STAFF REPORTS

CHARLOTTE - The cost of the area's largest daily newspaper is going up.

Beginning Monday, the cost of the daily edition of the Charlotte Observer will go from 50 cents to 75 cents.

The cost of the Sunday edition will double from $1 to $2.

The paper is raising prices to help offset increasing production costs.

Kyle Busch planned to open the bulk of his birthday presents when he returned home from Richmond International Raceway. "What do you get a guy who has everything or buys anything he wants?" he wondered. How about a trip to Victory Lane?

Busch became just the second driver in NASCAR history to win a Cup race on his birthday, celebrating his 24th on Saturday night at Richmond.

Jack Kemp, the former pro quarterback who turned fame on the gridiron into a career in national politics and a crusade for lower taxes, has died of cancer at age 73.

Family spokeswoman Marci Robinson said Kemp died shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, surrounded by his family and pastor. Kemp died at his home in Bethesda, Md., in the Washington suburbs, friends said.

By Casey Moore

(EP News)--Purpose Driven Connection magazine, published by Dr. Rick Warren and The Reader’s Digest Association, presented its second issue in newsstands April 28 to offer a biblical perspective on issues and current events. “Everyone has a worldview,” Editor-in-Chief Rick Warren writes in this spring issue’s opening editorial message. “If you base your life on a faulty worldview, the results will be disastrous. One of the reasons we created Purpose Driven Connection is to help you clarify your worldview.”

Profile America — Sunday, May 3rd. This month is set aside to recognize one of the nation’s fastest-growing population groups — those of Asian/Pacific American Heritage. The observance began with a joint congressional resolution in 1978. It honored the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in the 1840s and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, with the help of thousands of Chinese immigrants.

More than 15 million people in the nation are of Asian heritage, about 5 percent of the total population. California has the largest number, at 5 million. Nationally, Chinese-Americans are the largest segment, followed by Filipinos and Asian Indians.

Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was among 12 people injured when winds just shy of tornado strength ripped through the roof of the team's indoor practice facility during a rookie minicamp Saturday.

The storm hit while 27 players were going through workouts. There were about 70 people in the facility, counting coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said.

STAFF REPORTS

CHARLOTTE - Play was suspended at 5:46 p.m. due to a dangerous situation with four players still on the course. Play was resumed at 6:58 p.m. for a 1 hour, 12 minute delay.

Zach Johnson shot a four-under 68 to take a two shot lead over Lucas Glover, Tiger Woods and George McNeill into the final-round.

By Jason Saine

CHARLOTTE – The three-hole stretch of closing holes at Quail Hollow known as the “Green Mile”, proved to be the undoing of Tiger Woods on Saturday.

Woods bogeyed the last two holes and was not happy with his finish slamming his hat against the fence as he blew past fans to enter the club house.

“I hit two 7-irons the last two holes to make two bogeys. That's not the way you want to finish. But I've got a shot going into tomorrow,” he said following the round.

Woods hit a great tee shot on the 18th hole and hit right over the flagstick with a 7-iron, but it took him three strokes to reach the hole.
Going into Sunday, Woods said that he still feels good about it but seemed to still be focused on his disappointments on 17 and 18.

(Tiger Woods at Quail Hollow. Photo by Jason Saine.)

Tiger falters late again, leaving Johnson in the lead at Quail Hollow

Johnson emerges with a 2-shot lead at Quail Hollow

Tiger Woods dropped out of the lead with late bogeys for the second straight day, leaving former Masters champion Zach Johnson with a two-shot advantage Saturday heading into the final round of the Quail Hollow Championship.

Watson, Goosen share lead as Woods falters

The birdie putt that put Tiger Woods in control at the Quail Hollow Championship was 55 feet up the slope on the ninth green, trucking so fast toward the hole that it slammed into the back of the cup and went airborne before dropping.

