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Tours are hot again

By Michael Madrid, USA TODAY

Split: Steve Williams, Tiger Woods in April.

Tiger fires caddie

Ticket sales for concerts are up even though prices are higher, 1D

Time for a change, Woods says. Came as a shock, Williams says, 1C

Lady Gaga performs. Photo by Itsuo Inouye, AP

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011

Newsline

Long, blistering days Markets

Better outreach, warnings this year help save lives, 3A

NFL lockout, Q&A

As labor deal nears, a look at what this means for fans and the sport, 1A

banking on deal over debt

Policy experts warn of being caught off guard

By Oli Scarff, Getty Images

Somalia suffers worst famine in decades, U.N. official says

Tens of thousands are feared dead; U.S. sends additional money, 4A

By Scott Patterson USA TODAY Wall Street firms may be on the edge of a financial calamity and most dont know it, say analysts tracking the debt-ceiling faceoff in Washington. Many market players expect the White House and Congress to come to a deal to boost the debt limit beyond its current $14.3 trillion cap. Others in Washington say chances are high that an agreement wont be reached before the Aug. 2 deadline, when the Treasury Department predicts it wont have enough cash to pay all of its bills. If the deadline passes with no deal, stocks and other assets could take a pounding, much as they did after Congress initial rejection of a massive bailout in September 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 778 points on the vote, its largest one-day point uMoney managers making plans, 1B drop ever. Many on Wall Street uPlan to cut the dont see that happen- deficit may have to wait, 7A ing. Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income, thinks the odds that an agreement isnt reached by the deadline are less than 1%. Were guardedly optimistic, he says. However, Stan Collender, an expert on federal fiscal policy, puts the odds at 50%. Wall Street has completely priced in the likelihood of a deal, says Collender, a budget analyst at Qorvis Communications in Washington. Thats very dangerous because they dont seem to have prepared ahead of time. While money managers view the debate through the lens of the markets, elected officials keep their eyes on the views of those who put them in office. Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives say they were elected to get control of the soaring federal deficit. Youre asking a big chunk of elected officials to vote against the will of their constituents, says former Delaware senator Ted Kaufman, a Democrat. Now we are less than two weeks away from requiring the House and the Senate to pass a bill that many Americans may not support. He puts the odds that the government fails to act by Aug. 2 at 60%. Elected officials may need to be shocked into action. While some members of Congress, including Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., say they dont expect the market to unravel if the debt ceiling isnt raised, a market selloff could spark a deal. Indeed, thats the same scenario that played out on Sept. 29, 2008, when the House defeated a $700 billion bailout of the financial system. After the stock market tanked, the House passed the bailout. Wall Street complacency could explain why a deal hasnt been hammered out already, says Mark Thoma, a professor of economics at the University of Oregon. Im a little bit surprised that financial markets arent sending a stronger message, he says. If they were, perhaps an agreement would have been reached quicker.

TSA: New software to provide more private full-body scans

Generic image will replace passengers image; critics say its still an unlawful strip search. 3A.
By Charles Rex Arbogast, AP

A chaotic scene before three hikers swept over waterfall

Search continues though three presumed dead. Flows at Yosemite falls stronger this year after near-record snowpack, rainy spring. 3A.

Police officer deaths on rise despite drop in violent crime

Cuts to law enforcement training and equipment budgets may be a factor, police group says. 2A.

Pooling the fun: Nick Godfrey, 12, of Campbellsport, Wis., makes a splash at the Fond du Lac fairgrounds (right). Temperatures are forecast to ease in the upper Midwest today through Saturday, but they likely will build back up by next week.

A cool escape: In Chicago (above), the Crown Fountain at Millennium Park offers visitors a bit of respite. On Wednesday, 33 states were under heat advisories and warnings. Chicagos heat index hit 108 degrees.

Apples latest operating system comes out roaring

OS X Lion, a $29.99 digital download, lets users tap, pinch, swipe through programs. 4B.
By Patrick Flood, The (Fond du Lac, Wis.) Reporter

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Crossword, Sudoku 7C Editorial/Forum 8-9A Market scoreboard 6B Marketplace Today 7C State-by-state 9A TV listings 7A

NFL nears end zone in rush to labor deal

By Thomas Campbell, US Presswire

Subscriptions, customer service 1-800-USA-0001 www.usatodayservice.com

Rollbacks from the launch pad

10
Shuttl Shuttles have been moved from ttles been moved from the la launch p back to the hangar h pad hangar 19 tim Re times. Reasons for rollbacks: llbacks:

Teams, players get ready to kick off flurry of activity

By Jarrett Bell USA TODAY ATLANTA As team owners who form the NFLs labor committee were huddled in a conference Wednesday, a fire alarm blared at the airport hotel that is suddenly pro footballs nerve center. It was a false alarm, but it somehow seemed fitting. The signal of urgency in the labor skirmish between the NFL and its players underscored by a four-month lockout resonates with the first training camps slated to open within days. Its a two-minute warning of sorts. If a labor deal that is apparently on the brink of

Threat Threat of severe weath severe weather ather

Payload

Bird Hail damage damage age

Shuttle Week
Source: NASA By Anne R. Carey and Sam Ward, USA TODAY A TODAY

resolution is completed this week, a full NFL schedule can commence as planned. If talks linger, a ripple effect looms that would delay the start of camps and threaten to at least alter the preseason schedule. Owners are set to vote today on COVER whether to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that in- STORY cludes a new split in revenue that is projected to grow from the $9.3 billion in 2010. But with ratification votes also needed from the players, the waiting game continues. I think both sides are where we can complete a deal, NFL lead counsel Jeff Pash said. We can close. We should close. Although players did not vote on whether to accept the deal Wednesday as league officials had hoped, Pash said he still expected owners would Please see COVER STORY next page u

plays like nothing else.

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USA TODAY THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011

NATION 3A

Nationline

Trial set for suspect in Fort Hood shootings

A military judge at Fort Hood on Wednesday set a March trial for the Army psychiatrist charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in connection with a November 2009 shooting spree at the post in Texas. Maj. Nidal Hasan, who also faces 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, was arraigned but did not enter a plea. He told the judge, Col. Gregory Gross, that he has dropped his civilian attorney in favor of three military lawyers. Hasan, 40, was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police the day of the carnage. Lt. Gen Donald Campbell announced two weeks ago that Hasan would be tried in a military court and could face the death penalty.

3 hikers swept over falls presumed dead

By Laura Bly USA TODAY Three hikers who fell into the swollen Merced River above one of Yosemite National Parks most popular waterfalls were swept over the edge and presumed dead Wednesday, focusing renewed attention on the residual effects of a near-record Sierra snowpack and a cool, rainy spring. The Yosemite Search and Rescue continued to search for the hikers, who were identified as Hormiz David, 22, Ramina Badal, 21, both of Modesto, Calif., and Ninos Yacoub, 27, of Turlock, Calif. They had been visiting the park on a day trip with a group of family and friends. After making the steep, slippery and often spray-drenched climb along the aptly named Mist Trail to 317-foot-tall Vernal Fall, the trio crossed a metal guardrail placed to keep visitors away from the swift-moving water and were seen entering the water approximately 25 feet from the precipice, National Park Service spokesman Scott Gediman said. We heard that it was a chaotic scene, with a lot of other people telling them, Its not safe, he added. