PROMISES, PROMISES: Congress slow on tunnel safety

After the Big Dig tunnel's ceiling collapsed and killed a Boston woman in 2006, lawmakers promised to fix a glaring gap in the country's transportation safety network: the lack of a national highway tunnel inspection program.

Yet nearly three years after the accident, Congress has failed to create a federal tunnel program similar to the one already used to safeguard the nation's bridges.

Any sense of urgency has faded along with all the headlines about the deadly Big Dig accident, and that frustrates Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., a former mayor who has led the fight on Capitol Hill for national highway tunnel inspections.

"It shows how long it …

Suit Issue Resolved - Maybe

BADALONA, Spain The U.S. Olympic Committee says the great sweatsuit controversy has been resolved. "We have a deal," executivedirector Harvey Schiller said Sunday, claiming Michael Jordan andother Nike loyalists have peacefully agreed to a settlement.

But …

United, Continental report 3Q profits

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — United and Continental airlines both posted third-quarter profits during their last quarter as independent companies, reversing their losses from a year earlier as they benefited from rising traveler demand and higher fares.

United Airlines had a profit of $387 million, or $1.75 per share. A year earlier it lost $57 million.

Continental Airlines turned a profit of $354 million, or $2.16 per share. A year earlier it lost $18 million.

Chicago-based United Continental Holdings Inc. now runs both airlines and reported the results on Thursday. They were separate companies until Oct. 1, the day after the quarter ended. Eventually they will be combined into a …

FA looks into Neville's gesture at Tevez in derby

Manchester United captain Gary Neville is being investigated by England's Football Association over his one-fingered gesture directed at former teammate Carlos Tevez during the League Cup loss at Manchester City.

Neville was warming up on the sideline as Tevez celebrated equalizing with a first-half penalty in the first leg of the semifinal that City eventually won 2-1 on …

Oberman Has Early Edge for Atty. Gen.

S S ame office. Different strategies.

Former Ald. Martin J. Oberman (43rd) and lawyer Albert F.Hofeld are both competitive in the '94 Democratic primary forIllinois attorney general. Incumbent Roland W. Burris is giving upthe office to run for governor.

Both Oberman and Hofeld are making their second appearances ona state primary ballot, and both are looking for their first win.Hofeld lost for the U.S. Senate last year. Oberman lost for attorneygeneral in 1986. Both men are Jewish and have liberal backgrounds onsocial issues.

Hofeld, who spent $5 million of his fortune for a massive TVand direct-mail blitz in the '92 Democratic primary for the U.S.Senate, …

Cruelty-to-elephants circus case heads to trial

After more than eight years of legal skirmishing, a trial is scheduled to open Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by animal welfare groups alleging that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus routinely abuses its performing elephants.

The plaintiffs _ including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute _ allege that trainers' use of sharp tools called bullhooks and the prolonged use of chains on the Asian elephants add up to an egregious violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.

They seek an order from U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., halting these practices, which some activists hope would force Ringling Bros. to give up elephants altogether.

The non-jury trial before U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is expected to last three weeks.

Ringling Bros. and its parent company, Feld Entertainment, have defended themselves aggressively since the suit was filed in 2000, contending their treatment of all circus animals is state-of-the-art.

Circus officials note that government regulations permit use of chains. They say the elephants are chained in place at night to keep them from foraging their companions' food, and during train rides to prevent sudden weight shifts that might derail their freight car.

The plaintiffs have asserted that Ringling Bros.' own train records show the elephants are chained in railroad boxcars for an average of more than 26 straight hours, and often 60 to 70 hours at a time, when the circus travels.

The circus also defends the use of bullhooks, saying the sharp tools have been used for centuries in Asia to control elephants humanely. Activists say the implements _ which resemble long fire pokers _ often inflict wounds that leave scars.

Michelle Pardo, a lawyer for Feld Entertainment, said the defense will prove that the elephants "are healthy, alert, and thriving."

"Animal special interest groups are distorting the facts by making false allegations about the treatment of Ringling Bros. elephants as part of a long-running crusade to eliminate animals from circuses, zoos and wildlife parks," Pardo said.

In addition to four animal welfare groups, the plaintiffs include Tom Rider, a former Ringling Bros. employee who alleges that he witnessed abuse of the elephants on numerous occasions.

"We look forward to showing at trial how the elephants are routinely hit with bullhooks and continuously chained in the hopes that this case will preclude Ringling Bros. from mistreating these spectacular endangered animals ever again," Rider said.

His testimony will be supplemented by photographs, video footage and internal Ringling Bros. documentation which the plaintiffs say support the allegations of mistreatment.

