Ethereal Protectors

NEW YORK (Reuters) –
Angelina Jolie is Hollywood's top earning actress, banking $27 million in the past year to beat out her partner Brad Pitt's ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, who raked in $25 million, a Forbes.com study showed on Wednesday.

Most of Jolie's income came from her share of the profits from her action film "Wanted," but she was also paid a large upfront sum for her role in "Salt," the study said. Jolie and Pitt have six children.

Aniston, who was married to Pitt before he became involved with Jolie, earned most of her millions from the romantic comedy "Marley and Me" and her upcoming film "The Baster."

"Aniston also still earns money from (reruns of TV series) Friends and she gets a nice paycheck shilling for Glaceau's SmartWater," Forbes.com said.

Meryl Streep came in at No. 3 with $24 million, most of which came from her role in "Mamma Mia," while Sarah Jessica Parker was ranked fourth with $23 million in earnings following the movie version of TV series "Sex and the City."

Cameron Diaz rounds out the top five, banking $20 million between June 2008 and June 2009.

Forbes.com said it spoke to agents, managers, producers and lawyers to work out what actresses were paid upfront for movies they are currently shooting and what pay they might have earned after a movie hit the theaters. Money earned from perfume or clothing lines was also taken into account.

"As is still typical for Hollywood, our actresses earned significantly less than their male counterparts," Forbes.com said, pointing out that the top earning male actor, Harrison Ford, made $65 million.

The full list can be seen at http://www.forbes.com.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by Vicki Allen)

Manny Ramirez returns from baseball exile Friday, and the only question the Dodgers have is how soon he will be able to revive the team's suddenly anemic offense. Good thing, because it appears that will be the only question Ramirez has any interest in answering.
He's paid his debt to the game that made him rich and his dreadlocks famous, and he's moving on. There will be no press conferences, no explanations.
Dodger fans don't seem to mind. Neither does team owner Frank McCourt, who was last seen handing out All-Star ballots to fans with his star slugger's name circled on them.
Some day Ramirez will retire, and maybe he'll write a tell-all book that really tells all. Until then, we'll probably never know why he felt compelled to use a fertility drug when it's obvious his best child-bearing years are behind him.
Not that anyone besides the fans at AT&T Park care a lot about knowing the whole story.
Yes, Ramirez likely will take some abuse when he goes on the road to San Francisco, if only because memories are still fresh about the abuse Dodger fans gave the bloated one when Barry Bonds traveled to Los Angeles.
But they'll welcome him back like a rock star at Dodger Stadium, where Mannywood may be gone but Mannymania is only a home run or two from erupting once again. By the time the National League West is decided, fake dreadlocks will be back in vogue in always fashionable Southern California, and any talk about the legitimacy of Ramirez's home run totals will be long forgotten.
He was cheered by sold-out crowds at every one of his five minor league tuneup games. He'll be cheered every time he steps to the plate in LA.
It's become a familiar pattern in this steroid-fueled era, so it's not like Dodger fans are setting any new trends. Bonds was always cheered — if not actually loved — in San Francisco, Yankee fans couldn't wait for Alex Rodriguez to get back in the lineup, and the only concern about Miguel Tejada in Houston this year is that he has hit only six home runs while playing in a hitter-friendly park.
As reviled as he is by some, Roger Clemens would get a standing ovation if he came back to pitch one of his old teams into the World Series. And, even knowing what they know now, long suffering Cub fans would pack Wrigley Field if Sammy Sosa somehow decided to make a comeback.
It could be that we're simply a forgiving society, and baseball fans are the most forgiving of all. Maybe we're eager to embrace the dogma of McGwire and not dwell on the past.
Or, quite possibly, we want to be entertained and don't want to have to deal with anything that gets in the way of rooting for our favorite team.
That's the feeling I got when Ramirez was banished for 50 games from the first-place Dodgers. I was at Dodger Stadium that night and the talk in the dugout and the stands (yes, sometimes writers leave the press box) was mostly how the Dodgers had to hang on during Manny's absence and, boy, would they be good when he got back.
Hang on they did, and more. The Dodgers were 29-21 while Ramirez was taking an enforced vacation, and he'll return in San Diego to a team that is still comfortably in first place despite recent difficulties at the plate.
But LA is a town built on stars, and the Dodgers haven't had a star generate such excitement since a left-hander by the name of Koufax toiled on the mound more than 40 years ago. Little wonder that McCourt absolved Ramirez of any responsibility for his actions almost immediately and will surely be the first at the clubhouse door to welcome him back.
The anti-Manny, meanwhile, will head straight to the bench. All Juan Pierre is doing this year is hitting .322 and there's never been a suggestion he uses steroids. But he's hit only one home run in the last three years and there is no Juanwood section at Dodger Stadium.
Indeed, if there's anything we've learned from the era of juiced ballplayers, it's that fans pay to see home runs. We've also learned that they'll continue to pay to see players hit home runs even if they know they had to cheat to do it.
The return of Ramirez will simply confirm that. The high moral ground on the steroids issue has long since been ceded, and Ramirez will neither have to apologize for what he did nor explain what he did.

All Manny will have to do is be Manny once again.

____

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org

BEIJING (AFP) –
A senior Chinese sports official expressed disbelief Tuesday following a report that basketball icon Yao Ming may not play next season and could be facing a career-ending injury.

Chinese fans also largely voiced skepticism over the 2.26-metre (seven-foot-six-inch) centre's repeated injuries, speculating it could be a ploy to lower his value as his contract will soon be up for renewal.

Yao's camp had earlier given a pessimistic read-out on the slow recovery of his broken foot to the Chinese Basketball Association, the sports website of major Chinese portal Sina.com said, citing CBA vice head Hu Jiashi.

"But they did not say that he would miss the coming NBA season, nor did they say he would miss the (2010) World Championships," Hu was quoted as saying.

"I believe his injury has not progressed to such a stage."

On Monday, Houston Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton told the Houston Chronicle that Yao's left foot, which was broken in a May post-season game against the Los Angeles Lakers, could be a "career-threatening" injury.

"At this point, the injury has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career-threatening," Clanton told the Chronicle.

