Natural gas rally continues after inventory report

Natural gas prices continued a weeklong rally Thursday on a government report that showed gas in storage increased less than expected last week.

Natural gas prices rose 5.5 cents to settle at $4.339 per 1,000 cubic feet of gas on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have jumped about 9 percent since May 5.

The Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 94 billion cubic feet last week to about 2.09 trillion cubic feet. Analysts expected an increase of between 100 billion and 104 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Despite than lower-than-expected build, natural gas in storage remains well above normal levels for this time of year. And unlike oil prices, which have been rebounded sharply in the past year, natural gas prices have remained cheap.

The recession has hurt demand for gas as industries and consumers used less energy. Meanwhile producers are pulling more gas from the country's vast underground reserves, pushing supplies higher.

Oil prices continued to slide Thursday. Crude followed the stock market lower, with investors disappointed that jobless claims did not fall as much as expected in the weekly report from the Labor Department. Benchmark crude for June delivery dropped $1.25 to settle at $74.40 a barrel on the Nymex. Prices have fallen about 15 percent in the last 10 days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off about 85 points in mid-afternoon trading.

Oil prices have yet to be affected by the giant spill in the Gulf of Mexico though there is worry that the spill may eventually interfere with tankers carrying imported oil to Gulf ports and vessels moving refined products to other parts of the country.

The well's owner, BP PLC, said Thursday that its costs for trying to stop the gusher, containing the spill and helping Gulf states foot the response tab totaled $450 million, up $100 million since its Monday update to securities regulators. The spill started after an oil rig exploded and sank on April 20.

Lower oil prices are slowly making their way to drivers filling up at the pump. Gasoline prices fell 0.6 cent overnight to a national average of $2.89 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Prices have fallen 3.9 cents in the past week, but remain 4.2 cents higher than a month ago and 62.3 cents above year-ago levels.

In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil fell 2.72 cents to settle at $2.1319 a gallon, gasoline lost 1.53 cents to settle at $2.1951 a gallon.

In London, Brent crude was down $1.09 to settle at $80.51 on the ICE futures exchange.

___

Associated Press writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

Songwriters' competition

SONGWRITERS across Carmarthenshire are being urged to hurry upwith their entries for the 2012 Can i Gymru (Song for Wales)competition.

The deadline for entries is Monday, January 9. The competitionwill be broadcast on S4C on March 4. The top prize is Pounds 7,500and the honour of representing Wales in the Pan Celtic Festival.

Entries by composers can be on CD, cassette or mp3 and must beaccompanied by an entry form, which is available, along with fullcompetition details, at the Can i Gymru website: s4c.co.uk/canigymru. The minimum age is 16.

Secretariat a Star Never to Be Forgotten

I'll never forget Secretariat. He was like a machine at work.Arlington International Racecourse will honor the greatest horse Iever saw when the $400,000 Secretariat is run Aug. 28.

The only time "Big Red" ran at Arlington, he attracted arecord 40,000 fans. He won an Invitational Stake race June 30,1973, by nine lengths.

No horse in the Secretariat Stake will resemble him other thanhe'll have four legs. It figures to be a good race because the purseis big enough and the race is on the turf, something that attractsgood horses to run 1 1/4 miles.

I thought it would be a good idea to have Secretariat'sjockey, Ron Turcotte, at Arlington for the race. But Turcottesaid his daughter Lynn is getting married a few days after that andhe'll be unable to make it.

"Maybe next year," said Turcotte, whose last stakes winner wasaboard my Old Frankfort.

Turcotte was paralyzed when a horse he was riding fell atBelmont Park on July 13, 1978. That finished his riding career.

Turcotte was something else. He rode his heart out on everyhorse he guided. He won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, each by 21/2 lengths, and scored in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes by 31lengths. I was there for that race. It was the first time I had toturn my head to look for the second-place horse who was Twice aPrince.

I have never seen an easier winner among the thousands of racesI've seen.

"Secretariat was something else," Turcotte said. "He was in aclass of his own. He was different than most good horses because hecould go to the front or come from behind without fighting for thebit. Other great horses like Dr. Fager and Buckpasser could go tothe front, but asked to be rated. They didn't respond near as muchas Secretariat.

"Man O'War wanted the lead and so did Dr. Fager, but Forego wasa stretch runner. Secretariat could win either way without trouble.That's why Secretariat was the greatest horse I've ever seen. He wascontrollable. I could send him to the lead and he'd win or I couldtake him back. He'd respond to whatever I wanted to do.