GENEVA - There has not yet been a sustained spread of H1N1 flu outside North America but a pandemic is still "imminent", a World Health Organisation official said on Saturday.

Michael Ryan, WHO Director of Global Alert and Response, said it remained probable that the alert level would be raised from its current level of 5 to the top of the 6-stage scale.

Profile America — Saturday, May 2nd. Horse racing fans have two great and very different events vying for their attention today. The nation’s premier horoughbred race, the Kentucky Derby, will be held in Louisville, Kentucky. Nearly 150,000 people are expected to jam the grandstands at Churchill Downs for the 135th Run for the Roses. And in the Virginia town called The Plains, some 50,000 fans of steeplechase racing will flock to Great Meadow for the 84th Virginia Gold Cup steeplechase race. This is a severe challenge for both horse and rider, with 23 jumps along a four- mile course. More than 12.5 million people go to horse racing events across the U.S. each year.

STAFF REPORTS

CHARLOTTE - Bubba Watson (65) and Retief Goosen (68) moved to the top of the leaderboard at 8-under 136 at the midway point of the Quail Hollow Championship, one stroke ahead of Tiger Woods (72), Zach Johnson (67), Jim Furyk (66) and George McNeill (68). Watson’s 65 equaled the round of the week (Tiger Woods, Rd. 1) and fell just one shy of the tournament-record 8-under 64 posted by Kirk Triplett (2004, Rd. 1), Bo Van Pelt (2006, Rd. 2) and Rory Sabbatini (2007, Rd. 2).

The front-nine 6-under-par 30 for Bubba Watson (his final nine) matched the 9-hole front-nine record (Kirk Triplett, 2004, Round 1; Trevor Immelman, 2006, Round 1; Bill Haas, 2006, Round 1; Pat Perez, 2008, Round 3; Tiger Woods, 2009, Round 1).

(Phil Mickelson tees off at the 8th hole at Quail Hollow on Friday. Mickeson is now tied for 7th. Photo by Jason Saine.)

STAFF REPORTS

CHARLOTTE – What do Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Susie Jean have in common? They are K9 dogs “vest friends”. Greg and Tony have partnered to help Susie provide bullet-resistant and knife-resistant vests for K9 officers located throughout the United States. Through grassroots efforts, Susie has already provided 317 vests to police dogs in 34 states and she’s been dubbed “Dog’s Vest Friend”. Now, Greg and Tony are urging their fans as well as supporters of our officers & their K9s to support this Charity Splits raffle starting April 30, 2009 and concluding May 24, 2009.

7th clean audit in a row for Smart Start

Raleigh, NC- The state audits NCPC every year. Auditors look for compliance in three core areas: accuracy of financial statements; how the partnership processes and authorizes transactions such as grants, accounts payable, payroll and cash receipts; and contract compliance.

"We work hard to use every tax dollar wisely to help our children and our state thrive, and this audit shows we have done just that," said Stephanie Fanjul, NCPC President.

STAFF REPORTS

CONCORD, N.C. - Lowe's Motor Speedway celebrated Autism Awareness Month by contributing $38,000 to Autism Speaks. The speedway raised the funds by donating $10 from each ticket sold to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 from April 3 - 11.

"Thanks to our great fans, we were able to raise a considerable
amount of money for autism awareness," said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Autism affects so many families around the world and I'm glad we were able to help increase awareness of the disorder and raise funds to help find a cure."

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON The following is the entertainment schedule for Lincolnton's Relay for Life:

10am - Opening Ceremony w/Colors presented by LHS JRROTC, National Anthem by Ashley Poston and Invocation by Pastor Bill Draughn (Messiah Methodist)

10:15am - Opening Laps with KIDS RELAY! Kids of all ages are invited to get us started - strollers and wagons allowed but no bikes, skates, skateboards or scooters.

By Jason Saine

CHARLOTTE Tiger Woods was leading on Thursday after the first round at the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte at -7 under, will tee off from Hole 10 at 12:50 pm today.

