and preparing for his memorial service.

Wheldon's death was the first fatal accident in IndyCar since Paul Dana was killed in 2006. But safety concerns have been raised about the wisdom of racing at high-banked Las Vegas since Wheldon's accident.

Dan Wheldon killed in Horrific 15-car Indy Car pileup in Las Vegas!

UPDATE!
LAS VEGAS -- IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon has died from injuries after his car went sailing through the air during a massive 15-car wreck early in Sunday's Las Vegas Indy 300.

Wheldon was 33. Drivers were told of Wheldon's death in a meeting about two hours after the fiery, smoky crash that many drivers said was the worst they had ever seen.

He won the Indianapolis 500 twice, including this year. Wheldon was injured when his car flew over another during the wreck on Lap 13.

By Jacob Black
A 15-car IndyCar pileup in Las Vegas has ended Will Power's title hopes and halted the season finale after just 12 laps.

The crash was triggered at the front of the field leaving no room or opportunity for anyone to avoid it as the field piled up at more than 220mph (350kmh).

Dan Wheldon has been airlifted to hospital, while Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand have been taken by road ambulance. No other information is yet available on their condition.

Will Power has back pain and is going to hospital also as a precautionary measure.

The drivers have just been called into a driver's meeting at 8.10am Australian EDT.

Tomas Scheckter tweeted; "Walked past something I pray never to see again."

Newly-crowned 2011 IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti was visibily distressed by the incident when he spoke to media.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

"Within five laps people were starting to crazy stuff. I don't want a part of it. We love hard racing but that's not what that's about," he said.

"You get four wide and you see what happens, someone makes a mistake and that's what happens.

"Right now all I care about is that everyone is ok."

Power's team owner Roger Penske was one of the first people to speak to media.

"Will's ok is the main thing. It's unfortunate but as far as I know the drivers are all ok and that's the main thing," Penske said.

"It's unfortunate to have him knocked out with three crazy accidents."

The crash involved, Will Power, Jr Hildebrand, Tomas Scheckter, Jay Howard, Townsend Bell, Wade Cunningham, Vitor Meira, James JakesCharlie Kimball, Paul Tracy, EJ Viso, Dan Wheldon, Alex LLooyd, Pippa Mann and Buddy Rice.

Reports from the track are that all drivers involved are conscious and alert.

By Jacob Black
A 15-car IndyCar pileup in Las Vegas has ended Will Power's title hopes and halted the season finale after just 12 laps.

The crash was triggered at the front of the field leaving no room or opportunity for anyone to avoid it as the field piled up at more than 220mph (350kmh).

Dan Wheldon has been airlifted to hospital, while Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand have been taken by road ambulance. No other information is yet available on their condition.

Will Power has back pain and is going to hospital also as a precautionary measure.

The drivers have just been called into a driver's meeting at 8.10am Australian EDT.

Tomas Scheckter tweeted; "Walked past something I pray never to see again."

Newly-crowned 2011 IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti was visibily distressed by the incident when he spoke to media.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

"Within five laps people were starting to crazy stuff. I don't want a part of it. We love hard racing but that's not what that's about," he said.

"You get four wide and you see what happens, someone makes a mistake and that's what happens.

"Right now all I care about is that everyone is ok."

Power's team owner Roger Penske was one of the first people to speak to media.

"Will's ok is the main thing. It's unfortunate but as far as I know the drivers are all ok and that's the main thing," Penske said.

"It's unfortunate to have him knocked out with three crazy accidents."

The crash involved, Will Power, Jr Hildebrand, Tomas Scheckter, Jay Howard, Townsend Bell, Wade Cunningham, Vitor Meira, James JakesCharlie Kimball, Paul Tracy, EJ Viso, Dan Wheldon, Alex LLooyd, Pippa Mann and Buddy Rice.

Reports from the track are that all drivers involved are conscious and alert.

Special operations airmen to march, Dayton Ohio

By STEPHEN THOMAS
Air Force Master Sgt. Robert Bartleson earned the duty of choosing airmen to serve on his special operations team. One of his assignments was with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron out of Pope Field, N.C.

He saw something special there in combat controller Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell and two pararescuemen, Tech Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe and Tech Sgt. John W. Brown.

“I was there for eight years,” Bartleson said. “Those three guys were on my team. I actually selected each one of them to come to my team.”

They are all gone. Harvell, Zerbe and Brown were among 30 U.S. troops who died Aug. 6 when, according to a U.S. Central Command report, suspected Taliban fighters shot down their CH-47D helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade in Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

Bartleson will be a member of relay teams of special tactics personnel who will march 812 miles from San Antonio through Harris County, Dayton and Liberty en route to Hurlburt Field, Fla., where the master sergeant currently serves with the Special Tactics Training Squadron.

