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Show 1 Friday, March 23,2007 797-1769 statesman@cc.usu.edu People Today's Issue Dedications TnTheNews Today is Friday, March 23, 2007Today's issue of The Utah Statesman is published especially for Sayward Blotter, a senior majoring in interior design from Chicago, Illinois. NEW YORK (AP) - Dina Lohan says her daughter Lindsay isn't an alcoholic and that people are wrong to assume that she's a clubhopping "party mom." "Oh, the party mom, the party mom, the party mom!" Lohan says. "Whoever said that, my exhusband or whatever, I'm not the party mom!" "Listen to me: Lindsay would drag me, literally drag my loser butt (to a club) and say, VI need you to know who these people are,'" Lohan, 44, says in an interview in the April issue of Harper's Bazaar, on newsstands Tuesday. "Yeah, she trusts my judgment. She's in such a whirlwind; she's in a tornado. I mean, we're talking serious earthquake, you know?" The 20-year-old actress/tabloid target checked into the Wonderland Center in Los Angeles in January. Her publicist, Leslie Sloane, declined comment to The Associated Press on Thursday when asked for details. Sloane had confirmed in December that Lohan was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Lohan says her daughter isn't an alcoholic. "Noooo! She is just a 20year-old who had to reel it in. And she's from an addictive personality genetically," she tells the magazine. "Lindsay had to fall and get up," she says. "I knew it was coming. I told her, but finally she was like, 'Mommy, I had to do it myself.'" Lohan also talks about another member of the young Hollywood set, 25-year-old pop star Britney Spears, who embarked on a bout of bizarre behavior after filing for divorce from Kevin Federline in November. Spears recently completed a stint in rehab. "Cut her some slack," Lohan says. Clarifications And Corrections "~:"-i The policy of The Utah Statesman is to correct any error made as soon as possible. If you find something you would like clarified or find unfair, please contact the editor at 797-1762 or TSC 105. National Briefs A Quick Look "'•"' "'"" Democrats want big vote on Iraq troops WASHINGTON (AP) - On the eve of a critical vote, House Democrats labored Thursday to lock down a majority behind a Sept. 1, 2008, date for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, the sternest test yet for a determined new majority eager to challenge President Bush. "If it comes off it's a superb accomplishment," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., as the party's leaders cajoled liberals who want an even faster timetable and moderates fearful of tying the hands of the commander in chief and generals in the field. Democratic aides expressed growing confidence of success when the vote is called, which could be as early as Friday. As evidence, they pointed to support from several longtime opponents of the war. "I want this war ended today. If I thought it would help this war ending sooner by voting against the bill, I would vote against it in a heartbeat," said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts. Blackstone seeks to raise up to $4 billion NEW YORK CAP) - Blackstone Group LP, one of the world's biggest private equity firms, on Thursday said it seeks to raise up to $4 billion in a highly anticipated initial public offering. The New York-based firm, known for multibillion dollar takeovers like February's $23 billion buyout of Equity Office Properties, announced its intentions to go public in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Blackstone - founded in 1985 by former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankers Stephen Schwarzman and Pete Peterson - said the initial public offering will allow it to tap new sources of capital for buyouts. In addition, it helps extend Blackstone s brand name and gives management a way to profit from the increased value of their stakes. The deal ends more than a week of speculation that Schwarzman planned to turn the firm into a public entity. The filing said that Schwarzman and other top management plan to keep control of the company and the collection of companies it has acquired. AP'Photo/SangTan THE WRECKAGE OF A DOUBLE-DECKER bus with its top blown off and damaged cars scattered on the road at Tavistock Square in central London in this July 7,2005 file photo. British counter-terrorist police said Thursday March 22,2007 they arrested three suspects in the deadly suicide bomb attacks on the London transit system in 2005. British police arrest 5 suspects in London transit bombings LONDON (AP) - Counterterrorist police arrested three men Thursday in the 2005 suicide attacks on the London transit system, the first major development in the investigation in months. Two of the suspects were detained as they prepared to board a flight to Pakistan. The third