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French magistrate goes on drunken rampage with Masonic sword Tue Jul 18, 1:47 PM ET
PARIS (AFP) - A Paris judge has been sent to a psychiatric hospital after going on a drunken rampage with a Masonic sword, legal sources said.
Police were called to the home of Philippe Bonnet of the Paris appeals court after a guest staying there alerted them to his unusual behaviour.
He attacked the two officers with the sword, slightly injuring one, before being overpowered with a flash-ball, a non-lethal weapon used by French police. He was then taken to a psychiatric hospital.
Two weeks previously, the judge had threatened his host with the weapon during a party he attended. He was placed under judicial investigation and given a conditional release.
A legal source said the chief prosecutor for Paris had since launched disciplinary procedures to have the judge temporarily suspended.
Not a good ideal.
Minivan crashes during drivers' switch 1 hour, 10 minutes ago
FULDA, Minn. - It's probably not a good idea to switch drivers while the vehicle is moving.
The State Patrol said three young people were in a Chrysler Town and Country minivan on U.S. Highway 59 on Monday when they tried to switch drivers while the cruise control was set.
During the exchange, the van went out of control and overturned, sliding into a ditch. The van was totaled.
The driver, 19, was airlifted to a hospital with possible internal injuries. Two passengers were sent to another hospital with head injuries.
Man charged for putting boa in mailbox 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. - A man's idea of a joke, putting a pet 6-foot boa constrictor in his mailbox to startle a mail carrier, could bring him time behind bars.
"It was an incredibly stupid practical joke that wasn't funny," said James R. Mell, 31, an auto mechanic from the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills.
Mell put the snake in his mailbox July 7, The Detroit News said.
"I thought it was funny. Looking back on it, it isn't, and it wasn't," he said.
On Monday, federal prosecutors charged Mell with obstructing the delivery of the U.S. mail. The charge carries a penalty of up to six months in prison.
Postal carrier Nakeema Anderson was making her rounds when she opened Mell's mailbox and faced the snake, court records say.
"Anderson reported observing a white male in the driveway laughing," said a report from U.S. postal inspector Andrew Gottfried.
Mell wrote a letter apologizing to Anderson and said he hoped that would settle the matter.
"It was something stupid that a 10-year-old would do, and I'm sorry," Mell said.
The pet snake is not poisonous, does not bite and has tiny teeth, the newspaper said.
"It will only strike at something that it can actually eat," Mell said.
Study calls for better green fuel alternatives By Mark Weinraub
Thu Jul 13, 4:23 PM ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fuels produced from corn and soybeans offer clear economic and environmental advantages over fossil fuels but scientists should still work to develop even cleaner alternative energy sources that do not sap the world's food supplies, a study said.
"There is a great need for renewable energy supplies that do not cause significant environmental harm and do not compete with the food supply," said the study published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study by the University of Minnesota and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota examined the amount of energy soybean and corn fuels produced in relation to the energy it took to produce them. It also looked at the environmental impact of the fuels.
Researchers of the study found that soybean-based biodiesel is more efficient than corn-based ethanol in spite of recent excitement surrounding ethanol.
"Among current food-based biofuels, soybean biodiesel has major advantages over corn grain ethanol," the study said.
Biodiesel yields 93 percent more energy than it takes to produce, well above ethanol's 25 percent yield.
The production of soybean-based biodiesel emitted 41 percent less greenhouse gases than the fossil fuel process, while ethanol production's greenhouse gas emissions were 12 percent lower than for fossil fuels.
But growing soybeans and corn can cause harm to the environment through the application of pesticides and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers.
Additionally, corn and soybean-based fuels will not be able to satisfy the demand for transportation without compromising the food supply around the world.
Ethanol currently has the clear lead in the alternative fuels race in the United States. Companies are spending billions of dollars to build ethanol production plants.
Some forecasters are predicting the demand for corn will exceed the amount grown in coming years because of ethanol.
The U.S. Agriculture Department pegged the amount of corn in the United States at the end of the current marketing year on August 31 at 2.062 billion bushels, but by next year the supply was expected to be cut in half to just over 1.0 billion bushels.
But some analysts said the numbers did not factor in an accurate forecast for ethanol usage.
Doctor, nurses arrested for Katrina mercy killings by Allen Johnson
18 minutes ago
BATON ROUGE, United States (AFP) - US investigators have charged a doctor and two nurses with the murder of four patients in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, officials said.
"We're talking about people that pretended maybe they were god and they made that decision," Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti said at a press conference in the state capitol of Baton Rouge.