"They beat Dr. Fager with a rabbit (another horse was used torace with him early) and the same goes for Buckpasser. They couldn'tbeat Secretariat when a rabbit was used in an effort to run him downon the lead. When another horse wanted the lead, I just took itback. Secretariat would listen to every command. He was somethingspecial.

"Forego was a real class horse and had longer legs thanSecretariat, but he couldn't carry his speed too far. He could runfar, but without continuous speed." A good field of nine fillies and mares has been entered in the$150,000 Arlington Budweiser Breeders Cup Handicap Saturday at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. They are One Dream, 117; Words of War, 116; AubeIndienne, 115; Highland Crystal, 115; Assert Oneself, 115; Hat Key,113; Papatass, 111; Guard Dance, 111 and Due Bill, 109. The $250,000 Arlington Handicap at 1 1/4 miles on the turf Sundayshould also be an interesting race with Star of Cozzene, carrying123 pounds; Fanmore, 119; Marastani, 114; Split Run, 114, and threeor four others. Star of Cozzene won the Arlington Million last year. Harness racing from the State Fair in Springfield Aug. 16 will beavailable at all offtrack and intertrack outlets from noon until thecompletion of the program.

On Aug. 19, the State Fair harness races will be available at alloutlets from noon until just before Arlington's 3 p.m. post time.

On Sept. 3, the World Trotting Derby from the DuQuoin CountyFair will be available at Arlington and all outlets. Bill Jackson has been appointed a member of the racing board byGov. Edgar to replace Emil Troy, who died recently. Jackson is aformer state police officer assigned to the track.

NationalLeague

PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 4

ATLANTA PHILA

ab r h bi ab r h bi

MGiles 2b 5 0 0 0 Rollins ss 3 1 1 0

Rnteria ss 5 1 1 0 Utley 2b 4 2 2 1

CJones 3b 3 1 1 0 Rwand cf 4 1 2 3

AJones cf 4 1 2 2 BAbreu rf 4 0 1 0

LaRche 1b 3 0 1 0 Howard 1b 4 0 2 1

Frncur rf 4 1 1 1 Dllucci lf 3 0 0 0

McCnn c 3 0 1 0 Vctrno lf 1 0 1 0

Lngrhn lf 3 0 0 0 Lbrthal c 4 0 2 0

Smoltz p 3 0 0 0 Nunez 3b 3 1 1 0

Rmlngr p 0 0 0 0 RFrkln p 0 0 0 0

Ray p 0 0 0 0 Crmier p 0 0 0 0

Btemit ph 1 0 0 0 Burrell ph 1 0 0 0

Gordon p 0 0 0 0

BMyers p 2 0 0 0

DaBell 3b 1 0 0 0

Totals 34 4 7 3 Totals 34 5 12 5

Atlanta 000 012 010-4

Philadelphia 003 000 02x-5

E-Nunez (1). DP-Atlanta 1, Philadelphia 1. LOB-Atlanta 7,Philadelphia 6. 2B-CJones (3), Rollins (7), Lieberthal (7). HR-AJones (9), Rowand (4). CS-Dellucci (1).

IP H R ER BB SO

Atlanta

Smoltz 7 7 3 3 0 5

Remlinger L,1-2 1/3 4 2 2 0 1

Ray 2/3 1 0 0 0 0

Philadelphia

BMyers 7 5 3 2 2 5

RFranklin 2/3 2 1 1 1 1

Cormier W,2-0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0

Gordon S,9 1 0 0 0 0 2

HBP-by Cormier (McCann), by Smoltz (Rollins).

T-2:44. A-26,443 (43,647).

astros 5, cardinals 4

ST. LOUIS HOUSTON

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Eckstin ss 4 0 0 0 Biggio 2b 4 2 1 0

Rdrgez lf 4 1 1 0 Brntlett 2b 0 0 0 0

Pujols 1b 4 1 1 1 Tveras cf 4 2 3 1

Edmnd cf 4 0 1 1 Brkmn 1b 5 1 3 3

JEcrcn rf 3 0 0 0 Ensbrg 3b 4 0 1 0

Spiezio 3b 4 1 1 1 PrWlsn lf 4 0 1 0

GBnntt c 3 0 0 0 Lane rf 3 0 0 1

Miles ph 1 0 0 0 Asmus c 3 0 1 0

Luna 2b 3 1 1 1 AEvrtt ss 3 0 0 0

Mrquis p 2 0 1 0 Oswalt p 3 0 0 0

Thmps p 0 0 0 0 Lidge p 0 0 0 0

Gall ph 1 0 0 0

Flkbrg p 0 0 0 0

Totals 33 4 6 4 Totals 33 5 10 5

St. Louis 010 000 111-4

Houston 300 002 00x-5

E-Ensberg (6). DP-Houston 1. LOB-St. Louis 3, Houston 10. 2B-Rodriguez (4), Berkman 2 (7), Ausmus (4). 3B-Taveras (2). HR-Pujols(15), Spiezio (3), Luna (2). SB-Edmonds (3). SF-Lane.

IP H R ER BB SO

St. Louis

Marquis L,3-3 52/3 8 5 5 4 3

Thompson 11/3 2 0 0 1 0

Falkenborg 1 0 0 0 0 2

Houston

Oswalt W,5-1 8 4 3 3 0 5

Lidge S,10 1 2 1 1 0 1

HBP-by Lidge (JEncarnacion).

T-2:54. A-37,305 (40,976).

Diamondbacks 5, cubs 1

CHICAGO ARIZONA

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Pierre cf 3 0 1 0 Cunsell ss 4 0 2 0

Cedeno ss 5 0 3 0 Byrnes cf 4 2 2 0

TWalkr 1b 5 0 0 0 Tracy 3b 3 1 1 4

ARmrz 3b 4 1 1 0 LGnzlz lf 4 0 1 0

Murton lf 4 0 1 0 CJcksn 1b 4 1 2 0

JJones rf 3 0 2 0 ShGren rf 4 0 2 0

Barrett c 2 0 1 0 JEstda c 3 0 1 1

NPerez 2b 4 0 1 0 OHudsn 2b 4 0 0 0

Mddux p 1 0 0 1 MBtsta p 3 1 1 0

Wllmsn p 0 0 0 0 Aquino p 0 0 0 0

Bynum ph 1 0 0 0 Easley ph 1 0 0 0

Ohman p 0 0 0 0 Daigle p 0 0 0 0

Howry p 0 0 0 0 Vlverde p 0 0 0 0

Mabry ph 1 0 0 0

Totals 33 1 10 1 Totals 34 5 12 5

Chicago 000 100 000-1

Arizona 013 010 00x-5

E-Barrett 2 (3). DP-Arizona 4. LOB-Chicago 11, Arizona 7. 2B-ARamirez (4), Byrnes (6), CJackson (4). HR-Tracy (5). SB-Cedeno (2),Counsell 2 (3), Byrnes (2). SF-Tracy, JEstrada.

IP H R ER BB SO

Chicago

Maddux L,5-1 5 10 5 5 0 5

Williamson 1 1 0 0 0 0

Ohman 1 1 0 0 0 1

Howry 1 0 0 0 0 0

Arizona

MBatista W,3-1 7 8 1 1 4 1

Aquino 1 1 0 0 0 0

Daigle 0 1 0 0 1 0

Valverde S,8 1 0 0 0 1 2

Daigle pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.

T-2:49. A-25,331 (49,033).

giants 2, brewers 0

SAN FRAN MILWAUKEE

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Frndsn 2b 4 0 1 0 BClark cf 4 0 2 0

Vizquel ss 4 0 0 0 Hardy ss 4 0 0 0

Winn cf 4 0 0 0 Jenkins rf 4 0 3 0

Bonds lf 4 0 0 0 CaLee lf 4 0 0 0

Ellison lf 0 0 0 0 Fildr 1b 4 0 0 0

Alou rf 2 1 0 0 BHall 2b 3 0 0 0

Feliz 3b 3 1 1 2 Koskie 3b 3 0 0 0

Niekro 1b 3 0 0 0 Moeller c 3 0 0 0

Mtheny c 3 0 1 0 Bush p 2 0 0 0

Schmdt p 3 0 0 0 Gross ph 1 0 0 0

La Rsa p 0 0 0 0

Totals 30 2 3 2 Totals 32 0 5 0

San Francisco 020 000 000-2

Milwaukee 000 000 000-0

LOB-San Francisco 2, Milwaukee 5. 2B-Jenkins (8). HR-Feliz (4).

IP H R ER BB SO

San Francisco

Schmidt W,2-2 9 5 0 0 0 7

Milwaukee

Bush L,2-3 8 3 2 2 0 6

De La Rosa 1 0 0 0 0 0

HBP-by Bush (Alou).

