Home > Waco Breaking News > Archives > 2008 > October > 10
Friday, October 10, 2008
Mavericks acquire former 1st-round pick with checkered past
The Dallas Mavericks completed a deal Friday to trade cash, two future second-round draft picks and possibly a player to be named later for Indiana forward Shawne Williams.
Williams, a first-round Pacers draft pick out of Memphis in 2006, has been dogged by three incidents involving police in the past 13 months, falling out of favor with team president Larry Bird.
The 6-foot-9 forward started only six games in two seasons with Indiana, averaging 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds.
“He’s excited to get to a team and get a new shot and kind of get reinvigorated,” agent Happy Walters said. “He loves Larry (Bird), so he’s sad to leave Larry and the Pacers because he has friends there, but he’s excited with a new start.”
Williams was not immediately available for comment and will fly to Dallas on Saturday, Walters said.
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Stock markets fall for 8th straight day
U.S. stocks today plunged for an eighth straight day in a wild trading session that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall more than 500 points three times to under 8,000 only to battle back as fears escalated that the trauma in the credit markets could be paving the way toward a global recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 8,000 for the first time since 2003 before regaining some of its footing. The volatile reversal came on the heels of huge losses overseas.
Twenty-eight of its 30 components traded lower. Shares of oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. paced the blue-chip decliners, down 13.7% percent.
The Dow’s more recent level positions it for a 21.9 percent decline from last Friday’s close, and 25.5 percent for the past eight sessions.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1.7 billion, with 10 stocks falling for every one on the rise. On the Nasdaq, 1.3 billion shares changed hands, and decliners outran advancers nearly 6-to-1.
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Ex-major leaguer Sid Hudson of Waco dies
Former major league pitcher Sid Hudson died this morning. He was 93.
Hudson lived in Waco since 1955 after pitching his final season with the Boston Red Sox in 1954. Hudson compiled a career record of 104-152 in 12 major league seasons, including a 17-16 record as a rookie with the Washington Senators in 1940. He pitched in major league All-Star games in 1941-42 before enlisting in the military during World War II.
Hudson went on to coach and scout with the Senators and Texas Rangers before starting a seven-year stint as Baylor’s pitching coach in 1987.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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Police release photos of bank robbery suspect
Waco police continue to search for a man who robbed the Community Bank and Trust, 1808 Washington Ave., and are seeking your help through these bank surveillance photos.
Police were called at 10:41 this morning after the suspect, who showed no weapons, handed a note to a teller, said Waco police spokesman Steve Anderson. The man left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money and was last seen heading toward Austin Avenue. No one was hurt in the incident.
Bank workers describe the robber as a white male in his mid- to late-20s, about 5 foot 10 inches to 6 feet tall. The suspect wore a gray T-shirt with blue accents around the collar, jeans and white athletic shoes. They describe him wearing a blue or black bandana over short, scraggly hair. The teller described him as having “real hairy arms,” Anderson said.
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Dow still down at midday
U.S. stocks today tallied losses for an eighth consecutive day but rebounded from a plunge at the open that had the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 8,000 for the first time in more than five years, as fears escalated that the trauma in the credit markets could be paving the way toward a global recession.
“A psychiatrist is what is needed to help investors today,” said Tony Crescenzi, chief bond market strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.
In the first minutes, the Dow industrials first plunged nearly 700 points to trade below the 8,000 mark for the first time since April 1, 2003, but bounced back, briefly rallying into positive territory only to dip again before an hour of trading had passed.
The Dow was down about 350 points at last check.
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Downtown Waco bank robbed; police search for suspect
Police are searching this morning for a man who robbed the Community Bank and Trust, 1808 Washington Ave.
Police were called at 10:41 this morning after the suspect, who showed no weapons, handed a note to a teller, said Waco police spokesman Steve Anderson. The man left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money and was last seen heading toward Austin Avenue. No one was hurt in the incident.
Bank workers describe the robber as a white male in his mid- to late-20s, about 5 foot 10 inches to 6 feet tall. The suspect wore a gray T-shirt with blue accents around the collar, jeans and white athletic shoes. They describe him wearing a blue or black bandana over short, scraggly hair. The teller described him as having “real hairy arms,” Anderson said.
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India to get first female Roman Catholic saint
India is expected to get its first female Roman Catholic saint on Sunday at a time when Christians have increasingly come under attack in the predominantly Hindu country.
Christian leaders hailed the move to canonize Sister Alphonsa, a nun from southern India, saying it would provide solace to Christians who have been victims of violent attacks by Hindu mobs in eastern and southern India in recent months.
“We can draw certain spiritual consolation from her canonization. This means we have one more saint in heaven who is from India and whom we can approach to intercede,” said Dominic Emmanuel, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
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Connecticut high court OKs same-sex unions by 4-3 vote
Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.
The divided court ruled 4-3 that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut’s civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.
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Robbery at downtown Waco bank
We’re hearing about an armed robbery at the Community Bank and Trust branch at 18th Street and Washington Avenue downtown.
Police are searching for the suspect. Stay with wacotrib.com as we find out more.
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Bush tries to soothe concerns over economy
President Bush this morning tried to allay investors and citizens’ concerns over the economy and stock market troubles, saying that the U.S. government is working to resolve the crisis.
For the text of his speech, click here.