"This is not euthanasia. This is a homicide."
An arrest warrant filed Monday charged that the three gave lethal doses of morphine and another drug to patients at Memorial Medical Center three days after the hurricane devastated New Orleans on August 29.
Doctor Anna Pou, 50, and nurses Cheri Landry, 49, and Laura Budo, 43, were booked with four counts of second-degree murder. They were released on bail to await formal arraignment.
The arrests followed an investigation launched after rumors circulated that medical staff had euthanized patients whom they thought would not survive the harsh conditions that followed Katrina, including lack of food, drinking water and air conditioning.
Most of the patients and the family members who sheltered at Memorial Medical Center were evacuated but 45 bodies were found in the hospital, of which 11 were already in the morgue when the storm hit.
According to an affidavit, the lethal doses were administered to patients deemed too sick to be evacuated.
Four hospital administrators heard of plans to give patients lethal doses, although none of the key witnesses said they knew who made the decision, according to the documents.
Attorneys for LifeCare, a long-term care facility which leased the floor where the dead patients were located, reported all of this to the Louisiana attorney general's office on September 14.
According to the affidavit, one hospital administrator said the plan was they "were not going to leave any living patients behind."
Pou later told a LifeCare employee that many of the patients on the seventh floor "were probably not going to survive" and that "a decision had been made to administer lethal doses," the affidavit said.
At least one patient was "aware, conscious and alert, but that he weighed 380 pounds and was paralyzed. Dr. Pou decided that (he) could not be evacuated... and that they didn't have a lot of time and that she needed to clear the floors as soon they could," the affidavit said.
Most of New Orleans was flooded by Hurricane Katrina.
Emergency generators in New Orleans hospitals quickly ran out of power and hospital staff used flashlights to tend to patients in the sweltering heat and stench of backed-up sewage.
Outside, the city descended into chaos and evacuations were stymied by reports of snipers shooting at medical helicopters.
The decision to impose murder charges does not sufficiently address the issue of motive and the complex ethical questions underlying the situation, University of New Orleans criminologist Peter Scharf told AFP.
"This is a case that involves a clash possibly between moral duty and legal duty," he said.
"The issue that escapes discussion in the action of the attorney general is ... what are your duties in that kind of situation? Were these acts of conscience or acts of crime?"
While there has been much talk of the use of mercy killings in New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes as the city descended into anarchy, these are the first criminal charges to be filed.
The owners of a New Orleans nursing home where 34 people drowned in Katrina floodwaters were charged in September with homicide.
They had refused an offer by local authorities to move the patients and could also have moved them through a contract with a local ambulance company, but chose not to do so.
Thanks ddf. I'll get my picks in soon.
eur/usd showing RSI bullish divergence on the 60 min chart. Could see a minor bounce soon.
Stewart no longer in top 10.
Rank (+/-) Drivers Total Pts Behind Starts Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10 DNF Winnings
1 - Jimmie Johnson 2789 Leader 19 1 3 7 15 0 $5,825,556
2 - Matt Kenseth 2721 68 19 0 2 10 11 1 $3,809,422
3 +1 Jeff Burton 2478 311 19 2 0 4 12 0 $2,753,347
4 +4 Kyle Busch 2455 334 19 1 1 7 10 1 $2,787,128
5 +1 Mark Martin 2451 338 19 0 0 3 9 0 $2,419,128
6 -1 Kasey Kahne 2445 344 19 4 4 6 11 2 $3,618,809
7 -4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2428 361 19 0 1 6 8 2 $3,029,510
8 +1 Kevin Harvick 2408 381 19 0 1 7 10 0 $3,261,616
9 - Jeff Gordon 2342 447 19 0 2 6 8 4 $3,423,286
10 +2 Greg Biffle 2342 447 19 2 1 5 10 3 $2,624,056
11 -4 Tony Stewart 2331 458 19 1 2 8 9 3 $3,915,094
Arkansas Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller dies By KELLY P. KISSEL, Associated Press Writer
26 minutes ago
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller, an unassuming billionaire who inherited his father's philanthropic spirit and hoped to follow him to the governor's office, died after unsuccessful treatments for a blood disorder. He was 57.
Rockefeller abandoned his gubernatorial campaign after being diagnosed last July with an unclassified myeloproliferative disorder that can lead to leukemia. Two bone-marrow transplants failed to cure it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060717/ap_on_re_us/obit_rockefeller;_ylt=AnNnRRYYn8eTJbkQ3hLkq7ZI2ocA;_...