T-2:14. A-17,358 (41,900).

marlins 6, nationals 5

FLORIDA WASHINGTON

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Amzga ss 5 0 1 0 Byrd cf 3 0 0 0

Uggla 2b 5 1 1 0 Vidro 2b 2 2 1 0

MiCbra 3b 4 1 1 0 ASrano lf 5 1 2 0

Wlnhm lf 4 1 3 0 NJhnsn 1b 4 0 0 0

Helms 1b 4 1 2 2 JGillen rf 4 1 2 2

Olivo c 3 1 0 0 Zmrmn 3b 4 0 2 0

FGrmn p 0 0 0 0 CCrdro p 0 0 0 0

Nolasco p 0 0 0 0 Schndr c 4 1 2 3

HaRmz ph 1 0 1 1 Clayton ss 5 0 0 0

Brwski p 0 0 0 0 Ar Jr. p 1 0 0 0

Aguila rf 4 0 1 0 Brgmn p 0 0 0 0

Abrcrm cf 3 1 1 2 Church ph 1 0 1 0

Mehler p 3 0 0 0 Mjwski p 0 0 0 0

Wllmyr p 0 0 0 0 Ward ph 0 0 0 0

Tranor c 1 0 0 0 Rauch p 0 0 0 0

MrAnd ph 1 0 0 0

Stanton p 0 0 0 0

Jkson 3b 1 0 0 0

Totals 37 6 11 5 Totals 35 5 10 5

Florida 023 000 001-6

Washington 002 011 100-5

DP-Florida 1, Washington 1. LOB-Florida 10, Washington 13. 2B-Uggla (6), Willingham 2 (10), Aguila (6), JGuillen (6). HR-Helms (1),Abercrombie (2), Schneider (1). CS-Helms (2). SF-JGuillen.

IP H R ER BB SO

Florida

Moehler 4 9 3 3 4 1

Wellemeyer 2 0 1 1 3 1

FGerman 1 1 1 1 2 0

Nolasco W,2-1 1 0 0 0 0 2

Borowski S,4 1 0 0 0 0 1

Washington

Armas Jr. 21/3 5 5 5 0 2

Bergmann 12/3 3 0 0 2 2

Majewski 1 0 0 0 1 0

Rauch 2 1 0 0 0 2

Stanton L,1-3 11/3 1 1 1 1 1

CCordero 2/3 1 0 0 0 1

Moehler pitched to 3 batters in the 5th.

HBP-by Armas Jr. (MiCabrera), by Armas Jr. (Olivo). WP-Wellemeyer, Armas Jr., Bergmann.

T-3:54. A-21,918 (46,382).

padres 11, dodgers 5

SAN DIEGO LOS ANGELES

ab r h bi ab r h bi

DRbrts lf 4 1 2 0 Lofton cf 4 0 0 0

Cmeron cf 6 2 3 1 Furcal ss 4 0 1 0

BGiles rf 6 0 0 0 Grcprr 1b 4 0 0 0

Piazza c 3 0 2 0 JDrew rf 4 0 1 0

Bowen c 0 1 0 1 JKent 2b 3 0 0 0

Bllhorn 1b 5 1 1 3 Mueller 3b 4 0 0 0

Sweeny p 0 0 0 0 Ethier lf 3 2 1 1

Brzlton p 0 0 0 0 Nvarro c 3 2 2 1

KGreen ss 4 0 1 0 Seo p 1 0 0 0

Castilla 3b 4 1 2 0 Hamlck p 0 0 0 0

Jhnson pr 0 1 0 0 Saenz ph 1 1 1 3

AGnzlz 1b 1 0 0 0 Osoria p 0 0 0 0

Brfield 2b 5 2 3 2 Beimel p 0 0 0 0

CYoung p 3 0 1 1 DBaez p 0 0 0 0

Cssdy p 0 0 0 0

Blum 3b 2 2 2 2

Totals 43 11 17 10 Totals 31 5 6 5

San Diego 000 010 352-11

Los Angeles 001 000 301-5

E-Mueller (4). DP-San Diego 1, Los Angeles 1. LOB-San Diego 10,Los Angeles 3. 2B-Piazza (4), Barfield (1). HR-Bellhorn (2), Barfield(3), Blum (1), Ethier (1), Navarro (2), Saenz (3). SB-DRoberts (6),JDrew (2). S-Seo. SF-Bowen.

IP H R ER BB SO

San Diego

CYoung 62/3 3 3 3 3 4

Cassidy W,1-0 1/3 1 1 1 0 0

Sweeney 1 1 0 0 0 0

Brazelton 1 1 1 1 0 0

Los Angeles

Seo 6 5 1 1 3 4

Hamulack 1 2 3 3 1 1

Osoria L,0-2 0 5 5 5 0 0

Beimel 1 0 0 0 0 0

DBaez 1 5 2 2 0 0

Osoria pitched to 5 batters in the 8th.

WP-Beimel.

T-2:55. A-33,352 (56,000).

