Peace effort worse off than before?

Obama jolt unlikely to spark Mideast peace talks

Peace effort worse off than before.President Barack Obama is trying to shock the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process to life, but there is little chance the patient can be resuscitated anytime soon.

The two sides are more dug in, further apart and less trustful of each other than at any point since Obama brought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas together at the White House last September with the goal of reaching a framework deal within a year.

That deadline can't be met now. The architect of the diplomacy that was to make it happen, former Sen. George Mitchell, resigned last week. And Obama has now angered and alienated Israel by endorsing a key Palestinian demand, while at the same time deriding Palestinian attempts to win U.N. recognition for an independent state before a negotiated settlement.

In addition, in his speech Thursday and his comments alongside Netanyahu on Friday, Obama offered no specific ideas on how to relaunch the stalled peace talks, and he ignored many of the most divisive issues separating the two sides. Those include the status of Jerusalem that both claim as a capital and the fate of Palestinian refugees. He also offered no prescription for dealing with a power-sharing agreement between Abbas and the militant group Hamas. Israel has said it will not negotiate with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas.

If Democrat Kathy Hochul wins next Tuesday’s special election in a New York’s 26th Congressional District, a district that has been Republican for years, will it be a harbinger of Republicans losing the House majority in 2012?

Obama and Netanyahu kept it positive in public remarks after their meeting Friday, repeating that the U.S.-Israeli alliance is unbreakable and that America remains steadfast in support of Israel's defense.
Story: 'We can't go back': Israeli PM rejects 1967 border proposal

Yet there was no disguising the fundamental issues that divide them and have driven their relationship since almost the moment they both took office in 2009. Aside from presenting a united front in expressing platitudes about the ultimate goal of peace, there was little common ground on how to get there.

"Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language," Obama said.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, politely trashed elements of Obama's stand as unrealistic. "A peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality," he said, and declared that "the only peace that will endure is one that is based on reality, on unshakeable facts."
Video: Obama tries to ease tensions with Israel PM (on this page)

Palestinian President Abbas, meanwhile, has not given his official response to parameters for the Mideast peace deal that Obama laid out in his speech on Thursday.

Since then, Abbas has been consulting by phone with Arab leaders. He was planning to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Saturday and then convene the leaders of the PLO and his Fatah movement later in the week before giving a response, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said.

Erekat said late Friday that Netanyahu's statements make it clear the Israeli leader is not a partner for peace, suggesting there is no point in returning to negotiations.

"I don't think we can talk about a peace process with a man who says the 1967 lines are an illusion, that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, undivided, and he does not want a single (Palestinian) refugee to go back," Erekat said. "What is left to negotiate about?"

Tensions over settlements
Tensions between the two have been most evident over Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the administration opposes but Netanyahu refuses to halt. An announcement of new settlement construction last year while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Jerusalem plunged ties to what was then a new low.

Since then, attempts to repair relations have faltered, with Mitchell, the special envoy, unable to secure a settlement freeze from the Israelis or a commitment from the Palestinians to resume negotiations without one. A frustrated Mitchell quit last week.

Obama's declaration Thursday that the borders of a future Palestinian state should be based on 1967 borders — the lines that existed before that year's Six Day War in which Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem — stunned Netanyahu, who insists that the starting point for eventual borders must be negotiated.

Even though Obama made clear that the solution would have to involve territorial swaps agreed to by both sides, his statement removed the subtlety from what had been a vague U.S. position in support of the Palestinians' "goal" on borders and gave it his imprimatur.
Video: Obama, Netanyahu reach 'bottom of disagreement' (on this page)

Netanyahu, informed shortly before Obama's speech of its contents by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, sought in vain to keep border language out, U.S. officials said. Netanyahu was incensed, they said.

Public Israeli outrage was swift.

Netanyahu called the 1967 borders "indefensible" and said he expected Obama to reaffirm support for commitments made by President George W. Bush that demographic realities — meaning the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank — would not allow a return to the 1967 borders. An aide told reporters accompanying Netanyahu to Washington that Obama did not appear to understand the situation in the Middle East.

The administration's relationship with the Palestinians has also been awkward.