Thanks, covered at 0.7480.
+27 and +49
That was fast. Nice job AJ. But I moved down a spot thanks to Newman.
Probably been out playing golf. The weathers been nice (but hot) here. Maybe he'll log in this week and let us know what he's been up to.
Don't know. Haven't heard from him since his birthday.
That's a good story AJ. Red probably loves racing as much as anyone. Hard to believe he's still racing with all the injuries he's had. I like this 70+ with four metal screws in his spine he still beats Nextel Cup stars Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Joe Nemechek, Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader in a special match race at Talladega Short Track.
New Hampshire
Newman (12)
Burton (31)
Martin (6)
Thanks
Ooops, sorry. Here ya go.
Yes, I think it will do good.
It's a maze Jim, but not as we know it Fri Jul 14, 6:17 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - A British fan of the cult TV show "Star Trek" has boldly gone where no man has gone before and created a giant maize maze dedicated to the programme.
Trekkie Tom Pearcy used satellite technology to help him cut the maze in the corn field at his farm near York, northern England, to celebrate 40 years since the show's first episode.
The maze, whose design includes images of character Mr Spock and the USS Enterprise spaceship, used 1.5 million maize plants and claims to be the biggest of its kind in the world.
Patient wearing oxygen mask sparks fire 7 minutes ago
DALLAS - A patient who was wearing an oxygen mask tried to light a cigarette in his hospital room, sparking a fire that forced the evacuation of more than 100 patients, destroyed the room and melted medical equipment, officials said.
A nurse at Methodist Dallas Medical Center rescued the man from his burning bed shortly after the Thursday night blaze started. He suffered serious burns and was taken to the burn unit another Dallas hospital, but no one else was hurt, hospital officials said.
"He somehow got the strength to smoke a cigarette with a nonremovable mask," Dallas Fire-Rescue Capt. Paul Martinez said. "I don't know how he did it, but he did it."
Hospital sprinklers kept the blaze mostly in one room, said fire Lt. Joel Lavender.
Officials didn't release the man's name or condition Friday, citing medical privacy laws.
Postal worker caught with thousands of letters Fri Jul 14, 11:14 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A Berlin postal worker who was caught with more than several thousand undelivered letters in his basement has admitted he was overwhelmed by the job but insisted he planned to deliver them soon.
Police recently found 90 boxes of post stacked in his basement. The postal worker, 36, identified as Thomas H., told Bild newspaper Friday he was only temporarily storing the post at his house and friends would help with delivery.
"There were just too much and I couldn't deliver it all by myself," he told the newspaper. Police said some of the letters found had been postmarked as early as April. The postal worker faces disciplinary action.
Craze Continues: Nike Intros iPod Shoe Jay Wrolstad, toptechnews.com
Fri Jul 14, 12:13 PM ET
Nike is off and running with its iPod shoe, providing joggers real-time feedback on distance, time, and calories burned during a workout, as well as the tunes to keep them moving.
The Nike+iPod Sport Kit, listing for US$29 and available from Apple, is designed specifically for the Nike+ footwear line and is touted as the first in a line of collaborative projects between the two companies.
A sensor and receiver embedded in the shoe provide a wireless link to the iPod, with workout information stored on the device and displayed on the screen. Runners receive audible feedback through the headphones, and data stored on the Nano can be downloaded to a Mac or PC after a run.
Nike's Air Zoom Moire+ and Nike Air Zoom+, are the first offerings in a line of Nike+iPod shoes being introduced by the sports-apparel giant. This iPod incranation also marks another step in Apple's continued efforts to draw new users to its popular mobile-entertainment devices.
The Nike+iPod system delivers music and commentary to help joggers make it through their workouts. Nike is offering workout-related podcasts that include advice from marathon runner Alberto Salazar and inspiration from bicycling champion Lance Armstrong.
This fall, Nike plans to unveil six additional footwear styles designed to hold the iPod sensor, an down the road you can expect a collection of jackets, tops, shorts, and armbands designed for the Nike+iPod Sport Kit.
Brand Recognition
"What's cool about the Apple-Nike announcement is that the iPod is now an application platform for personal information," said Ted Schadler, a Forrester Research analyst, in a blog posting. "It could always store contacts and photos. But now it can log your miles, calories, and exercise time."
With the Nike deal, Apple has locked up another major brand, Schadler noted. "It started with BMW putting iPods in cars. Now Nike, the biggest brand in sports apparel, is in Apple's marketing team. Companies now understand that Apple is a good partner for commercial ventures."