"One of the things we are trying to get is a consensus opinion on that, to make certain there is no option we are overlooking that would provide an earlier return or would be an option for treatment that he would prefer rather than doing additional surgery."

Yao has already been given approval to miss this summer's Asian Basketball Championships in the east Chinese city of Tianjin, but the CBA hopes the centre will be able to play for the national team at next year's World Championships in Turkey.

Postings by fans on the Sina.com website expressed suspicions that the Rockets were trying to drive Yao's value down, as he has two years left on his contract and could opt out next year and sign with another team.

"The Rockets don't want Yao to leave, so they hope to sign him early, this is the way to bring his price down," a Sina.com posting said.

"As soon as Yao Ming signs, his doctor will immediately say he can play again, 182 games will be no problem."

Other postings were not so kind to the superstar, with many expressing impatience with his repeated injuries.

"I support Yao retiring from the NBA," said one. "That will save him from making a fool of himself."

WASHINGTON – Hardly a bank bailout hearing goes by in Congress without a lawmaker raising a question on behalf of constituent banks that have applied for federal assistance from the government's financial bailout fund.
Now, the case of Sen. Daniel Inouye and his office's inquiry to a federal regulator regarding a Hawaii bank is drawing new attention to the role lawmakers are playing in the government's decisions on how to divvy up the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Constituent service or undue influence?
In Inouye's case, the Hawaii Democrat was also one of the founders of the bank, Central Pacific Financial. And while he holds no official position with it, he is a shareholder who has watched the value of his stock in the bank drop precipitously.
According to Inouye's office, a legislative assistant placed a call last fall to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the bank's regulator, to ask whether the agency had received the bank's application for TARP money.
The inquiry by Inouye's office was first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post.
In a statement, Inouye said his aide simply left a voicemail message with the FDIC and did not speak to anyone at the agency.
"This single phone call was the entire extent of my staff's contact with regard to Central Pacific Bank, to any outside agency," Inouye's statement said.
Inouye's office said an FDIC official called back days later and left a voicemail message saying the application was still under review.
The bank announced in December that its application for $135 million in TARP funds had been approved.
"We did not ask for any preferential treatment in this process," bank spokesman Andrew Rosen said Wednesday. He said the bank briefed Hawaii's congressional delegation about its application "as a normal course of business."
Rosen said that thanks to the additional capital the bank this year is on track to exceed the amount of home loans it originated last year.
Numerous lawmakers have pressed regulators and the Treasury Department to act on the applications of banks that serve their districts or communities. The Ohio congressional delegation complained loudly last year when Treasury declined to give TARP funds to National City Bank, a longtime Cleveland institution.
OneUnited of Massachusetts received $12 million in federal funds in December after Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, contacted regulators and included in legislation a provision that assisted the bank. Before that, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., had organized a meeting with regulators and executives of minority-owned banks, including OneUnited, a bank in which Waters' husband has invested.
Earlier this year, Neel Kashkari, then the Treasury official in charge of the TARP program, faced questions during a congressional hearing about news reports suggesting that Treasury was getting political pressure.
"We do get calls from members (of Congress). We do get calls from governors who are concerned about their districts or their businesses, et cetera," he said. But he said those calls usually are referred to agencies that regulate the institutions.
"I feel very confident in saying there is no undue influence at Treasury," Kashkari said then.
Neil Barofsky, the inspector general overseeing the TARP money, is preparing a report on Treasury's guidelines and procedures for distributing the funds. The review includes an examination of whether there has been any undue outside influence on Treasury, including from lobbyists or politicians. The report could be ready by the end of the month, a spokeswoman said.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Marines and Afghan security forces moved into Taliban-infested villages Wednesday evening in one of the Obama administration's first major military operations in the previously forgotten war in Afghanistan.
The offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. local time in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. More than 4,000 Marines and an estimated 650 Afghan soldiers and police sought to clear insurgents from towns and villages along the Helmand River Valley before the nation's Aug. 20 presidential election.
Dubbed Operation Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword," the military push was described by officials as the largest and fastest-moving of the war's newest phase. British forces last week led similar missions to fight and clear out insurgents in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
"Where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces," Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson said in a statement.
Southern Afghanistan is considered a Taliban stronghold. It also is a region where Afghan President Hamid Karzai is seeking votes from his Pashtun tribesmen ahead of next month's election.
The Pentagon is deploying 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in time for the elections and expects the total number of U.S. forces there to reach 68,000 by year's end. That is double the number of troops in Afghanistan in 2008 but still half of much as are now in Iraq.

Artificial lighting is most commonly provided today by electric lights, but gas lighting, candles, or oil lamps were used in the past, and still are used in certain situations. Proper lighting can enhance task performance or aesthetics, while there can be energy wastage and adverse health effects of lighting. Indoor lighting is a form of fixture or furnishing, and a key part of interior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscaping.

Lighting is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight. Daylighting (through windows, skylights, etc.) is often used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings given its low cost. Artificial lighting represents a major component of energy consumption, accounting for a significant part of all energy consumed worldwide.

Company Designed Lighting

Three leading South Carolina Republican office-holders, including the state’s two U.S. senators, called Gov. Mark Sanford Wednesday for what GOP sources close to the lawmakers described as frank conversations about the governor’s ability to carry out his job.
Republican Sens. Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham and Republican Rep. Gresham Barrett talked with Sanford a day after the governor gave an interview to the Associated Press in which he revealed new details about his affair, including declaring his Argentine mistress to be his “soul mate.”
Three top South Carolina GOP sources confirmed the calls but were hesitant to say whether the lawmakers had urged Sanford to resign.
“The conversations are clearly geared toward do the right thing,” said one top South Carolina Republican.
Another top Republican in the state said of the governor: “His support has collapsed.”
“He was made aware that his support is getting to be dang-near nonexistent,” said this Republican, calling the AP interview “the final straw.”
During an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” DeMint said that a lot of state Republicans are talking to Sanford "behind the scenes in hopes that he'll make the right decision about what needs to be done.”
Asked to clarify what the “right decision” would be, DeMint responded: “I don't want to say.”
DeMint said Sanford's further confessions to the AP were "not a wise thing to do in this business.”
“They say, when you are explaining, you are losing. And particularly on that subject, I think, he was,” the senator said. “I'm concerned of whether or not he is in a position that he can continue to lead the state.”
“I think we will see some resolution in the next week.”
But even as these Republicans, among the most prominent in the state party, edge toward calling for Sanford to resign, the governor seems to have dug in his heels.
Asked about the calls, Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer would only say: “The governor has given a full and truthful account, and he is finished discussing this matter. He is focused on being governor, on rebuilding his marriage, and on building back the trust of South Carolinians.”
Of the three, Graham is probably closest to Sanford, serving as god father to the governor’s youngest son. Barrett, who represents an Upstate district, is running for governor next year.
None of the three have publicly called for Sanford to quit. By placing private phone calls to the governor, it would seem their hope is for him to step down without further public pressure.
Already, over half of the GOP caucus in the state Senate has called on the governor to step down.

