Critics: Syrian leader may be squandering goodwill

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Young and soft-spoken with a glamorous wife by his side, Syrian President Bashar Assad doesn't fit the mold of an Arab dictator.

Many Syrians at home and abroad insist he is a reformer led astray by those around him — but Assad's response to the protest movement boiling up around him may cost him the goodwill of those who still see him as an instrument of change.

"The Syrian people do not necessarily hate Bashar," said Bilal Saab, a Middle East expert from the University of Maryland at College Park who regularly briefs U.S. officials on Syria. "In fact, most Syrian youth love him. But he is the head of the unpopular and corrupt Syrian regime, so the …

WVU doctors: Chris Henry had chronic brain injury

West Virginia University researchers say Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry suffered from a chronic brain injury that may have influenced his mental state and behavior before he died last winter.

The doctors had done a microscopic tissue analysis of Henry's brain that showed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Julian Bailes and Bennet …

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State poverty funds that go directly to CPS schools have been capped at $261 million since 1995. But the poverty funds that go to central office have been increasing. How is CPS spending its portion?

Valencia Rias, Designs for Change

The state sent an additional $69 million in poverty funds to CPS lor fiscal year 2007, raising the total to $355 million, according to CPS Budget Director Pedro Martiniz. All of the additional funds were spent on raises and benefits for teachers and other school staff, he says. CPS' general education fund includes state poverty money, other state funding and property tax revenue. The general fund pays for everything from salaries to textbooks …

Serbia won't give up 'an inch' of Kosovo, PM says as talks enter critical phase

Serbia will not give up "an inch" of Kosovo, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said Monday as talks on the breakaway province's future entered a critical phase before a U.N. deadline next month.

"Serbia will not let an inch of its territory be taken away," a defiant Kostunica told reporters at a final round of negotiations before international mediators report back to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders, meanwhile, said they were committed to gaining independence _ making a breakthrough unlikely in the last session of talks, which run through Wednesday in the picturesque Austrian spa town of Baden.

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Moderate quake strikes San Bernardino

A moderate earthquake struck Thursday night in San Bernardino, with shaking felt from Los Angeles 55 miles to the west and south to Orange County. No immediate reports of damage or injuries were reported.

A preliminary reading by the U.S. Geological Survey showed a 4.5-magnitude quake struck at 7:49 p.m. about one mile south of San Bernardino, a city of about 200,000 people. The USGS initially reported it at 4.9, then 5.0.

San Bernardino County Fire Supervisor Tim Franke said there were no reports of damage.

"It was a little roll and big jolt, then a sonic boom kind of noise," Franke said.

San Bernardino police, Orange County …

Industrial output rises

WASHINGTON (AP) Production at the nation's factories, mines andutilities edged up a sluggish 0.1 percent in March, the governmentsaid Friday.

The Federal Reserve Board said gains in production of autos andbusiness equipment offset declines in construction supplies andconsumer goods other than cars.

The March rise included a 0.2 percent jump in production atmanufacturing plants after a flat performance in February. Thatincluded a 2.6 percent …

Bacteria Species May Help Ethanol Output

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - Scientists say a new bacteria species discovered in Yellowstone's thermal pools could improve the use of bacteria to produce ethanol.

Researchers found the bacteria in Octopus and Mushroom springs as well as in Green Finger Pool. The bacteria thrive in hot water, growing best between 120 and 150 degrees.

The discovery is rare because the bacterium is photosynthesizing, meaning it produces energy from sunlight. Scientists have discovered just three similar bacteria species within the past century, according to Don Bryant, a professor of biotechnology, biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University and leader of the research …