The walk is known as the Tim Davis Memorial March, the namesake of Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy P. Davis, a special tactics airman who died in 2009 in Afghanistan from injuries he sustained when his vehicle came upon an improvised explosive device.

Marchers were scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 16; arrive in Atascocita at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18; reach Dayton at 5 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, and make it to Liberty at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, ideally in time to march in the Trinity Valley Exposition Fair and Rodeo Opening Day Parade through downtown Liberty. This was a tentative pre-march schedule, subject to change.

Since October 2009, the march, which also has been referred to as the “special ops walk,” was scheduled to occur following every fiscal year in which special forces personnel made the supreme sacrifice. Alas, the 2011 march marks three consecutive annual marches, each aimed at honoring fallen comrades and raising donations for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

The latter has been a means by which generosity has allowed the special operations community to forever take care of its own.

The foundation, according to its mission statement, “provides full scholarship grants and educational and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in operational or training missions and immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel and their families.”

This will be Bartleson’s first Tim Davis Memorial March. Starting with the first five miles from San Antonio and continuing on each of his 12-mile stretches, Bartleson will carry memories of his special operations brothers along the route — and thereafter.

Brown’s record made him an obvious selection for special operations.“It’s almost like a draft, like the NFL,” Bartleson said. “He was just way ahead of his peers. He was the number-one guy. He was that strong — incredible guy.”Harvell was the type of person that virtually anyone would want to befriend.“He put a smile on everybody’s face,” Bartleson said. “He was the guy that had no enemies. Everyone seemed to like him. You would be hard-pressed to find a person that didn’t like that guy.”Zerbe would do whatever he could to help.“He has done so many great things,” Bartleson said. “He was that guy who always had a smile on his face. We would be on a team trip, no matter what. He liked to live for you; he would put you at ease.”

Marchers look forward to speaking with people in one community after another, educating residents about the role of special operations and reminding people of the enormity of military sacrifice as the nation remains at war.

“There are six three-men teams going out there, doing this,” said Air Force Maj. Kristi Beckman, a public affairs officer assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command, alluding to the memory of the honored dead. “It is a way to get out there and remember them and talk to the communities along the way.

“The start of this march is at Lackland Air Force Base, which is the start of the pipeline training for special tactics airmen. The end of it is at Hurlburt Field, Fla., which is where these airmen come to Air Force Special Operations Command for training to become special operators. It is really significant where they start and where they end.”

Retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Steve Haggett — who served in special operations for 20 years, marched last year and has served this year as the event’s team lead — hopes the march also will benefit the foundation’s cause.

“We are trying to raise $150,000 this year as we march through the five states,” Haggett said. “All monies collected during the 10-day march will be given to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization headquartered out of Tampa, Fla.”

The organization’s founders decided, Haggett said, “that it was time to take care of the children of our fallen warriors in the special operations community. That encompasses all of the services — the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Army, all those folks that are under special operations.”

The foundation pays the tuition for the children of special operations personnel who die in the performance of their duties. Their children may attend any college or university to which they are accepted.

Thirty of the 90 young adults helped by the foundation have been pursuing their degrees, Haggett said, adding, “It is a phenomenal thing to give to somebody, to tell somebody, ‘Listen, you do not have to pay for your education. We are going to take care of that for you.’ That pays dividends for the rest of their lives.”

The tuition payment is above and beyond other forms of aid.

“Obviously, you get the GI Bill,” Haggett said. “Each member is qualified, and you can now pass that on to your spouses. Then, we have the death benefits, which the family receives, but special ops takes it to the next height. We take care of the children. We don’t want them to be forgotten.”

The children and their families also are invited to special forces gatherings, such as holiday get-togethers. This gesture and the educational assistance reflect the inexorable bond, Haggett said.

The foundation accepts donations at either its own website, www.specialops.org, or that of the march, www.specialopswalk.com.

The latter website has a link to the tentative visitation schedule. Site visitors may determine when marchers will pass through. They may present a check to the cause personally.

“If we travel through, people can go onto that website that has our routes on there,” Haggett said. “If they come out and they want to give a check, I will be collecting those. If they do want to give me a check, they have to make it out to the ‘Special Operations Warrior Foundation,’ and 100 percent of that money goes to the children.”

Special operations personnel are as dedicated to the cause as they hope the community at large will be. Bartleson and his wife exemplified such devotion during a recent trip to an animal control office in regard to spaying the couple’s dog.“I was walking out the door, and this lady hands me a note,” Bartleson said. “I walk out and I read it — my wife was there — and it says, ‘Thank you for what you do for your country. Take your wife to lunch.’ There was $25 in there. I was floored by it.”The Bartlesons gave the gift to the foundation.

For more information and to make a donation visit:

http://www.specialops.org/