Self Employed Health Insurance

Gamblers can continue spending, buying more risk than they can afford to pay for. Insurance buyers can only spend up to the limit of what carriers would accept to insure; their loss is limited to the amount of the premium.

Certain life insurance contracts accumulate cash values, which may be taken by the insured if the policy is surrendered or which may be borrowed against. Some policies, such as annuities and endowment policies, are financial instruments to accumulate or liquidate wealth when it is needed. See life insurance.

DETROIT (Reuters) –
Auto seating supplier Lear Corp (LEA.N) said on Wednesday it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a reorganization supported by key secured lenders and bondholders and that it had obtained $500 million in bankruptcy financing.

Lear, which had been in talks with its lenders since late June, said in a statement that its board of directors had approved a bankruptcy filing as the "fastest and most effective way" to reduce its debt in the face of slumping global auto demand.

The Southfield, Michigan-based company said its restructuring plan had the support of most of the members of a committee representing its secured lenders and another group representing its bondholders.

Lear said its operations outside the United States and Canada would not be affected by the bankruptcy filing.

Lear had sales of $13.6 billion in 2008. Almost 80 percent of its sales were from auto seats supplied to customers such as General Motors Corp (GMGMQ.PK) and Ford Motor Co (F.N).

The company had warned in March that it might have to file for bankruptcy protection after breaching debt covenants at the end of last year and borrowing all of the $1.2 billion in its main credit facility.

A waiver from lenders on its loan defaults expired on June 30. Lear was also near the end of a 30-day grace period on a $38 million bond interest payment it missed on June 1.

The Obama administration, which made $5 billion available to guarantee receivables GM and Chrysler owed suppliers earlier this year, last month rejected a request by suppliers for up to $10 billion in additional loans.

Suppliers and restructuring advisers have said the lack of new financial assistance would result in a wave of bankruptcies because many auto parts suppliers lack capital to ramp up production to meet expected demand in the current quarter.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

NEW YORK – Scott Gomez's brief New York tenure ended Tuesday when the star center was traded by the Rangers to the Montreal Canadiens as part of a six-player deal.
The key player coming back to New York is forward Chris Higgins, a Long Island native who is set to become a restricted free agent. The deal was announced one day before the NHL's free-agent shopping season opens Wednesday.
New York had been looking to clear space under the NHL salary cap and cut out a major contract that still has five years and $33.5 million left on it. The cap hit on Gomez's deal is $7.35 million.
Gomez was sent to Montreal with minor leaguers Tom Pyatt, a forward, and defenseman Mike Busto. Along with Higgins, the Rangers received defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko from the Canadiens.
"We think that Higgins is a goal-scorer and we're happy to have him," Rangers general manager Glen Sather said on a conference call. "He is from the New York area and he's excited to be coming home.
"We also got two good prospects in this deal and it gives us options (Wednesday)."
Gomez never really found his stride in New York after leaving the New Jersey Devils as a free agent two summers ago. He is signed through the 2013-14 season, but is coming off a disappointing year in which he had 58 points — his fewest since he had 55 during the 2002-03 campaign with New Jersey.
After winning two Stanley Cup titles with the Devils, Gomez was part of the Rangers' rebuilding program when he signed his big deal the same day fellow center Chris Drury left the Buffalo Sabres for a lucrative contract with New York.
Gomez had 16 goals and 54 assists in his first season with the Rangers and 16 goals and 42 assists last season.
"I have no complaints about him," Sather said. "He's a terrific guy who is going to do well in Montreal."
Higgins, a 26-year-old forward from Smithtown, N.Y., is also coming off a sub-par season. He had a career-worst 23 points — including 12 goals — last season. He played in only 57 games due to injuries that knocked him out of the lineup several times. Higgins scored at least 20 goals in the previous three seasons, his first three full campaigns in the NHL.
"I didn't expect to be traded," Higgins said. "I heard my name thrown around ever since I've been in Montreal, but I never expected it to happen. When it happened, I was absolutely thrilled."
While he is unsigned, Higgins will still come at a cheaper cost than Gomez. He earned $1.7 million in his final season with Montreal. In 282 NHL games, all with the Canadiens, Higgins has 84 goals and 67 assists.
"I am looking forward to a new challenge. It's something I take great pride in to put on a Rangers uniform," Higgins said.
He scored a career-high 27 goals in the 2007-08 season when he played in all 82 games.
"I suppose it won't be any more pressure than I had in playing in Montreal," Higgins said. "Growing up here, I know what the Rangers fans are about."