While Obama did endorse the Palestinians' position on borders, he has been frustrated by their refusal to resume talks, irritated by their intense lobbying for the United Nations to recognize a state and concerned by Hamas, which the U.S. and Israel regard as a terrorist group.

In fact, U.S. officials said his endorsement of the 1967 borders was intended to blunt the Palestinian drive at the U.N.
Interactive: Israel's border (on this page)

Yet, his comments rejecting the U.N. bid as essentially a waste of time and stressing the need for the Palestinians to address serious Israeli opposition to Hamas may have given the Palestinians new reasons for intransigence and could embolden them to take harder line positions.

A senior Palestinian official said Saturday that Palestinians will seek recognition as a United Nations member-state in September given the deadlock in U.S.-brokered peacemaking with Israel.

Nabil Shaath urged President Barack Obama to join other countries in endorsing a Palestinian state taking in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Another Palestinian official, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said the drive to win statehood status unilaterally could be forestalled should Israel accept the demand to extend a freeze on its settlement of the West Bank so that negotiations can resume.
Source:www.msnbc.msn.com

'Macho Man' Savage dies

'Macho Man' Savage dies in car wreck

Former pro wrestling star "Macho Man" Randy Savage died at age 58 Friday of injuries suffered in a car accident in Tampa, Fla., TMZ reported.

The Florida Highway Patrol told TMZ that Savage was driving his 2009 Jeep Wrangler when he veered across the center median and struck a tree. He did not hit any oncoming vehicles.

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Savage's brother, Lanny Poffo, told TMZ the wrestling legend suffered a heart attack while behind the wheel.

Savage died of his injuries at Largo Medical Center, TMZ reported.
Savage's wife, Lynn, was a passenger in the vehicle and suffered minor injuries, authorities said. She was treated at a separate hospital.

According to the report, both Savage and his wife were wearing seatbelts, and police say alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

Lanny Poffo, also a former pro wrestler, posted on his website, "In Loving Memory. Randy Mario Poffo November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011."

Savage, whose real name was Randy Poffo, was one of wrestling's biggest stars through the mid-1980s and 1990s. He retired in 2005.

A native of Sarasota, Fla., Savage signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly known as the WWF) in 1985 and quickly became a fan favorite. He squared off over the next decade with fellow wrestling legends like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ultimate Warrior and Ric Flair.

Hogan expressed his sadness Friday on Twitter, saying he and Savage had just begun to rekindle their friendship after a decade.

"I'm completely devastated, after over 10 years of not talking with Randy, we've finally started to talk and communicate," Hogan wrote. "He had so much life in his eyes & in his spirit, I just pray that he's happy and in a better place and we miss him. I feel horrible about the ten years of having no communication. This was a tough one."

Using his signature finishing move, the flying elbow drop, the Macho Man won the WWF title for the first time at WrestleMania IV in 1988. Savage moved to World Championship Wrestling in 1994 for a five-year stint. He last wrestled for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2004 and 2005.

Savage married the late Elizabeth Hulette in 1984, and she would later go on to WWF fame as his ring escort, Miss Elizabeth. The couple divorced in 1992 and Savage remarried last May.
Source: msn.foxsports.com

Queen makes historic visit

British queen makes historic peace trip to Ireland

Undeterred by real or fake bombs, Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday began the first visit by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland, a four-day trip to highlight strong Anglo-Irish relations and the success of Northern Ireland peacemaking.

Resplendent in a cloak of emerald green and a dress of St. Patrick's blue, the 85-year-old queen stepped out from a bombproof, bulletproof Range Rover outside the official residence of Irish President Mary McAleese. Irish Army artillery units fired a 21-gun salute as a military brass band played "God Save the Queen."

The painstakingly choreographed visit has been designed to highlight today's exceptionally strong Anglo-Irish relations and the slow blooming of peace in neighboring Northern Ireland following a three-decade conflict that left 3,700 dead.

The queen arrived 100 years after her grandfather George V visited Dublin and an Ireland that was still part of the British Empire.

Beaming smiles by the queen and McAleese — a Belfast-born Catholic who has spent 14 years lobbying for Elizabeth II to visit — demonstrated genuine warmth between the two women, who have met several times before.

