Officials say 35 Taliban killed in Afghan battle

An Afghan official says a military operation has killed 35 Taliban fighters.

Juma Gul Himat says the two-day battle in southern Uruzgan province was led by Afghan forces and also involved …

Herongate win ; Football

ROYDON .............0 HERONGATE ATHLETIC . . . . 2 (EssexOlympian ProKit League Senior Division Two) HERONGATE returned toleague action after eight weeks away due to snow and waterloggedpitches and returned to winning ways at this tricky away fixture atbottom of the league side Roydon.

On a heavy pitch Herongate settled the better of the two sideswith wide players Hans Summers and Dave King causing problems forthe home defence with their pace.

Crudely …

Stocks Higher After New Home Sales Data

NEW YORK - Wall Street advanced modestly Tuesday, with investors relieved but unimpressed that new home sales declined in May by a smaller amount than expected.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes fell 1.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 915,000. It was the fourth decline in the past five months, but a milder decrease than analysts had predicted. In April, new home sales had jumped by 12.5 percent.

The stock market's gains were small, however. Investors were a bit unnerved by the Conference Board's index on consumer confidence, which fell more than anticipated, and still jittery about subprime lending troubles and ahead of …

T.I. performing 2 days before heading to prison

T.I. is taking the stage for his last concert before heading to prison.

The Grammy-winning rapper is set to perform in Atlanta on Sunday night, two days before he begins his prison time on a federal weapons conviction.

He must report by noon Tuesday to the Federal Correction Institution at Forrest City, Ark. His sentence is for a year and a day.

The 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is …

Local & National scoreboard

Todays' odds

College Football

Today

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG

Bowling Green 3 31/2 571/2 at Miami (Ohio)

at N. Illinois 17 17 461/2 Ball St.

South Florida 1 1 451/2 at Rutgers

Friday

at Cincinnati 91/2 9 531/2 West Virginia

Temple 41/2 4 44 at Akron

Saturday

Southern Miss. 3 3 491/2 at Marshall

Boston College 51/2 4 42 at Virginia

at Illinois 31/2 41/2 48 Northwestern

at Louisville 5 71/2 45 Syracuse

at Ohio St. 13 161/2 361/2 Iowa

at Wisconsin 9 81/2 541/2 Michigan

at Penn St. 21 251/2 511/2 Indiana

Michigan St. +1 21/2 53 at Purdue

at Wake Forest 6 …

Columbia and DePaul

An example of leadership for a pathetic New York university

ONE RARELY LOOKS TO HALLS of academia these days - to the students or faculty who walk them, or the administrators who build them - for guidance or leadership. No wonder.

As a rule, intellectuals in politics do not provide a good mix. Columbia University proved that this week, in inviting the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to their campus.

Notwithstanding some pointed and direct questioning and comments from Columbia president Lee Bollinger, who introduced the Iranian leader at the Sept. 24 event, it was the visitor who got the better of his hosts.

In truth, when it comes to street fighting, …

Honduras defeats Colombia 2-1 in friendly

Hendry Thomas' goal midway through the second half led Honduras over Colombia 2-1 in a friendly on Wednesday.

Before an evenly divided Honduran and Colombian capacity crowd of 18,886 at Lockhart Stadium, Thomas broke a 1-1 tie in the 63rd minute. Thomas was positioned near the far post when he received Amado Guevara's free kick from the right wing and headed in a shot past goalkeeper Agustin Julio.

…