BETHESDA, Md. – Anthony Kim pressed a cell phone against his ear as he listened to Tiger Woods, the tournament host of the AT&T National, congratulate him on another impressive victory that seemed to mark the arrival of America's next great golfer.
That was one year and 25 tournaments ago.
Kim has yet to pose with another trophy he could call his own. Remember, the Ryder Cup is an exhibition, and no matter how thoroughly the 23-year-old dismantled Sergio Garcia in the leadoff singles match, it was a team effort.
Over the last year, Kim has made news for not remembering how many majors Woods had won, not being fully aware that the automobile industry was hurting, not realizing Colin Montgomerie had been selected Ryder Cup captain for Europe or not knowing Congressional once hosted a U.S. Open or two.
Trouble is, he has not made news for what matters.
Kim started the season with a runner-up finish at Kapalua. He has not finished in the top 10 anywhere in the world since. So perhaps it was not surprising Tuesday when someone asked him the best thing that has happened to him this year.
He thought about this briefly, then smiled.
"I made it to my 24th birthday," he said.
His age should count for something. When he unleashed a bogey-free 65 in the final round at Congressional last year for a two-shot victory, Kim became the first American under 25 since Woods to win at least twice on the PGA Tour in the same year.
Woods, who was home in Florida recuperating from reconstructive knee surgery, told him that day to keep working hard and there would be no limits on what Kim could achieve. And it appeared that Kim was headed in that direction.
He was in the mix Sunday at Royal Birkdale, his first taste of links golf. He was in the final group at the Canadian Open until he kept his foot on the accelerator through one too many construction zones, as Kim is prone to do. He was a birdie putt away from joining the playoff at the season-ending Tour Championship.
And there was that week at the Ryder Cup, where Kim was the life of the party in so many ways.
Still, celebrations for his golf have been rare.
Kim has dealt with more nagging injuries than he can recite, whether it was his jaw from a horseback riding in New Zealand to the most recent setback, an injury in his left thumb that kept him from making an aggressive pass at the ball.
He had to stick with fairway metals at long and soggy Bethpage Black, and he was pleased to finish tied for 16th with those kind of restrictions. He made 11 birdies in the second round at the Masters when he shot 65, but he didn't break par the other three rounds.
"It's probably been my toughest year on tour, the fact that I've had these little injuries that have held me back," Kim said. "But I'm learning more about myself when I'm not playing well. I'm learning how to play this game. I'm learning how to approach different situations when you're not playing you best, and it's going to help me when I do start hitting the ball well, and do start putting well, when my game comes together."
Kim isn't the only player who has struggled this year.
British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington has missed his last four cuts. Adam Scott had a hard time breaking 80 a few months ago. Ernie Els hasn't won in 16 months and has fallen out of the top 20.

The fact Kim has gone an entire year without winning is a reminder that winning is never easy on the PGA Tour.

"We live in the era of Tiger Woods, who makes winning look ridiculously easy," Paul Goydos said last week. "The more I think about it, the more I feel Tiger Woods is the most underrated player on this tour. You guys have no concept of what he accomplishes on a weekly basis when he plays. It's ridiculous how good he plays."

Even with 67 career victories and — pay attention, Anthony — 14 majors, Woods conceded that it's never easy.

"I certainly have won my share of tournaments, but I've lost more than I've won," he said. "And that's the nature of our sport. We do lose a lot of events."

Having turned 24 a few weeks ago, time is on Kim's side.

He is the defending champion at Congressional — remember, Anthony, it will host the U.S. Open in 2011 — and winning again will be more difficult this time with his health just now returning and Woods at full strength.

It would be easy to speculate that Kim is enjoying fruits more than labor, although only he knows how hard he is working. At least his objectives have not changed.

"I want to win golf tournaments. I'm here to do that," he said. "But at the same time, I have so much to look forward to. I heard you don't hit your peak at golf until 31, 33 years old. So I have a long way to go. I have a long career ahead of me. And as long as I stay positive and keep working hard, I should be in pretty good shape."

Office Chairs

In the 1970s, ergonomics became an important design consideration. Today, office chairs often have adjustable seats, armrests, backs, back supports, and heights to prevent repetitive stress injury and back pain associated with sitting for long periods. Ergonomic chairs fit an individual's needs and provide support where the individual needs it.

With the advent of rail transport in the mid-1800s, businesses began to expand beyond the traditional model of a family business with little emphasis on administration. Additional administrative staff was required to keep up with orders, bookkeeping, and correspondence as businesses expanded their service areas. While office work was expanding, an awareness of office environments, technology, and equipment became part of the cultural focus on increasing productivity. This awareness gave rise to chairs designed specifically for these new administrative employees: office chairs.

http://www.ccikids.org/Help/sponsor.html

LOS ANGELES – The lawyer for Michael Jackson's family says a will for the late pop star has been presented and is to be filed in court.
Attorney L. Londell McMillan says his clients are now aware of the will, and the late singer's advisers are looking for additional documents.
A court filing is expected.
The existence of a will, and the likely appointment of an executor, could complicate a petition by Jackson's mother Katherine to become the administrator of his estate.
In documents filed in Superior Court, Jackson's parents say they believes their 50-year-old son died without a valid will.

Dog Stroller

http://www.mineeds.com/Los+Angeles-California-Services/Lawyers-Attorneys

In modern times, Sharia is merely an optional supplement to the civil or common law of most countries, though Saudi Arabia and Iran's whole legal systems source their law in Sharia. During the last few decades, one of the fundamental features of the movement of Islamic resurgence has been the call to restore the Sharia, which has generated a vast amount of literature and affected world politics.[61]

A judiciary is a group of judges who mediate people's disputes and determine the outcome. Most countries have a system of appeals courts, up to a supreme authority. In the U.S.A., this is the Supreme Court;[107] in Australia, the High Court; in the UK, the House of Lords;[108] in Germany, the Bundesverfassungsgericht; in France, the Cour de Cassation.[109] However, for most European countries the European Court of Justice[110] in Luxembourg may overrule national law, where EU law is relevant. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg allows citizens of the Council of Europe member states to bring cases to it concerning human rights issues.

Cash Loan

Abuses can also take place in the form of the customer abusing the lender by not repaying the loan or with an intent to defraud the lender.

Legislation regarding payday loans varies widely between different countries and, within the USA, between different states. Some jurisdictions impose strict usury limits, limiting the APR that any lender, including payday lenders, can charge; some outlaw payday lending entirely; and some have very few restrictions on payday lenders.

Running a distance is the most basic form of racing, but races are often conducted in vehicles, such as boats, cars and aircraft, or with animals such as horses.

There are also other stock car governing bodies, such as Automobile Racing Club of America and United Speed Alliance Racing.