METS 4, PIRATES 3

PITTSBURGH NEW YORK

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Duffy cf 5 0 1 0 Reyes ss 6 0 1 1

JWilsn ss 3 1 0 0 KMtsui 2b 6 1 1 0

Snchez 3b 5 1 1 1 Beltran cf 5 0 0 0

Bay lf 4 1 0 0 CDlgdo 1b 4 1 2 2

Burnitz rf 3 0 0 0 Wright 3b 5 0 1 0

CWilsn 1b 2 0 1 0 Floyd lf 5 1 1 0

JHrndz 1b 4 0 1 1 RCstro c 2 0 0 0

Palino c 5 0 2 1 Chavez rf 5 1 4 1

Castillo 2b 5 0 0 0 PMrtnz p 2 0 0 0

Snell p 2 0 0 0 Vlentin ph 1 0 0 0

Grabow p 0 0 0 0 Heilmn p 0 0 0 0

Capps p 0 0 0 0 Wdwrd ph 0 0 0 0

McLth ph 1 0 0 0 BWgnr p 0 0 0 0

Marte p 0 0 0 0 Snchez p 0 0 0 0

STorres p 0 0 0 0 JuFrco ph 1 0 0 0

Doumit ph 1 0 0 0 Brdford p 0 0 0 0

RHrndz p 0 0 0 0

Gnzalez p 1 0 0 0

Totals 41 3 6 3 Totals 42 4 10 4

Pittsburgh 100 000 002 000-3

New York 100 002 000 001-4

No outs when winning run scored.

E-JWilson (6), KMatsui (1). LOB-Pittsburgh 6, New York 12. 2B-KMatsui (3), CDelgado (4), Chavez 2 (4). 3B-Reyes (4). HR-Sanchez(3), CDelgado (11). S-JWilson, RCastro, Woodward.

IP H R ER BB SO

Pittsburgh

Snell 52/3 7 3 3 4 9

Grabow 1 1 0 0 0 1

Capps 1/3 0 0 0 0 1

Marte 1 1 0 0 0 1

STorres 1 0 0 0 0 1

RHernandez 1 0 0 0 0 1

Gonzalez L,0-2 1 1 1 1 0 0

New York

PMartinez 6 3 1 1 1 9

Heilman 2 0 0 0 0 2

BWagner 1 2 2 2 2 1

Sanchez 1 0 0 0 0 1

Bradford W,1-1 2 1 0 0 0 1

Gonzalez pitched to 1 batter in the 12th.

HBP-by Grabow (CDelgado).

T-3:36. A-33,668 (57,333).

ROCKIES 3, REDS 0

CINCINNATI COLORADO

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Freel cf 4 0 0 0 Carroll ss 4 1 1 0

FLopez ss 4 0 1 0 Splbrgh rf 3 0 1 0

Aurilia 1b 3 0 1 0 Hlliday lf 4 0 3 2

Httberg 1b 1 0 0 0 Atkins 3b 3 0 0 0

Dunn lf 2 0 0 0 Mrrero 1b 3 0 0 0

EEcrcn 3b 4 0 0 0 JSmith 2b 1 0 0 0

Kearns rf 3 0 1 0 LuGnzl 2b 4 0 1 0

BPhilps 2b 3 0 1 0 Fremn cf 4 1 1 0

LaRue c 3 0 0 0 Ardon c 3 0 1 1

Clausen p 2 0 0 0 Francis p 3 1 0 0

Belisle p 0 0 0 0 Mesa p 0 0 0 0

McCkn ph 1 0 0 0 Fentes p 0 0 0 0

CHmnd p 0 0 0 0

Totals 30 0 4 0 Totals 32 3 8 3

Cincinnati 000 000 000-0

Colorado 000 030 00x-3

E-Aurilia (1). DP-Colorado 1. LOB-Cincinnati 5, Colorado 7. 2B-Aurilia (5), Holliday (8). SB-FLopez (10), BPhillips 2 (5), Holliday(2), Freeman (1).

IP H R ER BB SO

Cincinnati

Claussen L,2-3 62/3 7 3 3 2 5

Belisle 1/3 0 0 0 0 1

CHammond 1 1 0 0 0 0

Colorado

Francis W,1-2 7 4 0 0 1 5

Mesa 1 0 0 0 0 0

Fuentes S,6 1 0 0 0 1 0

T-2:14. A-18,214 (50,449).

In twisting Democratic race, once-unstoppable Clinton struggles to overcome Obamania

A year ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential race, was joking about whether she could appoint her husband secretary of state when she became president, and Barack Obama was urging a throng to be realistic about his own chances. "Let's face it," he said. "The novelty's going to wear off."

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Clinton coronation.