man was arrested in Leeds - the northern city that was home to three of the four bombers. Police also raided five properties in the city - at least one on the same street where one of the bombers lived. "Anybody who imagined that this had simply been treated as four lone wolves or a lone pack of wolves on July 7, 2005 is very wrong," Lord Carlile, the government's independent reviewer of terror laws, told the British Broadcasting Corp. "There is a lot of work going on." No one has ever been charged in connection with the bombings, which were the deadliest attack on London since World War II. The four bombers and 52 commuters died in blasts on three subway trains and a double-decker bus, and more than 7OO people were injured. Thursday's arrests came after criticism of the Metropolitan Police, whose investigation had consumed enormous resources and spanned the globe with little outward sign of progress. An official account of the attacks last year concluded the plotters who inspired and prepared the bombers were still at large. All three men were arrested on suspicion of committing, preparing or instigating acts of terrorism. Police said the suspects were being taken to a high-security central London police sta- tion for questioning. "We need to know who else, apart from the bombers, knew what they were planning. Did anyone encourage them? Did anyone help them with money, or accommodation?" a police statement said. None of the men were identified. The two arrested at Manchester Airport were aged 23 and 30 and the third was 26. Under British law, police will have 28 days to question them before they must be charged or released. Authorities described the property searches as low-key and said they were not looking for bombs or bomb-making equipment. Officers also searched an apartment and a Late Night ^LONDOM Culture Comments'M:M£.ii seepage 12 David Letterman, March 21, 2007 Top Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before Ordering A $1,000 Pizza Judge says no to class action against State Farm over Ratrina damage (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday refused to allow a class action against State Farm Insurance Cos. over the insurer's denial of claims on Mississippi's Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. State Farm policyholder Judy Guice had asked U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. to permit her to join other policyholders whose homes were reduced to slabs by the August 2005 storm in a class action against the Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer. But the judge, who heard testimony on the proposal during a Feb. 28 hearing in Gulfport, Miss., ruled Thursday that a class action for "slab cases" is "inconsistent with the requirements of due process." "While each of the many 'slab cases' has in common the fact that the insured property was totally destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, the many other factual differences between the cases preclude the relief that Guice is seeking," Senter wrote in his three-page ruling. In a class action, a court authorizes a single person or a small group of people to represent the 10. "Will they let me rent a pizza?" interests of a larger group. Guice's attorneys have argued that the facts in each "slab case" against State Farm are essentially the same and should be heard together. But State Farm says the cases must be tried separately because the facts of each claim are different. "We're pleased with Judge Senter s affirmation that each claim is unique and no two property owners experience the same type of loss," State Farm spokesman Phil Supple said. "It's only right that each claim be tried on its own merits, separately." A disappointed Guice said certifying a class action may be the only way to provide legal relief to homeowners who are "too weak to forge ahead alone." "In the end, I'm sure that justice will prevail," she said. In his ruling, Senter said three recent trials for lawsuits against State Farm have taught him that "there are as many differences between the 'slab cases' as there are similarities" in how Katrina damaged homes. 9- "Does my bank offer pizza mort- \ gages?" | 8. "Can I afford the extra cheese?" '• 7. "Does blowing my kid's tuition on pizza make me a bad father?" 6. "If I don't order a $1,000 pizza, have the terrorists won?" i 5. "Which would be a bigger waste - this or a contribution to the Dennis Kucinich Presidential Campaign : Fund?" 4. "Is there a discount if I order more' than one?" j i 3. "What would Al Gore do?" 2. "How much for a large?" 1. "Only $1,000? What's the catch?" £32 All cruiser bikes and accessories on sale 10%-30% off • Schwinn • Electra Store Hours: Monday - Friday 10-6, Saturday 10 - 5 65 South Main, Downtown, Logan • 753-7175 : Joyrldeblkes.com Making Bikes Fun Again Sale runs Friday, March 23Wed., March 28 |