Wearable Tech
Wearable technology continues to evolve, with Apple being among several companies offering new products for an increasingly connected society. Earlier this year, Levi Strauss introduced a new line of jeans specifically geared toward iPod users. The $200 trousers come complete with headphones, a joystick, and even a docking cradle.
In addition, apparel maker Burton got a lot of attention during the Winter Olympics with its Bluetooth-enabled snowboard jackets featuring padded casings for cell phones and MP3 players, removable speakers in the hood, and built-in control pads on the sleeves.
The Sport Kit requires a Nike+ shoe and a iPod nano with a USB 2.0 port and Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later and iTunes 6.0.5. It also works with a PC running Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional (SP2) and iTunes 6.0.5.
I added to my aud/usd short @ 0.7529. The recent rise to 0.7546 fell short of yesterdays high (0.7565) and looks corrective to me. I'm going to hold into the weekend and see if it drops next week.
I agree. A lot of data coming out next week. PPI Tuesday, CPI Wednesday and Bernanke testifies before Senate (Wednesday) and House (Thursday).
[18:36 EUR/USD: Big Economic Week Clouded by Winds of War] Boston, July 14. Putting aside the escalating Middle East situation for a moment, EUR/USD faces a potentially pivotal week next week. ZEW is due for release on Tuesday and
another decline is expected, the sixth in a row as investor expectations are tempered. Wednesday is a huge day in the States with both CPI and Bernanke on the calendar. All that is overshadowed now with US monetary policy impacted more by geopolitical events and their impact on energy prices than by traditional price gauges. Bernanke and company will very likely stand aside in the months ahead and let high energy prices tighten monetary conditions for them. Other central banks like the ECB may follow suit and hike rates less than the market currently expects. An August hike still may come, but don"t be too quick to assume multiple hikes are in the pipeline if oil stays up in the $75-80 region.
Jamie.Coleman@Thomson.com
'Pretty well retired' Trickle to race in home state
By CHRIS JENKINS, AP Sports Writer
July 13, 2006
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Dick Trickle just signed up for Medicare.
But that doesn't mean he won't try to trade some paint with NASCAR star Matt Kenseth and other notable drivers when he comes out of semiretirement Tuesday night for the Slinger Nationals in Slinger, Wis.
``I'm going there to win,'' said Trickle, who turns 65 in October. ``I ain't going there to show.''
Trickle hasn't raced at NASCAR's top level since 2002, but he still races occasionally at minor-league short tracks in his home state of Wisconsin.
``I'm pretty well retired,'' Trickle said by telephone from his home outside Charlotte, N.C. ``I don't have them scheduled yet, but I'll probably run another couple races in Wisconsin this year.''
So, does he still have his skills?
``I don't do it every day, so I'm probably not as tough as I was,'' Trickle said. ``But I'm as good as I was.''
Trickle never won a race in 24 years at NASCAR's top level, then called Winston Cup.
He did win two races in the second-tier Busch Series, and gained a cult following in part because of a name that could induce giggles from any self-respecting eighth-grader. ESPN commentators built the legend by noting where Trickle finished every week.
In the Midwest, however, Trickle was known as perhaps the most formidable grassroots short-track driver in history.
Record-keeping for grassroots racing is sporadic, but a fan Web site, tricklefan.com, credits him with more than 1,200 career victories in several different forms of racing -- proving, perhaps, that you don't have to be holding a rod and reel to tell fish stories in Wisconsin.
Trickle will try to add another victory to that total -- whatever it is -- at Slinger Speedway's quarter-mile oval on Tuesday, when he faces a field expected to include Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR champion, and NASCAR regulars Scott Wimmer and Todd Kluever.
Wimmer, who calls Trickle a family friend, said the old man still brags that he can win.
``You can't argue with him,'' Wimmer said before a Busch Series race at the Milwaukee Mile last month. ``He's won more races than anyone in the world, I think.''
Wimmer credits Trickle for helping Wisconsin drivers make inroads into NASCAR, where drivers who weren't from the South used to be viewed skeptically.
``Every time you talk to him, you learn something,'' Wimmer said.
Trickle originally planned to race a 17-year-old car on Tuesday, but said he ``couldn't quite get it whipped into shape'' the last time he ran it. So Trickle had friends build him a new car.
``This'll be a test, but I'm up for it,'' Trickle said.
Trickle is spending his semiretirement on a sprawling property on the outskirts of Charlotte, where he lives with his three children and their families.