The Democratic presidential race took so many twists that close observers might have needed a chiropractor to follow it. And now Clinton, once the instant favorite in a crowded field of candidates, is struggling to overcome a daunting wave of Obamania.

"There's a problem with inevitability," said Dick Harpootlian, a former South Carolina party chairman who supports Obama. "It rarely proves to be true."

When Clinton joined the race in January 2007 with a cozy Webcast from her living room couch, the notion of a former first lady-turned-senator running to be the first female president was so new, so different, she quickly eclipsed rival candidates such as Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, all seasoned politicians with solid credentials.

"I'm in to win," Clinton proclaimed. And she had the money to back up her bravado.

"I don't think anyone can stop her," John Catsimatidis, a New York businessman and member of Clinton's finance team, trumpeted in February 2007. "She's unstoppable; she's got such a machine."

Clinton, intent on keeping 2000 nominee Al Gore out of the race, seemed to regard all other rivals as "Lilliputians," says Democratic pollster Peter Hart.

Her Democratic opponents didn't buy it, though, and neither did the public.

"I lived through the inevitability of Howard Dean," scoffed John Edwards, recalling the early darling of the 2004 presidential race who quickly faded from the Democratic field. Edwards dropped out of the race in January.

But it was Obama, not Edwards, who emerged as the anti-Clinton.

Bidding to become the nation's first black president, Obama offered a fresh new face, and a message of hope and change that captured the public's imagination.

His first visit to New Hampshire, back in December 2006, before he'd entered the race, sparked such a frenzy of interest that even Obama dismissed it as hype, as his 15 minutes of fame.

"I think to some degree I've become a shorthand or a symbol or a stand-in for now," he said. "It's a spirit that says we are looking for different. We want something new."

Obama joined the race in January 2007, a week before Clinton, and soon proved that his appeal with voters was no passing fancy, that he was more than a cardboard stand-in.

He turned his short resume _ just two years of national experience as a senator _ into an asset by stressing that it was time for a new generation to step forward.

Obama's surprising ability to raise money _ by the boatload _ instantly served notice to Clinton that he was not to be discounted.

He matched Clinton almost dollar for dollar in the first three months of 2007, and breezed right past her in the next quarter _ raising $33 million to her $27 million. By year's end, both had raised more than $100 million (euro66 million) and blown through at least $80 million (euro53 million), muscular figures that no other Democrat could touch.

"That really changed the whole tenor of the race to becoming more of a two-person contest than a coronation," said Anthony Corrado, a campaign finance expert at Colby College in Maine.

Clinton did her best to maintain the illusion of inevitability nonetheless.

In July, she dismissed Obama as "irresponsible and frankly naive" on foreign policy.

In September, she ran the gauntlet of five Sunday talk shows in one day, working in the phrase "When I'm president" at least seven times.

As recently as November, she calmly told an interviewer that despite Obama's surprisingly strong challenge, "it will be me."

Late into the fall, there were plenty of believers in a Clinton juggernaut.

"If this were a wedding, we'd be at the 'speak now or forever hold your peace' part," Steve McMahon, a former Dean adviser, said of Clinton's strength in October.

But soon there were signs of trouble for her.

An internal campaign memo had surfaced the previous May in which aides urged Clinton to bypass the leadoff caucuses in Iowa because it was her "consistently weakest state." Clinton disavowed the idea and worked hard all fall for an Iowa win, but the memo rang true. She was walloped with a third-place showing in Iowa, surpassed by both Obama and Edwards.

"Years from now," Obama promised his Iowa supporters, "you'll look back and you'll say that this was the moment. This was the place where America remembered what it means to hope."

His Iowa victory propelled him like a slingshot into New Hampshire, where the only question seemed to be how big his victory would be.

Clinton didn't buy it, and neither did the public.

With her candidacy on the ropes, tough-as-nails Clinton let loose her emotions. Choking back tears the day before the primary, Clinton spoke from the heart about the meaning of the presidential race. In the process, she softened her remote image and zinged Obama along the way.

"You know, this is very personal for me," she told voters in a coffee shop. "Some of us are right, and some of us are not. Some of us are ready, and some of us are not."

It was a powerful moment, played over and over on TV.

When the New Hampshire results came in, Clinton was the newest comeback kid, Obama the underdog once again.

"I found my own voice," Clinton declared.

Then she overplayed her hand, or rather, her husband.

Heading into a difficult South Carolina contest, Bill Clinton ramped up the anti-Obama rhetoric he'd first unleashed in New Hampshire.

The ex-president's rancorous words _ criticizing Obama's positions on the Iraq war as a "fairy tale" and complaining that the Obama campaign had put out a "hit job" on him _ were a distasteful counterpoint to Obama's lofty message.

