LOS ANGELES: Most young men can be forgiven for not knowing what they'll be doing two days from now, much less two years. Not the three siblings who comprise the hit trio the Jonas Bros. The superstars-in-the-making have every day mapped out for the next 24 months.

Earlier this month, the band became the youngest act to sign a deal with concert presenter Live Nation.

Bears sign Rex Grossman for 1 year

A one-year deal for a starting quarterback in the NFL doesn't say I love you.

A one-year deal says we're dating, but we're not committed. It says it's almost closing time, and neither one of us wants to go home alone.

More than anything, the Bears agreeing with Rex Grossman on a one-year, stopgap contract Saturday said the team might consider itself closer to rebuilding than either general manager Jerry Angelo or coach Lovie Smith wanted to admit at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

Obama campaign reports $32-million infusion

On the Republican side, the leading candidates were recovering from a contentious debate Wednesday night. Former Massachustetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigned in a wide swath from Long Beach to an evening rally scheduled in San Diego.

Arizona Sen. John McCain campaigned in Los Angeles and picked up the endorsement of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger had signaled on Wednesday that he would back McCain, so there was little suspense in today's formal announcement at a solar energy business in Los Angeles.

Also attending today's news conference was former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who formally dropped out of the presidential race on Wednesday after he was trounced in the Florida primary.

In a year-end filing with the Federal Election Commission, Giuliani disclosed that he had raised $58.5 million and had spent $48.8 million in 2007.

Operator Please laugh at haters

At 16 and with only one EP to her band's name, the Operator Please violinist looked around at all the Silverchairs in the room and wondered how she was there.

Not that Operator Please were too worried about a room full of industry folk knowing their name.

Penned-up love leads to 'I dos'

Azzo's Restaurant and Bar on Jamestown's Main Street has a tiny alcove behind a glass door where diners are allowed to write their comments on the cuisine and ambiance in large grease-pen letters on the walls.

Gina McRae, a raven-haired mortgage broker from Copperopolis, wasn't completely clear on the concept last New Year's Eve, when she took pen in hand and wrote a few glowing lines about her boyfriend, Bruce Eads, also from Copperopolis, rather than commenting on the restaurant.

Eads, a partner in a Copperopolis fire sprinkler company, sat at the dinner table with Robin Dimiceli, Gina's mortgage firm partner, unaware that his praises were being penned for all to see.

When Gina returned to the table, Dimiceli, took her turn in the alcove, and saw Gina's note, which read: "Here with my boyfriend, love him with all my heart."

"It was their two-year anniversary," Dimiceli explained,"They met on New Year's Eve 2005 in Copper and had been dating ever since."

Dimiceli came back to the table and urged Bruce to go have a look at the grease-pencil Valentine.

The Mirror

Over half of all high school seniors who state their intended majors on college applications graduate with something completely different on their diplomas. But what do you do if your emerging passion doesn't have a corresponding major? Even though built space is always around us — in dorms, in classrooms and even, however precariously, in frats — students of architecture at Dartmouth must blaze their own trail. Amy Davis delves into the small community of Dartmouth students and faculty who are looking at the world through blueprint-colored glasses. More »

Man charged over 23-year old rape case after forensic breakthrough

A FORENSIC breakthrough has led to a 40-year-old Victorian man being charged over a rape that occurred more than 20 years ago.

Police have charged Paul Sayer with aggravated rape and aggravated burglary dating back to 1984. A then 19-year-old woman was raped in her bedroom in the early hours of October 23 by a man who broke into her home at Huntingdale in Melbourne's southeast. Another man stood in the doorway holding what appeared to be a rifle while the assault took place, police said. The woman's 21-year-old housemate was woken by the commotion, but hid when she saw the man holding a firearm. Both intruders escaped through the front door. The new evidence emerged during a review of historical unsolved sex crimes. Old forensic evidence was re-examined using technology unavailable 23 years ago.