Racing Schools

CHELTENHAM, England – The godfather of Michael Jackson's three children says the circumstances surrounding the singer's death "don't add up" because he never saw him take drugs.
Former child star Mark Lester, known for his lead role in the 1968 movie version of the stage show "Oliver!," told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that Jackson was in excellent shape when he visited London in March to announce his comeback concerts.
He said his friend seemed excited about the shows when he spoke with Lester by telephone shortly before his sudden death.
"The circumstances of his death just don't add up for me," said Lester, a Jackson friend for more than 25 years who said he never saw the singer use drugs. "It just doesn't make sense."
The two met extensively when Jackson was in London in March and Lester found his friend to be fit and in good spirits at the time. Their families had meals together at Jackson's hotel, with the singer indulging in his British favorite, fish and chips.
Lester said he has a close relationship with Jackson's three children and has spoken to them since the loss of their father. He said he supports the bid of the singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, to obtain custody.
"I understand his mother is taking control and that is probably the best thing for them," he said. "She is a very loving, kind and gracious woman and she had a very close relationship with Michael and a very good rapport with her grandchildren. I know the kids are fine. They are deeply saddened by what's happened but they're coping."
Lester, 50, said he does not plan to become directly involved in the children's care, even though he became their godfather at a 2003 ceremony in Las Vegas. He said Jackson also became godfather to his four children, who are badly shaken by his death.
"They are devastated, coming to terms with the fact that we'll never see this great man again," said Lester, whose eyes seem haunted by the loss of his friend.
The two first became friends some 27 years ago when Jackson's manager told Lester the singer wanted to meet him. Both shared the experience of early stardom, although Lester left show business — he is now an osteopath in this bucolic small town in southwest England — while Jackson remained a performer until his death.
"Michael thrived on it really," Lester said. "He told me he was an illusionist, creating an illusion, and that his singing and dancing were a gift from above, that he was just the receptor of this gift. There were ups and downs to it but Michael Jackson loved being Michael Jackson, he loved the adoration he got from his fans. And he liked the trappings that came with it."
Lester said one reason he is suspicious about Jackson's sudden death is because the singer was so enthusiastic about his upcoming return to the stage, set for July 13 at the 02 Arena in London. They spoke recently about Jackson's plans to come over to London for final rehearsals, and Lester and his family planned to be there opening night.
"He was really fired up, really positive, really looking forward to it," said Lester. "He wouldn't tell me about the show, he said he wanted me to be surprised. He said it would be extraordinary."

Generally cuckolding differs from an open relationship as it does not involve an ongoing emotional relationship that is commonly found in open relationship nor is it an ongoing relationship that is commonly found in an open relationship. Though the nonparticipating partner is not involved in the sexual act they may be involved in preparation and selection of the third person. Cuckolding is not always done for sexual humiliation as it may be done to allow sexual exploration, the opportunity to live out a fantasy, fulfill a desire, or sexual fulfillment that cannot usually be obtained through the normal boundaries of a relationship. In essence cuckolding seeks to 'fill the gap' that is left by other threesome or group sex activities.

Dogging is a British term for swinging that takes place in a public but reasonably secluded area (often based in cars, but not necessarily). There are many known dogging spots across the UK where people go after dark, typically to engage in voyeurism and exhibitionism but also to take part in group sex.

Desire Resort and Spa

DEAR ABBY: I'm 10 years old and worried about my friend "Kelly." Her father has fought in two wars and suffers from PTSD, and when he loses it, he hits her.

I really want to tell someone who can help her, but she wants to "keep it a secret." I'm afraid if I tell, my best friend will get separated from her family. What should I do? -- HOPING TO HELP A FRIEND

DEAR HOPING TO HELP: Some secrets are meant to be kept, but physical abuse isn't one of them. One of the saddest things about abuse is that the victims often come to believe they deserve it because that's what the abuser tells them (This is YOUR fault -- YOU made me do this!). Of course, when someone loses control, it isn't the victim's fault but rather the abuser's, because the abuser is unable to control his (or her) emotions.

There are worse things than being removed from a violent family situation, among them the risk of serious injury. That's why it's important that you tell a trusted adult what's happening to Kelly. This needs to be reported so her father can get the help he so desperately needs.

DEAR ABBY: In our school, we're not allowed to have our cell phones out or turned on, but of course, people do it anyway. Some of these students have extremely high-pitched ring tones. They are at such a frequency that the older teachers cannot hear them. Many adults do not hear the noise.

These "mosquito" tones hurt my ears, and just about everyone in the room cringes when someone gets a text message. I'm not sure what to do. The teachers are oblivious, and there are far too many cell phones out to report them all. Should I endure it until I graduate? -- HATING THE INVISIBLE NOISE

DEAR HATING THE NOISE: Have a private chat with the teacher, tell him or her what's going on, and explain that the tones are a distraction in class. Then talk to some of the other students you see cringing when the "mosquitoes" start buzzing. If a number of you start visibly reacting to the noise, your teacher should notice and begin to take action.

P.S. Some electronics-savvy educators insist that all cell phones be placed on their desks when students enter the classroom.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I married in an impromptu ceremony while visiting his parents. We didn't have a ring, so his mother offered to give me the wedding ring she had inherited from her mother as a gift.

About a year ago, my husband gave me an anniversary band, which I decided to wear with the ring from my mother-in-law. However, when she heard about my new ring, she asked me to return her mother's ring. I am hurt that she wants it back because I'd like to keep it. What should I do? -- TWO-RING CIRCUS

DEAR TWO-RING: First, let me tell you what not to do. Although the ring was a "gift," do not allow it to become a bone of contention. In the interest of family harmony, return it to your mother-in-law with a sweet note thanking her for letting you wear it all this time, and telling her how much that "symbol of her love and acceptance" has meant to you all these years. Maybe she'll leave it to you in her will.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order "How to Be Popular." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $6 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included in the price.)