Much of the wrangling over the past eight years has dealt with access to circus veterinary documents and in-house videos.

Overall, Ringling Bros. has 54 elephants _ many of them kept at a 200-acre (80-hectare) conservation center in Florida while the others are on tour. The newest arrival is a calf born at the center on Jan. 19 _ named Barack in honor of the new U.S. president inaugurated the next day.

The circus says it spends $60,000 annually on care of each elephant and has three full-time veterinarians to look after them.

The plaintiffs hope the lawsuit pressures Ringling Bros. to stop using elephants in its shows and contend that many circus-goers have come to appreciate animal-free circuses.

However, Ringling Bros. says its audience surveys indicate the elephants are a favorite attraction.

___

On the Net:

Ringling Bros: http://www.ringling.com/cec

Animal Welfare Institute: http://tinyurl.com/b2rzaw

Little Resigns As Dodgers Manager

LOS ANGELES - Grady Little is out as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a move that sure seems to pave the way for Joe Torre to take over.

One report said Torre and the Dodgers had already reached a deal that would give the former New York Yankees manager a new job only weeks after he parted ways with the club.

The New York Post reported on its Web site Tuesday night that Torre had agreed in principle to a $14.5 million, three-year contract with the Dodgers, but a baseball official with knowledge of the search said no deal was imminent. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the job was still open.

Torre's agent, Maury Gostfrand, declined comment.

Torre and his former bench coach with the New York Yankees, Don Mattingly, have discussed the possibility of joining the Dodgers together, according to a person with knowledge of those talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the manager's job was still open in Los Angeles.

"We haven't hired anybody," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "We're talking to some people, that's all I'm going to tell you. We'll talk about where we go from here at a later date."

Little resigned on Tuesday with a year remaining on his contract in a move he said he considered for some time. First, he called it "a mutual resignation." Later, he said it was his choice to leave.

"I've got my own personal reasons. There's a lot of belief I've been dealt an injustice here. That couldn't be further from the truth," Little said on a conference call. "My plans? To play with my grandkids."

When asked if reports that the Dodgers were speaking with Torre influenced his decision, Little replied firmly: "No."

Colletti said he had a sense the 57-year-old Little was leaning toward stepping down, so he recently discussed the job with potential replacements. One of those candidates, Colletti acknowledged, was Joe Girardi, hired by the Yankees as Torre's successor earlier Tuesday.

Colletti refused to put a timetable on picking Little's successor. The GM stressed that Little would have kept his job for next season had he decided to come back.

"This is a difficult day for many of us," Colletti said. "Grady is a man I'm very fond of. Our friendship and relationship I expect to last as long as we're here on earth."

The 67-year-old Torre managed the Yankees to four World Series championships and 12 playoff appearances in as many seasons before turning down a one-year, $5 million offer for next season with an additional $3 million in incentives on Oct. 18.

Torre, who completed a three-year, $19.2 million contract this year, ranks eighth on baseball's career list with 2,067 victories and has won a record 76 postseason games.

The Dodgers entered this season as the clear-cut favorite to win the NL West and had the league's best record in mid-July. But they dropped 11 of their last 14 games to fade out of contention, finishing at 82-80.

Clubhouse unrest surfaced between veterans and young players during the season's final two weeks, when the Dodgers lost seven straight games to the Colorado Rockies.

Little said he told Colletti at season's end that he wasn't certain he wanted to come back.

"I told him I needed to go home, drive across the country, do some serious thinking," Little said Tuesday.

Even so, Colletti said he wanted Little back.

"I encouraged him a handful of times to think it through," Colletti said.

Little managed the Boston Red Sox from 2002-03 before he was fired despite winning more than 90 games each season.

The Red Sox led the Yankees 5-2 late in Game 7 of the 2003 AL championship series before Little opted to leave in pitcher Pedro Martinez instead of going to the bullpen. The Yankees rallied to tie the game before winning in the 11th on a homer by Aaron Boone.

That led to Little's dismissal.

Speaking before what turned out to be Little's final game for Los Angeles, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said Little would return next season and he was encouraged about the Dodgers' direction under the GM and manager.

"We should be playing next week," McCourt said, referring to the playoffs. "It's sort of an odd place I'm at right now. I feel the fans' disappointment. I share it. On the other hand, I feel something very positive here. The future is very, very bright."

When asked if health was a factor in his decision, Little replied: "I have a combination of a lot of reasons. I'll leave it at that. All of them are personal."

Might he manage again?

"That's not even on my radar," Little replied.

The Dodgers went 88-74 and made the playoffs as the NL wild card in Little's first season as their manager before being swept by the New York Mets in the first round. The Dodgers have won only one postseason game since winning the 1988 World Series.