Obama, for his part, took the criticism as a source of pride. "It means I might win this thing," he said.

Win he did in South Carolina. And the money came pouring in.

Obama collected a stunning $36 million (euro24 million) in January, compared with $14 million (euro9.2 million) for Clinton.

That gave him the firepower to challenge Clinton everywhere in the mega-round of primaries on Super Tuesday, the day that Clinton had once predicted would be the "finish line."

Instead they traded states, victory for victory, on Feb. 5, and neither came close to touching the tape.

And from there, it was all Obama, all the time, rolling up 11 straight primary and caucus victories in the past three weeks.

Clinton responded by moving the finish line _ and raising her own boatload of cash. She collected $35 million (euro23 million) in February but was surpassed yet again by Obama's fundraising.

Now Clinton is pinning her hopes on victories Tuesday in Ohio and Texas, where she once led in polls by a wide margin.

But the race has tightened in both states, and Clinton for the first time has lost the lead that she has held in national polls since Day One.

The news just gets worse for her. Two weeks ago, she was up by 16 points in Pennsylvania, which votes April 22. A poll this week showed the race at Clinton 49, Obama 43.

With every victory, more voters have given Obama a closer look.

"The person who wins homecoming queen always looks a lot better the following week walking around campus," said Hart, the pollster.

"My cautionary note," he added, "is that it ain't over. You always think the surprise you've seen is the last surprise."

"If she wins Texas and Ohio, we'll be talking very differently on Wednesday."

NEWS YOU WON'T FIND ON CNN: Mainstream journalism is now the voice of rampant power

The Indian writer Vandana Shiva has called for an "insurrection of subjugated knowledge." The insurrection is well under way. In trying to make sense of a dangerous world, millions of people are turning away from the traditional sources of news and information and to the World Wide Web, convinced that mainstream journalism has become the voice of rampant power. The great scandal of Iraq has accelerated this. In the United States, several senior broadcasters have confessed that, had they challenged and exposed the lies told about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, instead of amplifying and justifying them, the invasion might not have happened.

In Britain, the BBC, since it was founded in 1922, has served to protect every British establishment during war and civil unrest. "We" [Brits] never traduce and never commit great crimes. So the omission of shocking events in Iraq-the destruction of cities, the slaughter of innocent people, and the farce of a puppet government-is routinely applied. A study by the Cardiff School of Journalism found that 90% of the BBC's references to Saddam Hussein's "weapons of mass destruction" suggested he possessed them, and that "spin from the British and U.S. governments was successful in framing the coverage." The same "spin" has ensured, until now, that the use of banned weapons by the Americans and British in Iraq has been suppressed as news.

An admission by the U.S. State Department on Nov. 10 that its forces had used white phosphorus in Fallujah followed "rumours on the Internet," according to the BBC's Newsnight. There were no rumours. There was first-class investigative work that ought to shame well-paid journalists. Mark Kraft of www.insomnia.livejournal.com found the evidence in the March-April 2005 issue of Field Artillery magazine and other sources. He was supported by the work of filmmaker Gabriele Zamparini, founder of the excellent site www. thecatsdream.com.

last May, David Edwards and David Cromwell of medialens.org posted a revealing correspondence with Helen Boaden, the BBC's director of news. They had asked her why the BBC had remained silent on known atrocities committed by the Americans in Fallujah. She replied:"Our correspondent in Fallujah at the time [of the U.S. attack], Paul Wood, did not report any of these things because he did not see any of these things." It is a statement to savor. Wood was "embedded" with the Americans. He interviewed none of the victims of American atrocities nor unembedded journalists. He not only missed the Americans' use of white phosphorus, which they now admit, but he reported nothing of the use of another banned weapon, napalm. Thus, BBC viewers were unaware of the fine words of Col. James Alles, commander of the U.S. Marine Air Group II. "We napalmed both those bridge approaches," he said. "Unfortunately, there were people there...you could see them in the cockpit video... It's no great way to die. The generals love napalm. It has a big psychological effect."

Once the unacknowledged work of Mark Kraf t and Gabriele Zamparini had appeared in the Guardian and Independent and forced the Americans to come clean about white phosphorous, Wood was on Newsnight describing their admission as "a public relations disaster for the U.S." This echoed Menzies Campbell of the Liberal Democrats, perhaps the most quoted politician since Gladstone, who said, "The use of this weapon may technically have been legal, but its effects are such that it will hand a propaganda victory to the insurgency."