ADELPHI, Md. – Government experts are scheduled to vote on whether Nyquil and other combination cold medications should be pulled from the market to help curb deadly overdoses.
The Food and Drug Administration has assembled more than 35 experts for a two-day meeting to discuss and vote on ways to prevent overdose with acetaminophen — the pain-relieving, fever-reducing ingredient in Tylenol and dozens of other prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Despite years of educational campaigns and other federal actions, acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., sending 56,000 people to the emergency room annually, according to the FDA. There are about 200 acetaminophen-related deaths each year.
"It can happen to anybody, but it's very rare," said Dr. Lee Simon, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who attended Monday's meeting. "Obviously it's important that we improve the communication about these products because they are ubiquitous, and we still see people inadvertently overdosing."
The drugs that could be pulled off shelves are combination medications, such as Procter & Gamble's NyQuil or Novartis' Theraflu, which mix acetaminophen with other ingredients that treat cough and runny nose.
The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does. The panel vote is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Manufacturers could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales if combination drugs are pulled from the market. Total sales of all acetaminophen drugs reached $2.6 billion last year, with 80 percent of the market comprised of over-the-counter products.
The FDA says patients often pair the cold medications with pure acetaminophen drugs, like Tylenol, exposing themselves to unsafe levels of the drug.
But the industry group that represents Johnson & Johnson, Advil-maker Wyeth and other companies defended the products Monday, saying they pose a relatively small risk to patients.
Only 10 percent of deaths linked to acetaminophen medications involved over-the-counter combination cold medications, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
The majority of deaths were caused by either single-ingredient drugs or prescription strength combination drugs like Endo Pharmaceutical's Percocet, which combines oxycodone and acetaminophen.
"We believe there is a clear health benefit of over-the-counter combination products containing acetaminophen," said Linda Suydam, the group's president.
Tylenol-maker Johnson & Johnson also pushed back against a proposal to lower the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen, which is currently 4 grams daily, or eight pills of a medication like Extra Strength Tylenol.
While taking more than 4 grams per day can cause liver injury, J&J argued that taking the exact dose is proven to treat osteoarthritis pain.
The FDA panel also will vote on a series of other proposals, including changes to the packaging and labeling of medications. Both ideas are designed to prevent patients from taking more than the recommended dose of the drug.

Creators Syndicate –
The news that Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was removed from his post and spirited out of the country by the Honduran military has elicited official condemnations from the governments of France, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, and Argentina; as well as protests from the Organization of American States and the United Nations. The U.S. State Department called the events an "attempted coup," and demanded that Mr. Zelaya be returned to power in order to facilitate the "restoration of democratic order."

Hold on. There was an attempted coup in Honduras, but it was Zelaya who initiated it, not his opponents. As the invaluable Mary Anastasia O'Grady reported in the Wall Street Journal, Zelaya, a Hugo Chavez acolyte, was attempting to ape his mentor by rewriting Honduras' constitution. Under Honduran law, however, the president cannot call a referendum on the constitution on his own authority. O'Grady explains: "While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite ... A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress. But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chavez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do." The attorney general of Honduras, as well as the nation's Supreme Court, had declared the referendum illegal. Zelaya attempted an end run. O'Grady writes: "Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order."

Zelaya had a good teacher. Hugo Chavez has been patiently and persistently undermining the democratic character of Venezuela for 11 years — a slow-motion coup. Just a day before Zelaya's confrontation with the army and the courts came to a head, thousands of Venezuelans once more took to the streets of Caracas, this time to protest the threatened closure of Globovision, the only remaining television channel in the country critical of President for Life Chavez. Two years ago, RCTV (Radio Caracas Television), then the nation's leading station, lost its license because it declined to provide fawning coverage of Chavez (one is tempted to call him "the Dear One" as they do in North Korea). "The media terrorism in Venezuela is a permanent practice by a big part of the private media," Andres Izarra, a government spokesman, explained to the Washington Post. "Messages of hate," Izarra asserted, "some inserted subliminally," had been detected by the government even in entertainment shows. Chavez has hardly been subtle about his goals. In a statement that could have come from Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Stalin, he declared, "I am going to go after those resisting the revolution and eliminate them one by one." His targets have included priests, independent journalists, businessmen, opposition politicians, and Venezuela's tiny Jewish community.

Globovision stands accused by the government of "media terrorism" because a commentator suggested that Chavez might end his days the way Benito Mussolini did. Two weeks ago, CBS reports, police raided the home of Globovision's president, Guillermo Zuloaga, and ordered the station to pay $2.3 million for giving free airtime to anti-government groups during a 2002 oil strike. The government was further enraged when Globovision provided coverage of an earthquake before the official media arrived on scene, and particularly that Globovision was critical of the government's handling of relief. Chavez accused the station of spreading terror and needlessly alarming the nation.

If Globovision is silenced, there will be no free television at all in Venezuela. Thousands of Venezuelans marched to protest the dying of the light, yet foreign ministries around the world were silent. Neither Secretary of State Clinton nor President Obama has breathed a word of condemnation of Chavez's slow strangling of freedom in Venezuela, nor his export of Chavismo to Nicaragua, Bolivia, or Honduras. But without a moment's reflection, the secretary of state and the president offered crucial diplomatic support to Chavez disciple Manuel Zelaya.

When Barack Obama was asked about the book Chavez handed him last April, "Open Veins of Latin America," the president said he hadn't read it. Now I'm not so sure.

To find out more about Mona Charen and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

NORFOLK, Va. – Lawyers for suspended NFL star Michael Vick are headed back to bankruptcy court in Virginia.
Vick is not expected to attend Tuesday's hearing in Norfolk, where attorneys will update the judge on progress toward developing a new Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. The judge rejected Vick's first plan in April, saying it wasn't feasible.
Vick is winding down his 23-month sentence for operating a dogfighting ring. He's serving the last two months on home confinement in Hampton and is scheduled to be released from federal custody July 20.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is waiting until the 29-year-old former Atlantic Falcons quarterback completes his sentence before deciding whether to lift his suspension.

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels. Typically, a computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast array of available servers and other computers by moving information from them to the computer's local memory. The same connection allows that computer to send information to servers on the network; that information is in turn accessed and potentially modified by a variety of other interconnected computers. A majority of widely accessible information on the Internet consists of inter-linked hypertext documents and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW). Computer users typically manage sent and received information with web browsers; other software for users' interface with computer networks includes specialized programs for electronic mail, online chat, file transfer and file sharing.

The movement of information in the Internet is achieved via a system of interconnected computer networks that share data by packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies.

Satellite Internet

Cheerleading safety efforts have led to modest reductions in the
number of serious injuries in recent years, according to a new report
about college and high school sports and cheerleading mishaps.

But cheerleading continues to cause more serious and deadly injuries by far than other sports.