Wall Street sees modest gains ahead of earnings season

At the end of a volatile session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 27.31 points, or 0.21 per cent at 12,827.49, in a modest rebound following a 4.2 per cent slide in the blue-chip index in the past week.

The Nasdaq composite lost 5.19 points, or 0.21 per cent to 2,499.46 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.55 points or 0.32 per cent to 1,416.18.

With no major economic or corporate news on tap, the market braced for corporate earnings season to start as Alcoa, traditionally the first of the blue chips to report results, was set to release its quarterly financial picture on Wednesday.

'The market is at a huge crossroads here as earnings season descends upon us,' said Ms Beth Gaston Moon at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

'Earnings season could be crucial here, and the major downward revisions to fourth-quarter earnings could actually be a crutch for the bulls that leads to pleasant surprises during a critical time.'

Mr Fred Dickson at DA Davidson & Co said the selling frenzy appears to be feeding on itself as investors shun risk.

Purposely single

At 57, winemaker Bill Gulvin has never been married and has no such plans in the works.He's not a mama's boy or a playboy. Instead, the Columbia, Pa., resident calls himself a "realist" for remaining single."There aren't many really compelling reasons to get married anymore," Gulvin says.A lot of attention gets paid to single women, who can cheer themselves with chick flicks, self-help books and shows like "Sex and the City," which aim to empower female consumers to think of singledom as independence or self-reliance.But men can be single and fabulous, too.While single women have seemingly banded together to change their image in the popular culture, there's been no such battle cry for men, who have a whole different set of stereotypes to fight: They're confirmed bachelors, James Bond-style playboys, cranky old men or gay.None of this is helped by the fact that married men live longer, or by the common notion that men need a woman's touch to perform household tasks like cooking, decorating or doing their laundry.But some proud, single men say they're better off alone."A man is a sperm bank, a meal ticket, a handyman and an early retirement plan," Gulvin says.

Jacqueline Gold: the woman who reinvented Ann Summers

Jacqueline Gold is the woman who turned her daddy's chain of sleazy Ann Summers sex shops into a multi-million-pound 'retail experience'. But beyond the boardroom there have been far harder battles - like facing up to years of sex abuse. She talks to Lucy Cavendish

One in 100 US adults behind bars: study

WASHINGTON: More than one in 100 adults are now behind bars in the United States, home to the worlds largest penal population, with a startling one in nine young black men incarcerated, a study showed Thursday.

The prison and jail population rose by 25,000 to 2.3 million last year, out of a US adult population of 230 million, bringing the incarceration rate to one in 99.1 for the first time in US history, said the Pew Centre on the States. By comparison, China, with a population of one billion people, was second in the world with 1.5 million inmates, followed by Russia with 890,000 people in the slammer, said the study.

America also has the dubious distinction of leading the planet in the rate of incarceration, which is higher than nations like South Africa and Iran.

Spears' parents 'fear for her life'

Britney Spears' parents have said they fear for her life after she left the UCLA Medical Centre yesterday.Jamie and Lynne Spears said they were "deeply concerned" following her release from the hospital against the wishes of the psychiatrist treating her.Britney had been on 'mental health evaluation hold' since last Thursday. It was reported earlier this week that her stay had been extended for a further 14 days.However, she unexpectedly left the facility on Wednesday accompanied by security guards. There were no police or paparazzi present, according to reports.Her parents said in a statement: "We are deeply concerned about our daughter's safety and vulnerability and we believe her life is presently at risk. We ask only that the court's orders be enforced so that a tragedy may be averted."It is thought the singer will undergo additional treatment following her release.

Lundekvam fighting to save career

Thanks Claus but time for new blood. What's so annoying is, they knew about Claus and Svensson for ages yet did nothing - we'd probably not be in this state if we draughted in suitable replacements. They can't claim it was a surprise! Good foresight Saints, as usual! IDIOTS!! .