McAleese said Britain and Ireland were "determined to make the future a much, much better place." The queen didn't comment ahead of her planned speech Wednesday night at Dublin Castle, the former seat of British rule of Ireland.

Four fixed-wing propeller aircraft from Ireland's minuscule Air Corps flew overhead in tight formation as a white-gloved, gun-toting honor guard stood to attention.

Inside the president's residence, McAleese introduced the queen and husband Prince Philip to Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Outside, the queen introduced the president to British Foreign Minister William Hague. The two leaders then planted a tree as two children rang the residence's Peace Bell.

A 33-motorcycle police escort led the queen to McAleese's residence in Dublin's vast Phoenix Park through the unusually empty streets of Dublin — cleared to ensure no anti-British extremist could launch an attack. Nearby Dublin Zoo was closed as a security precaution and no civilian aircraft were permitted over Dublin for the day.

Irish Republican Army dissidents opposed to reconciliation with Britain still tried to undermine the visit with real and hoax bombs, but they caused no significant disruption.

Irish Army experts overnight defused one pipe bomb on a Dublin-bound bus that was detected in Maynooth, 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of the capital. Police said the bomb was properly constructed but not primed to detonate.

A second device abandoned near a light-rail station in west Dublin was deemed a hoax Tuesday morning. Later, police responded to at least two more reports of suspicious packages in working-class districts of north Dublin, but no further bombs were confirmed.

Police said IRA dissidents using a recognized codeword warned about the bus bomb, which was left in overhead luggage.

Several small IRA splinter groups concentrated along the Irish border continue to plot gun and bomb attacks in Northern Ireland in hopes of undermining the success of its 1998 peace accord, particularly its stable Catholic-Protestant government.

But Irish and British officials were keen to stress that the queen's visit to Dublin, Kildare, Tipperary and Cork would proceed as planned — accompanied by the biggest security operation in the Republic of Ireland's history.

"This is the start of an entirely new beginning for Ireland and Britain," Kenny said. "I really do hope that the welcome she gets will be genuine and memorable for her."

On her first day in Dublin, the queen was also visiting Trinity College — founded in 1592 by her royal namesake, Queen Elizabeth I — and laying a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance, a central Dublin memorial that honors two centuries of Ireland's rebel dead.

The latter gesture has been designed to symbolize Britain's reconciliation with Ireland 90 years after a brutal guerrilla war led to independence for the Catholic south of the island.

More than 8,000 police, two-thirds of the entire country's police force, shut down key roads in central Dublin and erected pedestrian barricades for several miles (kilometers). About 1,000 Irish troops were kept in reserve.

Police made it extremely difficult for protesters to get within sight of any of the queen's engagements. Onlookers were given few vantage points to see the queen unless they had been included in carefully vetted guest lists.

A few dozen supporters of an anti-British pressure group Eirigi — Gaelic for "rise" — scuffled with police on Dublin's major thoroughfare several hundred yards (meters) from the Garden of Remembrance. No serious injuries were reported as police successfully moved the protesters to a fenced-off area.

Britain and Ireland spent decades in frosty opposition following Ireland's 1919-21 war of independence and the creation in 1922 of the Irish Free State. Northern Ireland, created in 1921, remained in the United Kingdom.

Ireland stayed neutral in World War II and offered condolences to Germany over Adolf Hitler's death. It broke all symbolic ties with Britain by declaring itself a republic in 1949 and offered sympathy and a relatively safe haven when the modern IRA in 1970 began shooting and bombing in Northern Ireland.

But after Britain and Ireland joined the European Union in 1973, and as the bloodshed in Northern Ireland spilled over into the Catholic south, the governments in London and Dublin gradually found common cause.

Their cooperation provided the essential bedrock for Belfast's Good Friday peace accord in 1998. IRA disarmament and a coalition government of Northern Ireland's British Protestant majority and its Irish Catholic minority eventually followed.

While the Irish remain proud of their independence, many concede that they are closely linked culturally and economically to their much bigger neighbor.

Today's Ireland is home to 4.5 million residents who watch British television and read newspapers daily, and shop in the British chain stores that dominate Irish retail life.