Researchers have long known how dangerous cheerleading is, but records were poorly kept until recently. An update to the
record-keeping system last year found that between 1982 and 2007, there
were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries recorded among female
high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in
cheerleading. The next most dangerous sports: gymnastics (nine such
injuries) and track (seven).

Today, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill released its 26th
annual report on the topic. The latest figures are from the 2007-2008
academic year for college and high school sports, male and female. The
report defines catastrophic injuries as any severe or fatal injury incurred during participation in the sport.

The new numbers are for the 26-year period from the fall of 1982 through the spring of 2008:

There were 1,116 direct catastrophic injuries in high school (905) and college sports (211).
High
school sports were associated with 152 fatalities, 379 non-fatal injuries and
374 serious injuries. College sports accounted for 22 fatalities, 63
non-fatal injuries and 126 serious injuries.
Cheerleading accounted
for 65.2 percent of high school and 70.5 percent of college
catastrophic injuries among all female sports.

The number of cheerleading injuries fell slightly in the 2007-08 academic year.

"Progress has been slow, but there has been an increased emphasis on
cheerleading safety," said the study's author Frederick O. Mueller.
"Continued data collection on all types of cheerleading injuries will
hopefully show that these safety measures are working to reduce
injuries."

Cool Video: Sports in Slo Motion
The Most Dangerous Sports in America
Youth Baseball Injuries: Good and Bad News
Original Story: The Most Dangerous Sport: CheerleadingLiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – She is a 43-year-old, divorced mother of two teenage boys who wants to believe she can still experience true love.
She is an intensely private woman who was not afraid to fight back when that privacy was breached.
She was educated in Catholic schools and professes her belief in God, evil and the afterlife, and yet joined a married father of four in violating the Seventh Commandment prohibition against adultery.
Maria Belen Chapur has successfully eluded the news media since South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford revealed their yearlong affair last week. Friends and family have enfolded her and her boys in a protective cocoon, and the only image of her is a grainy, 8-year-old video from her brief moment in front of the cameras as a television reporter in New York.
Other than a 200-word statement denouncing a hacker's "evil act" of leaking her passionate e-mail correspondence with Sanford, Chapur has maintained her silence.
"I won't speak about my private life as it just belongs to me," she wrote to a former television colleague. "It has already been made too public during these last days, bringing to me even more pain."
Due partly to the loyalty of friends and family, and Argentine privacy laws, relatively little is known about Sanford's "other woman." In fact, much of what we know about Chapur comes from her purloined personal e-mails.
As a child, Chapur attended St. Catherine's Moorlands, a private, international baccalaureate school in Buenos Aires. Chapur's mother is from what one acquaintance described as a very powerful "oligarchic" family in Argentina.
After school, she married a grain exporter and bore two sons, now 15 and 19. Later, Chapur entered the Catholic University of Argentina, says a former classmate, graduating with a degree in political science and international relations.
The athletic, dark-haired Chapur traveled the world, learning English, French and Portuguese. She even studied Mandarin Chinese after accompanying her husband on a business trip to Beijing and Shanghai.
"It was like playing mimics all the time," she told The Associated Press in a 2005 story about Argentines rushing to study Chinese. "I've traveled to many parts of the world, but this was the hardest place for me to communicate."
Chapur dabbled in television, reporting from New York in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and also did stints as an English interpreter and market researcher.
She and Sanford met eight years ago, according to one of Sanford's e-mails, "in a wind swept somewhat open air dance spot" in Punta del Este — an upscale Uruguayan beach resort that attracts up to 1 million visitors in the South American summer.
Sanford had just finished his third term in Congress and was about to embark on his first gubernatorial campaign. Chapur was separating from her husband, and Sanford counseled her that she should try to salvage her marriage for the boys' sake and because it was "part of God's law."
For whatever reason, that reconciliation never happened, and the couple divorced. But her e-mail correspondence with Sanford continued, and intensified.
In June 2008, a relationship that started out innocently, in Sanford's words, "developed into something much more than that."
That month, Sanford traveled to Brazil on a state trade mission. He managed to build in a side trip to Buenos Aires.
The governor's agenda includes hours of "personal time" and two dinners where he advises others to have "dinner on your own." Receipts show he listed no other state officials joining him at El Faro restaurant and el Mosto wine bar — both in the Hilton Buenos Aires, where he stayed for three nights that week.

Despite Chapur's accomplishments, this well-mannered polyglot and competitive runner was confused and full of self-doubt.

"You are glorious and I hope you really understand that," Sanford wrote her a few days later in one of the e-mails, which were sent anonymously to The State newspaper in the South Carolina capital. "You do not need a therapist to help you figure your place in the world. You are special and unique and fabulous in a whole host of ways that are worth a much longer conversation."

Responding to "My beloved" later that day from Ilhabela, an exclusive island resort in Brazil, Chapur sounded like a giddy schoolgirl.

"As I told you before, you brought happiness and love to my life and (I) will take you forever in my heart," she wrote in conversational, but imperfect English. "Believe me, I haven't felt this since I was in my teen ages, when afterwards I got married."

She sent Sanford her mailing address, promising that if he sent her something, to "keep it near my bed so as to feel you nearer." She closed professing love "from the deepest of my heart" and "Sweet kisses."

Five days later, Chapur confided that she was at the island with another man, but told Sanford "you are my love ... something hard to believe even for myself as it's also a kind of impossible love, not only because of distance but situation."

And when Sanford apologized for "complicating" her life, she said "on the contrary you've fullfiled me with happiness and made me aware how you can feel when you love somebody."

Thanking Sanford for making their "hopelessly impossible" love become a reality, she said "I prefer to think we'll see each other again somewhere sometime in this life and in next."

Since word of the affair broke last Wednesday, first lady Jenny Sanford has been widely praised for her poise and strength. She has fiercely guarded her sons' privacy, and expressed a willingness to work at forgiving Sanford and salvaging the marriage.

Chapur — who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mrs. Sanford — has demonstrated similar fortitude and grace, despite her role in this drama.

While a horde of reporters laid siege to her trendy apartment building across from the Buenos Aires Zoo in the upscale Palermo Botanico district, Chapur hid out in another family home. And in a country where it is not uncommon for media to pay big for such a story, she kept her mouth shut as reporters speculated — often wrongly — about the mistress's identity and who leaked the e-mails.