The BBC and most of the British political and media establishment invariably cast such a horror as a public relations problem while minimizing the crushing of a city the size of Leeds, the killing and maiming of countless men, women, and children, the expulsion of thousands, and the denial of medical supplies, food, and water-a major war crime.

The evidence is voluminous, provided by refugees, doctors, human rights groups, and a few courageous foreigners whose work appears only oh the Internet. In April last year, Jo Wilding, a young British law student, filed a series of extraordinary eyewitness reports from inside the city. So fine are they I have included one of her pieces in an anthology of the best investigative journalism. Her film, A Letter to the Prime Minister, made inside Fallujah with Julia Guest, has not been shown on British television. In addition, Dahr Jamail, an independent Lebanese-American journalist who has produced some of the best front-line reporting I have read, described all the "things" the BBC failed to "see." His interviews with doctors, local officials, and families are on the Internet, together with the work of those who have exposed the widespread use of uranium-tipped shells, another banned weapon, and cluster bombs, which Campbell would say are "technically legal." Try these Web sites: www.DahrJamaillraq. com, www.ZMag.org, www.Antiwar. com, www.Truthout.org, www. InformationClearingHouse.info, www. Counterpunch.org, www.VoicesUK. org. There are many more.

"Each word," wrote Jean-Paul Sartre, "has an echo. So does each silence."

(Tell Me No lies: Investigative Journalism and Its Triumphs, edited by John Pilger, is published by Vintage. This article was first published in The New Statesman-www.newstatesman. co.uk)

[Sidebar]

"An admission by the U.S. State Department that its forces had used white phosphorus in Fallujah followed the Internet revelations of Mark Kraft, whose first-class investigative work ought to shame well-paid journalists."

They're no RoboRats, but. . .: Scientists control rodents through electrode implants

By implanting electrodes in rats' brains, scientists have createdremote-controlled rodents they can command to turn left or right,climb trees and navigate piles of rubble. Someday, scientists said,rats might even carry tiny video cameras to search for disastersurvivors.

"If you have a collapsed building and there are people under therubble, there's no robot that exists now that would be capable ofgoing down into such a difficult terrain and finding those people,but a rat would be able to do that," said John Chapin, a professor ofphysiology and pharmacology at the State University of New York inBrooklyn.

The lab animals aren't exactly robot rats. They had to be trainedto carry out the commands.

Chapin's team fitted five rats with electrodes and power-packbackpacks. When signaled by a laptop computer, the electrodesstimulated the rodents' brains and cued them to scurry in the desireddirection, then rewarded them by stimulating a pleasure center in thebrain.

The rats' movements could be controlled up to 1,640 feet away, thelength of more than five football fields.

The findings appear in today's issue of the journal Nature. Otherresearchers said the work is interesting but is an engineering feat,not an advance in animal neuroscience.

Randy Gallistel, a professor of psychology and cognitive scienceat Rutgers University, said it's basically the same thing, with atwist, that scientists found they could do almost 50 years ago bystimulating the reward-sensing area of a rat's brain.

"Without the gee-whizery, without the remote-control and so on,that this kind of thing was possible has been obvious for decades,"he said.

The experiments used three implanted electrodes - one in the brainregion that senses reward or pleasure, and one each in areas thatprocess signals from the rat's left and right whisker bundles.

Chapin's team trained the rats in a maze by signaling the left andright whisker-sensing regions. When a rat turned in the correctdirection, its reward-sensing region was stimulated. Activating onlythis region caused them to move forward, the team found.

Howard Eichenbaum, a professor of psychology at Boston University,said the research, while not a major advance, is "clever" and holdsthe promise of using animals as humans'"eyes" or as couriers to reachtrapped victims.

Aside from the technological challenges, he said there may beethical concerns about turning animals into "intelligent robots"serving humans.

"It's one thing to see a rat running around like this, peopledon't get too emotional about that, but as soon as you get into dogsor work animals, people start getting real excited," he said.

Chapin's team has tested tiny video cameras strapped to wired ratsto see whether they might be used to transmit images and sounds ofpeople trapped inside ruins. But Chapin said the camera needs to berefined to compensate for the rodents' jerky movements, and the rats'backpack miniaturized to implant it beneath their skin.

The potential of using such implantable electrodes to controlhumans - which a Tulane University researcher tried during the 1960s,with unclear results - is something Chapin said he opposes sostrongly he believes it should be illegal.

Kate Rears, a policy analyst at the Electronic Privacy InformationCenter in Washington, said technological advances mean human-controltechnology can no longer be dismissed as far-fetched.

"I think that a lot of people are very wary of that sort of thingand understandably so," Rears said. "I don't think it's a sign ofparanoia to react against this because it is very odd. It's Brave NewWorldish."

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