Many follow English and Scottish soccer with passion while the English, in turn, have made the Emerald Isle a favored tourist destination.

Ireland's struggle to prevent a national bankruptcy — the Irish have spent three years raising taxes and cutting spending, and six months ago received a euro67.5 billion ($95 billion) credit line from international lenders — has found its greatest champion in Britain, its No. 1 trading partner.

Prime Minister David Cameron's government offered Ireland a particularly low-interest loan and is pressing other European Union members to give the Irish a cheaper deal, too.

 Source:news.yahoo.com

Derek boogaard

Derek boogaard

It may be weeks before authorities know exactly how and why New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died, although foul play was not immediately suspected.

The 28-year-old player was found dead Friday in his Minneapolis apartment. Few details were available, but the news rippled across the NHL, where the 6-foot-7 Boogaard was a fan favorite and one of the game's most feared fighters. He missed most of last season because of a concussion and shoulder injury from a fight.

"I don't think we have any answers as to what happened or why it happened," Ron Salcer, Boogaard's agent, said Saturday.
Authorities received a report of a man not breathing shortly before 6:15 p.m. Friday, Minneapolis police Sgt. William Palmer said. Minneapolis fire officials were the first to arrive and determined he was dead.

Palmer said authorities do not suspect foul play at this point, but the police department's homicide unit and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office are investigating. Palmer said the medical examiner will decide the cause of death.

An autopsy was being conducted Saturday, but county spokeswoman Carol Allis said results probably will not be released for at least two weeks.

She said in cases with no obvious signs of physical trauma or an obvious immediate cause of death, it takes time to receive results of laboratory tests. Allis said the medical examiner's office doesn't anticipate releasing preliminary autopsy findings until all results are in.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on its website Saturday night that Boogaard's family has agreed to donate his brain to Boston University researchers who are studying brain disease in athletes.

Findings released earlier this year by Boston University revealed that former enforcer Bob Probert suffered from the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Probert died of a heart attack last July at age 45. Reggie Fleming, a 1960s enforcer who played before helmets became mandatory, also had CTE.

A moment of silence was observed for Boogaard in Boston before the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Bruins 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"The news that we have lost someone so young and so strong leaves everyone in the National Hockey League stunned and saddened," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "The NHL family sends its deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Derek Boogaard, to those who played and worked with him and to everyone who enjoyed watching him compete."

Marian Gaborik was Boogaard's teammate on both the Rangers and the Minnesota Wild, and benefited greatly by the protection the hulking forward provided for him as he fueled the offense.

"It was devastating news," Gaborik said from Slovakia. "I played with Boogey for a long time in Minny and then in New York. He was a great guy. We got along together great. We helped each other out on the ice and off the ice. We were very close. I tried to help him along in New York, and we had a very good relationship. It's just very sad."

"He was one of the very best at what he did. Every team would have loved to have him, whether on the ice or off the ice as a great teammate."

Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Boogaard was "always joking and having fun."

"Anytime anything happened or if you needed anything, Boogey was always there," he said. "He was always a pleasure to be around."

Added Rangers forward Brandon Prust on Twitter: "At a loss for words. I'll miss my roomy Derek Boogaard. You will be missed by everyone. Great friend and teammate."

Prust was still dealing with the shock on Saturday.

"It keeps hitting me off and on all day as I'm driving," Prust said. "Though he was a fighter on the ice, he was definitely a gentle giant off the ice. He was just a real good guy, a team guy all the way. I've been looking at some of the silly pictures I have from when we were roommates and it just hits me what a good guy he was. I still can't believe I am referring to him in the past tense."

Fans, meanwhile, flocked online to express their sadness. For years, fans have been going to YouTube to watch "The Boogeyman" do battle.

His final game was Dec. 9 at Ottawa when he fought Matt Carkner and sustained a concussion and shoulder injury. That was the 70th fight of his NHL career, and by midday Saturday more than 80,000 people had watched replays of that fight on YouTube.

Boogaard signed a four-year, $6.5 million deal with the Rangers in July and appeared in 22 games last season. He had a goal and an assist to go with 45 penalty minutes.