Finally, on Sunday, she had had enough.

"I have decided to send to you this release that will be the only one," she wrote to C5N executive Eduardo Feinmann, "to thus clarify certain incorrect things that are being spread worldwide so as to give an end to the subject that as you can imagine is of great pain to me, as for my two children, my family and all the great friends that I have known and harvested throughout my life and that had always been there for me."

Contrary to reports that their e-mail had been leaked by the other man she mentioned to Sanford, Chapur revealed that someone else had "hacked" into and seized control of her old Hotmail account in late November. She believes that same person then sent the stolen e-mails in December to the South Carolina newspaper and the other lover.

"Far away from being the author of this evil action," she said, "he was instead another victim."

Chapur filed a series of formal complaints against an Argentine Internet service provider and worked through Microsoft to regain control of the e-mails and close down the account.

Despite having strong suspicions about who "may have done this great damage" to her and others, Chapur said she doesn't have enough proof to expose the hacker.

"I am not the one to judge anyone," she concluded. "I leave this in God's hands."

Many who have watched his tearful, dejected public confessionals believe Sanford is still in love with Chapur.

If she feels the same, she is not saying.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: Breed reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press Writer Michael Warren in Mexico City also contributed.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dress in white clothing to perform and to undertake baptism. Traditionally, the proselyte wears a white jumpsuit, white socks and white underclothing. The person performing the ordinance wears either a white jumpsuit or white slacks and white shirt. Historically, women and girls wore white dresses with weights sewn in at the hems to prevent the clothing from floating during the ceremony.

For the reception of adult converts, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is performed, at which the clothing with the baptismal garment is optional.

go

Organic Baby Products

Additionally some parents prefer the use of pacifiers to the child sucking their thumbs.

Immediately after birth, a newborn's skin is often grayish to dusky blue in color. As soon as the newborn begins to breathe, usually within a minute or two, the skin's color returns to its normal tone. Newborns are wet, covered in streaks of blood, and coated with a white substance known as vernix caseosa, which is hypothesised to act as an antibacterial barrier. The newborn may also have Mongolian spots, various other birthmarks, or peeling skin, particularly on the wrists, hands, ankles, and feet.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.
___
A body of 12 clerics declared Iran's disputed presidential vote valid and free of major fraud, paving the way for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be sworn in next month despite claims of vote manipulation that sparked weeks of massive protest.
The Guardian Council, an electoral authority the opposition accuses of favoring Ahmadinejad, said Monday that it had found only "slight irregularities" after randomly selecting and recounting 10 percent of nearly 40 million ballots.
"From today on, the file on the presidential election has been closed," Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei said on state-run Press TV.
Opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has said Ahmadinejad stole re-election through fraud and demanded a new election. Western analysts have described Ahmadinejad's roughly 2-1 margin of victory as suspicious and improbable.
Conservative Ayatollah Ahmed Jannati, who heads the Guardian Council, said that "meticulous and comprehensive examination" revealed only "slight irregularities that are common to any election and needless of attention," according to the state TV channel IRIB.
The decision ruling out the possibility of a new vote was expected after the country's supreme leader endorsed the vote on June 19. The government had delayed a formal declaration as Mousavi supporters flooded in the streets in protests that were put down through a show of force by riot police and pro-government militiamen.
Mousavi has made few public appearances since then and said he would seek official approval for rallies.
The cleric-led government has said Ahmadinejad will be sworn in for a second term as early as July 26.
Asked if the United States would recognize Ahmadinejad as Iran's legitimate president, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said "We're going to take this a day at a time."
Monday's recount appeared to be an attempt to cultivate the image that Iran was seriously addressing fraud claims, while giving no ground in the clampdown on opposition.
Ahmadinejad would still have beat Mousavi if errors were found in nearly every one of the votes in the recount, according to the government.
"They have a huge credibility gap with their own people as to the election process. And I don't think that's going to disappear by any finding of a limited review of a relatively small number of ballots," Clinton told reporters in Washington.
Ahmadinejad also said he had ordered an investigation of the killing of a young woman on the fringes of a protest. Widely circulated video footage of Neda Agha Soltan bleeding to death on a Tehran street sparked outrage worldwide over authorities' harsh response to demonstrations.
Iran's leaders have been trying to blame the election unrest on foreign conspirators, a longtime staple of government rhetoric about internal dissent.
Ahmadinejad's Web site said Soltan was slain by "unknown agents and in a suspicious" way, convincing him that "enemies of the nation" were responsible.
An Iranian doctor who said he tried to save her told the BBC last week she apparently was shot by a member of the volunteer Basij militia. Protesters spotted an armed member of the militia on a motorcycle, and stopped and disarmed him, Dr. Arash Hejazi said.

Basij commander Hossein Taeb on Monday alleged that armed impostors were posing as militia members, Iran's state-run English-language satellite channel Press TV reported.

Tensions with the West rose Sunday when Iran announced it had detained nine local employees of the British Embassy on suspicion of fomenting or aiding protests. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi said Monday that five of the Iranian embassy staffers had been released and the remaining four were being interrogated.

Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseini Ejehi claimed he had videotape showing some of the employees mingling with protesters. He said the fate of those who remain in custody rests with the court system. Ejehi boasted that Iran had overcome attempts at an uprising like the Velvet Revolution, the peaceful 1989 mass demonstrations that brought down Czechoslovakia's Communist regime.

Qashqavi said officials were in written and verbal contact with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and that Iran had dismissed the idea of downgrading relations with Britain and other countries.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Group of Eight leaders meeting next week in Italy will discuss possible sanctions against Iran.

Riot police clashed Sunday with up to 3,000 protesters near the Ghoba Mosque in north Tehran, the first major post-election unrest in four days.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that police used tear gas and clubs to break up the crowd, and said some demonstrators suffered broken bones. They alleged that security forces beat an elderly woman, prompting a screaming match with young demonstrators who then fought back. North Tehran is a base of support for Mousavi.

The reports could not be independently verified because of tight restrictions imposed on journalists in Iran.

___

Associated Press Writers Jim Heintz and Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in Cairo contributed to this report.