Woods was followed by Steve Marino, Phil Mickelson, Robert Allenby, and Jason Dufner at -5 under.

Today's weather should allow play to continue with only a 30% chance of rain throughout most of the day.

Saturday's outlook is a little more concerning with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms.

(Tiger Woods on Thursday at Quail Hollow. Photo by Ron McCann.)

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, May 1, 2009:

After struggle, Chrysler succumbs to bankruptcy

DETROIT (AP) — The first sound of the gavel in Chrysler's bankruptcy case might as well be the bang of a starter's pistol. The nation's third-largest automaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday with an ambitious plan to emerge in as little as 30 days as a leaner, more nimble company. And Chrysler's first hearing in a New York courtroom Friday morning may offer the first clue as to whether a quick, "surgical" bankruptcy is actually possible.
___

Crowds at Quail Hollow enjoy the action at Hole 5 on Thursday. Photo by Ron McCann. More sports photos at http://www.sportpixnc.com.

By Monte Dutton

With a new team and a new outlook this season, Kasey Kahne is off to a great start with the newly combined Richard Petty Motorsports.
And after the first seven races of the Sprint Cup season, Kahne raced back into the top-12 standings (10th after Texas) and after a good showing in Atlanta.

"We had a good race. We got behind on that one deal early in the race there on pit road, and it took us a long time to get our lap back," Kahne said. "We actually ran second to Kurt (Busch) one lap down for over 100 laps in the race. We finally got it (lap) back and ended up with seventh, which I think was pretty good. I think that we were more of a fourth- or fifth-place car on a long run and probably seventh early in the run. It worked out good for us. I'm real happy with where our points are right now."

Kasey Kahne is off to a good start after the first seven races of this season. (Photo: John Clark/NASCAR This Week)

Developments on swine flu worldwide

Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and government officials:

Oil prices fell below $51 a barrel Friday in light holiday-affected range trading.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 47 cents to $50.65 a barrel by late morning London time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Thursday gained 15 cents to settle at $51.12.

by Jim Kouri


A registered sex offender from Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, was sentenced to life in prison today for his activity in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

James Freeman, 46, was found guilty following a six-day trial in January 2009 of six counts relating to his criminal activities as a member of the child exploitation enterprise. The charges alleged in these counts included engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising, transporting and receiving child pornography and obstruction of justice.

Profile America — Friday, May 1st. Today marks the birth anniversary of one of America’s great musical talents and child prodigies — singer Kate Smith, born in Washington, D.C. By age 8, she was singing for the troops in World War I, and went on to become one of the most popular entertainers in the country for decades with her own daily radio shows. Kate Smith also appeared on television and in the movies, concerts and dozens of recordings. She is best remembered for the song “God Bless America,” often described as the country’s unofficial second national anthem. Among her many honors was the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Across the country, there are 170,000 musicians and singers, nearly one-third of them women.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were as far away from each other as possible, one teeing off at No. 10 in the morning, the other starting at No. 1 in the afternoon at the Quail Hollow Championship.

But they sure seem inseparable at the moment.

Tiger says he feels more “explosive”

By Jason Saine

CHARLOTTE – Though Quail Hollow might be missing one famous name on the marquee this year, some familiar names are atop the leader board following Round 1.

Tiger Woods finished today 7-under at 65 picking up where he left off in 2007 when he won the championship.

Just behind Woods was another PGA superstar, Phil Mickelson, who was tied for second with three others just two strokes behind Woods at 67.

“Today, I hit the ball solid all day, just a couple of loose shots here and there. But it was nice to actually hit – I put the same as I did at Augusta but this time they went in instead of lipping out,” Woods said.

Tiger Woods talks with reporters on Thursday at Quail Hollow Country Club following Woods' leading performance of Round 1. Photo by Ron McCann. More photos available at http://www.sportpixnc.com.)