Boogaard was out for the last 52 games of the regular season because of his injuries and did not play in the playoffs. He didn't skate again until about three months after the concussion. He was sent home to Minnesota late in the season to work on conditioning.

Gaborik said he recently spoke to Boogaard, who had his sights set on making a full recovery and having a much better second season with the Rangers.

"We had a lot of good times together," Gaborik said. "He was a really easygoing guy, really caring. We talked pretty much about everything. He's just the type guy who would be there for you whenever you needed him.

"We were in touch a lot. He was focusing on coming back, training every day. He was really looking forward to coming back in great shape and prove that he's the best at what he does. He was really looking forward to that. He was always so positive and optimistic."

In several player polls, Boogaard was voted as the league's most intimidating player. When the Rangers signed him last summer, general manager Glen Sather said the decision was made because Boogaard was "the biggest and toughest."

He had seven fights with the Rangers. His lone goal of the season came at home against Washington on Nov. 9. That ended a drought of 234 games without a goal, dating to Jan. 7, 2006. It was the longest such streak in the league.

Boogaard began his NHL career with Minnesota and appeared in 255 games with the Wild from 2005-10. He missed four games with the Wild because of a concussion. With Minnesota and the Rangers over six seasons, he had three goals and 13 assists and 589 penalty minutes.

"I received a phone call last night at 1:00 a.m. from my son, Connor, who is a freshman in college," Wild owner Craig Leipold said in a statement. "Connor interned for the Wild last year, and his favorite person (not just player) was Derek. You could hear in his voice just how affected he was, since he had just learned of Derek's passing.

"He had a lot of questions, and I had no answers."

That feeling was shared by many, including Minnesota center Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who played with Boogaard for five years.

"Every player on our team felt a little bit more safe with him on the ice with us," Bouchard said in a phone interview. "He was really tough on the ice, but outside the ice he was a great guy."

Wild media relations coordinator Ryan Stanzel first met Boogaard when he was working the ECHL and Boogaard was assigned to Lafayette, La., in 2002.

"I remember the first day he was on the ice, he was larger than life," Stanzel said. "He was so much bigger than everybody in that league. He certainly wasn't the best skater in the world, but he worked 45 minutes to an hour every day after practice with the coaches on his footwork."

San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan coached Boogaard for two years in the minors in Houston.

"He was a lovable guy that everybody liked," McLellan said. "Obviously mean and nasty on the ice. He'll be sorely missed."

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Boogaard was drafted by Minnesota in 2001 in the seventh round, the 202nd choice. He drew notice in 2007 when he and brother Aaron ran a hockey-fighting class in Saskatchewan. Some voiced concern about such a camp. Boogaard insisted he wasn't teaching kids how to hurt each other, but rather how to protect themselves so they don't get hurt on the ice.

This is the second death of a player in the Rangers organization in the past three years. Alexei Cherepanov, drafted in 2007 but never signed by New York, died at 19 in Chekhov, Russia, in 2008, after collapsing on the bench during a game.

Roman Lyashenko, who briefly played with the Rangers several years ago, was found dead in a hotel in Turkey in 2003. His death was believed to be a suicide.

Derek boogaard

Derek boogaard

It may be weeks before authorities know exactly how and why New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died, although foul play was not immediately suspected.

The 28-year-old player was found dead Friday in his Minneapolis apartment. Few details were available, but the news rippled across the NHL, where the 6-foot-7 Boogaard was a fan favorite and one of the game's most feared fighters. He missed most of last season because of a concussion and shoulder injury from a fight.

"I don't think we have any answers as to what happened or why it happened," Ron Salcer, Boogaard's agent, said Saturday.
Authorities received a report of a man not breathing shortly before 6:15 p.m. Friday, Minneapolis police Sgt. William Palmer said. Minneapolis fire officials were the first to arrive and determined he was dead.

Palmer said authorities do not suspect foul play at this point, but the police department's homicide unit and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office are investigating. Palmer said the medical examiner will decide the cause of death.


An autopsy was being conducted Saturday, but county spokeswoman Carol Allis said results probably will not be released for at least two weeks.