Trickle said he now spends most of his time keeping his ``toys'' running, fiddling with a collection of motorcycles, tractors and other mechanical goodies. He sprinkles in a bit of golf, too.
``I tell my kids, 'You're lucky I didn't try to make a living golfing. We'd really be broke,''' he said.
Still short aud/usd. I raised my stop to 5 pips above yesterday's high @ 0.7570. Right now I'm down 20 pips.
Suspected thief robs judge at own trial Thu Jul 13, 12:53 PM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A 61-year-old German on trial for theft got himself into more trouble when he stole from the judge during his court hearing, police said on Thursday.
Police in the central town of Coburg said that while facing her at the bench, the man pocketed a bunch of keys from the judge, who did not notice until he had left the room.
When confronted by court officials in the toilet, the man, who had a string of convictions for theft, told them he had been shocked to discover the keys in his pocket.
"He told them he realised how suspicious his story would sound and that he had therefore hidden the keys under a toilet brush," said police spokesman Bernhard Schmitt. "He'd been stealing all his life so it was probably just an intuitive act."
While the court officials decided what to do next, the man wrote a written confession to the deed. The theft meant the initial trial had to be temporarily suspended on legal grounds in case the judge showed bias in the case.
I live about 30 miles from this cemetery. Drove by it many times.
No bids yet on crypts at Ark. cemetery Thu Jul 13, 1:07 PM ET
PARAGOULD, Ark. - No one's beating down the doors to share their final resting place with a legendary gangster.
The Paragould City Beautiful Commission said Wednesday it hasn't received any bids on two crypts at the Linwood Cemetery, but officials say people are interested in buying a piece of the decades-old mausoleum that contains the remains of gangster Frank "Jelly" Nash, as well as other local notables.
Nash was killed June 17, 1933, in Kansas City, Mo.'s "Union Station Massacre." Nash and three police officers were killed in a failed attempt by gangsters such as Pretty Boy Floyd to free Nash, who was being transported to the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan.
The commission is auctioning off the crypts at the mausoleum to raise money to beautify the local landmark.
Jackie Branch, a member of the Paragould City Beautiful Commission, said an open house was planned for interested bidders. She said she expects the crypts to go for $3,000 to $10,000.
"It's very unique," Branch said Wednesday. "It's the only public mausoleum of its size that we know of in the state."
The mausoleum, built in the 1920s, cost about $30,000 to build, Branch said. The commission is trying to have the structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bids on the crypts may be made in the city clerk's office at City Hall.
The commission last year added lights around the mausoleum, at the intersection of U.S. 412 and U.S. 49. Kaut White, a member of the commission, donated two crypts as the panel sought ways to fund improvements that will include a landscape design.
Three trustees had maintained the mausoleum before it was turned over to the city to ensure its maintenance. The mausoleum was built from Bedford stone and white marble, with brass and copper features. It holds 160 crypts.
Woman's 10-cent bet pays $21,584 at track Thu Jul 13, 4:53 PM ET
SWARTZ CREEK, Mich. - A woman placed a 10-cent bet at a Michigan horse track and won $21,584, a track official says. The Michigan woman, whose name was not released, made the bet Friday at Sports Creek Raceway in Swartz Creek, about 55 miles northwest of Detroit.
She placed two 10-cent Superfecta bets on a race being simulcast from the Hollywood Park track in Inglewood, Calif. The Superfecta requires gamblers to pick the four top-finishing horses in correct order.
"One of them won," Sports Creek general manager Chris Locking told The Detroit News.
She returned to the track Monday to collect her winnings.
"Pretty good return for 10 cents, isn't it?" Locking said.
Many tracks nationwide have introduced such 10-cent wagers to lure more customers, Locking said.
"It's been very successful," he said. "Twenty-thousand doesn't happen every day, but on a regular basis you'll see people winning $70, $200, $500 on a dime bet."
Comedian Red Buttons dies in L.A. at 87 By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 27 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES - Red Buttons, the carrot-topped burlesque comedian who became a top star in early television and then won a 1957 Oscar with a surprising dramatic turn in "Sayonara," died Thursday. He was 87.
Buttons died of vascular disease at his home in the Century City area of Los Angeles, publicist Warren Cowan said. He had been ill for some time, and was with family members when he died, Cowan said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060713/ap_on_en_tv/obit_buttons;_ylt=Aj0SDk8OEE.N8l7.LMHHe9hI2ocA;_ylu=...
Smart cab driver. He gets the tip before calling the police.