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One dies when gondola falls at New Mexico balloon festival
A balloon basket caught on fire, separated from the rest of the balloon and crashed during the city’s annual hot-air balloon fiesta today, killing one person, a balloon fiesta official said.
Two people — a pilot and a passenger — were aboard the Wings of Wind balloon when it crashed north of Albuquerque, said Kathie Leyendecker, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, held each October.
She did not know whether it was the pilot or the passenger who was killed, and had no immediate word on the condition of the second person.
The yellow, brown and orange balloon was shaped like an upside down triangle and was among hundreds of balloons participating in Friday’s events at the balloon fiesta, which runs through Sunday.
Ambulances arrived quickly at the scene of the smoking basket, called a gondola, witnesses said. A New Mexico National Guard Blackhawk helicopter touched down later near where the balloon drifted to the ground.
A witness, Alan Manning, told The Associated Press he saw the basket in flames and saw things falling from it, but could not tell if they were people or the propane tanks that fuel the hot air balloons.
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Mexico auctions off $3 billion to prop up peso
Mexico’s central bank has auctioned off $3 billion in foreign reserves to prop up the falling peso.
That’s Mexico’s largest auction yet in response to the global financial crisis. The bank auctioned off $2.5 billion on Wednesday and Thursday.
The peso began its freefall Wednesday morning, when it dropped to a record 14 against the U.S. dollar. It has recovered at times to just above 12 to the dollar.
This morning, after the auction, it was trading at 13.4.
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Michigan lottery winner might take annuity
A winner of a $42 million Mega Millions jackpot in Michigan may do something almost unheard of: receive the money in installments rather than getting a smaller, one-time cash payment.
The winner of the Oct. 3 jackpot indicated a preference for taking the annuity. State lottery spokeswoman Andi Brancato says she can’t remember a Mega Millions winner in Michigan ever doing that since the game was launched in 2002.
The winner will be announced today at a news conference.
Lottery winners typically take a lump-sum payment with plans to invest it, but confidence in the market has dropped with the current financial crisis. The Dow has lost nearly 40 percent since closing at its all-time high a year ago.
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Catholic women’s group to mark 60 years at Waco event
The Austin Diocese Council of Catholic Women’s 60th anniversary celebration will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Waco, 14th Street at Washington Avenue.
It is open to the public. This is the same church where the organization was founded in 1948.
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No Happy Meals in Venezuela
The Venezuelan government has ordered all McDonald’s restaurants in the country closed for 48 hours for what it calls irregularities in the fast-food chain’s financial books, the Associated Press reports.
The country’s state news service says the tax agency issued the order. It affects some 115 McDonald’s restaurants nationwide.
Agency head Jose David Cabello says authorities found inconsistencies in McDonald’s books related to amounts owed in taxes, and ordered the restaurants closed Thursday through Saturday.
Hmmm. Perhaps Hamburglar is cooking the books?
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Stocks still in freefall
It was a horrible beginning on Wall Street today as the global market lockdown continues. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged nearly 700 points in the first minutes of trade to trade to go below the 8,000 mark for the first time since April 1, 2003, before bouncing back and erasing two-thirds of its opening losses.
At last look, the Dow industrial was trading down about 35 points in the 8,500 range.
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Education commissioner: TAKS reward parties may violate law
Now here’s something interesting I hadn’t considered before. Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott has sent a letter to school superintendents that pizza parties, field trips and other rewards for students who pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills may violate education privacy laws by inadvertently outing the students who fail.
An Associated Press story notes that at most schools, the vast majority of students pass the test. Honoring them, by process of elimination, makes it easy to identify students who fail, Scott wrote in a letter released Thursday to superintendents.
Scott said he recognized that motivational efforts are intended to encourage better performances on the test. But he said they have a negative effect on those who are not rewarded.
Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said in a story in The Dallas Morning News that school assemblies recognizing students for passing the TAKS is technically a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
“If you have 20 students in a room and single out 15 who passed the test, it’s pretty obvious who didn’t pass,” she said. “Principals aren’t intentionally trying to violate the privacy rights of children, they have just not thought through what they’re doing.”
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Gas prices keep dropping across state
I’ve enjoyed seeing the gas station marquees around town doing their version of Wal-Mart’s “falling prices” advertisements. Let’s hope that doesn’t stop anytime soon.
As crude oil prices fall on the world markets we’re seeing gasoline prices plummet as well.
The weekly AAA Texas survey released Thursday found regular-grade, self-serve gasoline averaging $3.28 per gallon statewide. That’s 22 cents lower than last week and about 12 cents less than the national average.
The Associated Press reports that crude oil on the spot market has fallen from a record $147.27 per barrel on July 11 to between $87 and $90 now. The global economic crisis has slashed demand, and Gulf refineries are back to normal production levels after disruptions by Hurricane Ike.
The state’s costliest gasoline is in El Paso, where regular fell 12 cents from last week to $3.47 per gallon. The cheapest is in Corpus Christi, where it fell 35 cents from last week to $3.05 per gallon.
Remember to check our GasBuddy link for reports of prices around town. There’s a few spots in the upper $2 range. I was worried we’d never see gas below $3 again.
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Another day a bit warmer
We keep slowly edging a bit higher for the afternoon temperatures as the workweek comes to a close. Today calls for partly sunny skies with a high near 85 degrees and a south wind between 10 and 15 mph.
The humidity is creeping up as well and we’re supposed to have mostly cloudy skies by this evening.
Still overall, it looks pretty nice.
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