She said in cases with no obvious signs of physical trauma or an obvious immediate cause of death, it takes time to receive results of laboratory tests. Allis said the medical examiner's office doesn't anticipate releasing preliminary autopsy findings until all results are in.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on its website Saturday night that Boogaard's family has agreed to donate his brain to Boston University researchers who are studying brain disease in athletes.

Findings released earlier this year by Boston University revealed that former enforcer Bob Probert suffered from the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Probert died of a heart attack last July at age 45. Reggie Fleming, a 1960s enforcer who played before helmets became mandatory, also had CTE.

A moment of silence was observed for Boogaard in Boston before the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Bruins 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"The news that we have lost someone so young and so strong leaves everyone in the National Hockey League stunned and saddened," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "The NHL family sends its deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Derek Boogaard, to those who played and worked with him and to everyone who enjoyed watching him compete."

Marian Gaborik was Boogaard's teammate on both the Rangers and the Minnesota Wild, and benefited greatly by the protection the hulking forward provided for him as he fueled the offense.

"It was devastating news," Gaborik said from Slovakia. "I played with Boogey for a long time in Minny and then in New York. He was a great guy. We got along together great. We helped each other out on the ice and off the ice. We were very close. I tried to help him along in New York, and we had a very good relationship. It's just very sad."

"He was one of the very best at what he did. Every team would have loved to have him, whether on the ice or off the ice as a great teammate."

Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Boogaard was "always joking and having fun."

"Anytime anything happened or if you needed anything, Boogey was always there," he said. "He was always a pleasure to be around."

Added Rangers forward Brandon Prust on Twitter: "At a loss for words. I'll miss my roomy Derek Boogaard. You will be missed by everyone. Great friend and teammate."

Prust was still dealing with the shock on Saturday.

"It keeps hitting me off and on all day as I'm driving," Prust said. "Though he was a fighter on the ice, he was definitely a gentle giant off the ice. He was just a real good guy, a team guy all the way. I've been looking at some of the silly pictures I have from when we were roommates and it just hits me what a good guy he was. I still can't believe I am referring to him in the past tense."

Fans, meanwhile, flocked online to express their sadness. For years, fans have been going to YouTube to watch "The Boogeyman" do battle.

His final game was Dec. 9 at Ottawa when he fought Matt Carkner and sustained a concussion and shoulder injury. That was the 70th fight of his NHL career, and by midday Saturday more than 80,000 people had watched replays of that fight on YouTube.

Boogaard signed a four-year, $6.5 million deal with the Rangers in July and appeared in 22 games last season. He had a goal and an assist to go with 45 penalty minutes.

Boogaard was out for the last 52 games of the regular season because of his injuries and did not play in the playoffs. He didn't skate again until about three months after the concussion. He was sent home to Minnesota late in the season to work on conditioning.

Gaborik said he recently spoke to Boogaard, who had his sights set on making a full recovery and having a much better second season with the Rangers.

"We had a lot of good times together," Gaborik said. "He was a really easygoing guy, really caring. We talked pretty much about everything. He's just the type guy who would be there for you whenever you needed him.

"We were in touch a lot. He was focusing on coming back, training every day. He was really looking forward to coming back in great shape and prove that he's the best at what he does. He was really looking forward to that. He was always so positive and optimistic."

In several player polls, Boogaard was voted as the league's most intimidating player. When the Rangers signed him last summer, general manager Glen Sather said the decision was made because Boogaard was "the biggest and toughest."

He had seven fights with the Rangers. His lone goal of the season came at home against Washington on Nov. 9. That ended a drought of 234 games without a goal, dating to Jan. 7, 2006. It was the longest such streak in the league.

Boogaard began his NHL career with Minnesota and appeared in 255 games with the Wild from 2005-10. He missed four games with the Wild because of a concussion. With Minnesota and the Rangers over six seasons, he had three goals and 13 assists and 589 penalty minutes.

"I received a phone call last night at 1:00 a.m. from my son, Connor, who is a freshman in college," Wild owner Craig Leipold said in a statement. "Connor interned for the Wild last year, and his favorite person (not just player) was Derek. You could hear in his voice just how affected he was, since he had just learned of Derek's passing.

