Failed Xmas attack raises new security concerns

U.S. counterterrorism officials are scrambling to assess a potential new threat from an explosive mixture that evaded detection aboard a Detroit-bound airliner but failed to bring down the plane.

Multiple law enforcement officials said the suspected attacker _ identified as a Nigerian man named Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab _ claimed to have acted on instructions from al-Qaida to detonate the explosive device over U.S. soil. The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

The law enforcement officials cautioned that such claims could not be verified immediately, and said the man may have been …

Goodman adds more shows to its lineup

The Goodman Theatre, 200 S. Columbus, has announced additionalproductions for its 1997-98 mainstage and studio seasons.

A revival of Noel Coward's "Design for Living," staged byGoodman resident director David Petrarca, will be the third work ofthe mainstage season. The run dates will be announced later.

The Coward play joins the previously announced mainstage lineupof Shakespeare's "As You Like It," Sept. 19-Oct. 25, and the worldpremiere of Eric Bogosian's "Griller," Jan. 9-Feb. 14."The Press and the Presidency," Anna …

Ohio officials: We can't take man's exotic animals

COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio (AP) — Officials in the Cleveland suburb where a captive bear killed a man say they can't force the bear's owner to give up his exotic animals.

Columbia Township trustees responded Tuesday night to concerns raised by neighbors of Sam Mazzola. One woman living near Mazzola's property told the trustees that she worries about safety if the animals ever got out. Another said Mazzola's menagerie makes a lot of …

Gov't says abuse of prescription meds skyrocketing

A new government study finds a 400 percent increase in the number of people admitted to treatment for abusing prescription pain medication.

The increase in substance abuse among people ages 12 and older was recorded during the 10-year-period from 1998 to 2008. It spans every gender, race, ethnicity, education and employment …

SAY WHAT?

"I just think that Ally McBeal is totally huggable."

- Christopher Darden"A Double-Double might cost a little more than a …

Gating Mechanisms of the Type-1 Inositol Trisphosphate Receptor

ABSTRACT

A large amount of data and observations on inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP^sub 3^) binding to the IP^sub 3^ receptor/Ca^sup 2+^ channel, the steady-state activity of the channel, and its inactivation by IP^sub 3^ can be explained by assuming one activation and one inhibition module, both allosterically operated by Ca^sup 2+^, IP^sub 3^, and ATP, and one adaptation element, driven by IP^sub 3^, Ca^sup 2+^, and the interconversion between two possible conformations of the receptor. The adaptation module becomes completely insensitive to a second IP^sub 3^ pulse within 80 s. Observed kinetic responses are well reproduced if, in addition, two module open states are rendered …

Illinois Senate opens impeachment trial

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's historic impeachment trial began Monday without its defiant defendant, who was away in New York doing media interviews arguing he couldn't get a fair hearing before the Illinois state Senate.

At the start of the trial, Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald asked whether Blagojevich was present and a long silence followed. The chief justice then ordered the proceedings to begin as if Blagojevich had entered a plea of not guilty.

"This is a solemn and serious business we're about to engage in," Fitzgerald told the Senate chambers.

Blagojevich, meanwhile, was hundreds of miles away in New York, where …