Follow that cab... Thu Jul 13, 10:26 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - Two Albanian men carrying stolen computers and flat-screen televisions worth $13,000 flagged down a Berlin taxi to transport their loot home but were later arrested after the cab driver called the police.
The taxi driver first helped the thieves load bulky boxes of stolen goods in front of a law office in the government quarter at 1 a.m. and then drove them to their apartment in a north Berlin district, a police spokeswoman said Thursday.
After collecting his fare and a generous tip, the taxi driver notified the police who later raided the apartment and found other stolen items from previous burglaries.
short aud/usd @ 0.7507
stop 0.7537
Sounds like a good strategy. I will probably do something like that. I think the tension in the middle east is helping keep the dollar up.
Police Dog Blamed for Putting Truck in Gear, Running Over Woman
Thursday, July 13, 2006
OGDEN, Utah — A police dog that was left in a pickup truck with the engine running apparently knocked the vehicle into gear and ran down a woman who was walking to her mailbox.
Mary F. Stone, 41, was expected to remain hospitalized with a fractured pelvis and tailbone until at least Friday, said her husband, Paul Stone.
The dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, had been left in the truck while its handler responded to a domestic disturbance call Tuesday, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck's engine was on so Ranger would have air conditioning.
Draper said Ranger must have hit the shift on the steering column, putting the automatic transmission into gear. As the truck slowly rolled forward, police officers yelled to Stone, but she couldn't get out of the way in time, he said.
A front and rear tire ran over her. "She had tire marks on her clothes," her husband said.
The truck then went through the Stones' yard and struck a vehicle in the driveway.
Draper said police were trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily.
It is sad. First I heard about the horse in a long time. His chances don't look good.
Barbaro may die due to foot inflamation By RICHARD ROSENBLATT, AP Racing Writer
23 minutes ago
Barbaro
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro has developed a severe case of laminitis, a potentially fatal disease caused by uneven weight distribution in the limbs, and his veterinarian called his chances for survival "a long shot."
Dean Richardson, the chief surgeon who has been treating Barbaro since the colt suffered catastrophic injuries in the Preakness on May 20, said the Derby winner's chances of survival are poor.
"I'd be lying if I said anything other than poor," Richardson said Thursday at a news conference at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. "As long as the horse is not suffering, we're going to continue to try" to save him.
"If we can keep him comfortable, we think it's worth the effort."
If not, Barbaro could be euthanized at any time. Richardson said if Barbaro doesn't respond quickly to treatment, "It could happen within 24 hours."
Richardson said the laminitis, a painful condition, has all but destroyed the colt's hoof on his uninjured left hind leg.
"The left hind foot is basically as bad a laminitis as you can have. It's as bad as it gets," Richardson said, while adding that horses can recover from the disease. He said he has discussed the situation closely with owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who have stressed that their main concern is for Barbaro to be pain free.
Richardson said Barbaro's injured right hind leg — the one that shattered at the start of the Preakness — is healing well, but because a horse has to be evenly balanced to carry his weight, laminitis set in on the other foot.
A procedure called a hoof wall resection removed a large portion of Barbaro's left rear hoof.
"He is in a foot cast at this moment," Richardson said. "We'll see if can regrow his hoof. We're talking about months and months and months. What we're doing on this horse is absolutely unusual, but it's not unheard of."
The grim update came after nearly six weeks of what was considered to be a smooth recovery. Barbaro underwent five hours of surgery May 21 so a titanium plate and 27 screws could be inserted into three broken bones and the pastern joint. He has had three more operations in recent days.
"I really thought we were going to make it two weeks ago," Richardson said. "Today I'm not as confident."
Barbaro won the Derby by 6 1/2 lengths, was unbeaten in six races and expected to make a Triple Crown bid before his misstep ended his racing career. He was taken to the New Bolton Center hours after breaking down and underwent five hours of surgery the next day.
At that time, Richardson said the chances of the horse's survival were 50-50.
Since the break down, there has been a public outpouring of sympathy as well-wishers, young and old, showed up at the New Bolton Center with cards, flowers, gifts and goodies. And thousands of e-mails poured in to the hospital's Web site to voice concern and support.
No. I'm looking for a place to go long. The daily charts still look bullish. Just looking for the 60 min charts to stop declining.
I have IE 6. I posted there before. They may be having problems. Best to ask Relentless or Ataglance they run the site.
eur/usd is still in a downtrend on the 60 min charts. I'm looking for it to go lower before buying.