"He had a lot of questions, and I had no answers."

That feeling was shared by many, including Minnesota center Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who played with Boogaard for five years.

"Every player on our team felt a little bit more safe with him on the ice with us," Bouchard said in a phone interview. "He was really tough on the ice, but outside the ice he was a great guy."

Wild media relations coordinator Ryan Stanzel first met Boogaard when he was working the ECHL and Boogaard was assigned to Lafayette, La., in 2002.

"I remember the first day he was on the ice, he was larger than life," Stanzel said. "He was so much bigger than everybody in that league. He certainly wasn't the best skater in the world, but he worked 45 minutes to an hour every day after practice with the coaches on his footwork."

San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan coached Boogaard for two years in the minors in Houston.

"He was a lovable guy that everybody liked," McLellan said. "Obviously mean and nasty on the ice. He'll be sorely missed."

Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Boogaard was drafted by Minnesota in 2001 in the seventh round, the 202nd choice. He drew notice in 2007 when he and brother Aaron ran a hockey-fighting class in Saskatchewan. Some voiced concern about such a camp. Boogaard insisted he wasn't teaching kids how to hurt each other, but rather how to protect themselves so they don't get hurt on the ice.

This is the second death of a player in the Rangers organization in the past three years. Alexei Cherepanov, drafted in 2007 but never signed by New York, died at 19 in Chekhov, Russia, in 2008, after collapsing on the bench during a game.

Roman Lyashenko, who briefly played with the Rangers several years ago, was found dead in a hotel in Turkey in 2003. His death was believed to be a suicide.

More charges for Floyd Mayweather

More charges for Floyd Mayweather

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is facing new misdemeanor harassment charges accusing him of threatening two homeowner association security guards outside his Las Vegas home.

Mayweather
The charges filed Thursday in Las Vegas stem from an October dispute over parking with guards in the gated community where the undefeated prizefighter lives.

Mayweather's lawyer, Karen Winckler, didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Mayweather already faces a September trial on a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from allegations that he poked a 21-year-old guard in the face during a separate argument over parking tickets in November. He also faces unrelated felony charges in a domestic argument with his ex-girlfriend and two of their children last year.

The new charges allege Mayweather threatened the guards after they cited several of his vehicles parked on the street in violation of association rules.

According to a police report, guard Miguel Burgos told police that Mayweather approached him and co-worker Aaron Ryan after they cited the cars and told them not to touch his vehicles.

The guards tried to explain the association's parking rules, but Mayweather said he had 29 vehicles and they didn't need to touch them, Burgos told police.

"I already have a pending gun charge and I don't want any problems, but my homeboys have guns and I'll call them to come over and take care of you guys," Mayweather said, according to Burgos' account. "What do you guys want to do?"

Mayweather does not have gun charges pending against him.

The guards said Mayweather then took the citations and put them on the windshield of the officers' vehicle while laughing, repeating the threat several times and telling them to leave.

Police said the guards left and called police, but told officers they didn't want to press charges. Ryan called police two weeks later saying he wanted to move forward with the case.

Winckler told police in March that Mayweather would not be available for an interview.

Mayweather, 34, is 41-0 in his professional career with 25 knockouts. His last fight was against Shane Mosley a year ago.
Source:special

Prince Williams Last Name

 Prince William s Last Name

With so much royal wedding buzz, we saw fit to include at least one question about the couple of the moment. So, what IS Prince William's last name? We called the British Embassy to get the answer to this question.

It says that members of the Royal Family do not commonly use a last name. Historically, kings and princes were known by the names of the countries over which they ruled. This is why Prince William can also be referred to as Prince William of Wales.

The most widely used title for Prince William would be His Royal Highness Prince William. If a surname were ever needed, that name would be Mountbatten-Windsor. This historical name is used by any descendant of Queen Elizabeth II and first appeared on an official document in 1973 during the marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips.

To get more information on the Royal Family and its names, visit the official website of the British Monarchy.

To get more information on the Royal Family and its names, visit the official website of the British Monarchy.

Obama Releases $3.73 Trillion Budget

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama released a $3.73 trillion budget for fiscal-year 2012 Monday where he sought to balance two competing and conflicting agendas: dramatic cuts to federal spending while also investing in programs to improve U.S. competitiveness. He ended up with a product that offers up more than $1 trillion in deficit reductions over a 10-year period—three-quarters coming from spending cuts and the balance from tax increases or the elimination of existing tax breaks.

In fiscal 2012 alone, the administration proposed reducing or closing 200 federal programs at a savings of $33 billion.

"My budget makes investments that can help America win this competition and transform our economy, and it does so fully aware of the very difficult fiscal situation we face," Mr. Obama said in his budget message.

Many of these proposed budget cuts and tax increases have been proposed earlier and met strong opposition in Congress.


Mr. Obama is proposing cuts to programs such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which would stand to lose $2.5 billion, while $300 million would be cut from community-development grants. In doing so, Mr. Obama said his budget includes cuts to "many programs whose mission I care deeply about, but meeting our fiscal targets while investing in our future demands no less."

The president called for a five-year non-security discretionary-spending freeze and a two-year freeze of federal government employees' salaries.

But those proposed savings go nowhere near the short-term reductions that House Republicans are pushing for. Friday night, the party's leaders released details of a plan to slash $62 billion in the remaining 7½ months of fiscal 2011, and they promised to cut more in their fiscal 2012 budget plan.

The Obama budget reductions don't come close to the $4 trillion in savings recommended by a White House-appointed deficit commission. This is largely because the president's budget shies away from pushing for any substantial changes to entitlement programs Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Nor does it include a specific outline for overhauling either the corporate or individual tax codes.

The budget acknowledged that the proposed cuts to discretionary spending were only a beginning to addressing the core fiscal problems facing the country.

"But non-security, discretionary spending represents approximately 12% of all spending," the budget said. "The solution to our long-term fiscal problems cannot rest on this alone."

On Social Security, Mr. Obama sought to start the conversation by outlining a series of principles for an overhaul effort. He is proposing no reductions in basic benefits for seniors, and future beneficiaries could not see their "benefits slashed."

Republican lawmakers criticized Mr. Obama for failing to spell out how to reduce entitlement spending.

"We're not having any leadership" at all, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), the top Republican on the Senate budget committee said on CNN. "I do believe he deserves serious criticism for that."

Mr. Sessions added his party stood ready to begin negotiations with Mr. Obama on overhauling the entitlement programs.

White House Budget Director Jacob Lew said the budget did in fact attempt to meet the goals set out by the deficit commission.

"We accomplished the goal that the commission was set out to accomplish, which was to get to a sustainable deficit as a percentage of the economy in the middle of the decade," Mr. Lew said on CNBC.

Under the president's budget, the deficit as a share of U.S. gross domestic product would decline from its projected 10.9% in fiscal 2011 to 2.9% by fiscal 2018. Most economists agree that a deficit lower than 3% of GDP is sustainable.

But then under the White House budget, the deficit would begin increasing again as a share of GDP in the latter years of the decade, largely as a result of the costs of the entitlement programs.

Mr. Obama does propose aggressively cutting the Pentagon's budget—which along with the entitlement programs and interest on the national debt account for the lion's share of federal spending.

He would cut defense spending by $78 billion over the next five years, bringing the Pentagon budget down to zero real growth. Combined with reduced expected spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming years, that would reduce defense spending substantially.

On the investment side, Mr. Obama called again for making the research and development tax credit permanent—at a cost of $106 billion over the next decade.

The president proposed $36 billion in loan authority for the construction of new nuclear-energy power plants as well as $2 billion in loan guarantees for other new renewable-energy projects.

The $7,500 tax credit available toward the purchase of new electric vehicles would be transformed into a rebate available to all consumers upon purchase. The president reiterated his goal of having one million advanced-technology vehicles on the roads by 2015.

The budget would create 100,000 teaching positions in science, math, technology and engineering over the next 10 years.

It would maintain the current maximum of a $5,500 grant available to poorer college students—it would pay for the substantial cost of doing so by eliminating the grant's availability during summer school, and interest would begin accruing on loans taken out by graduate students from their inception.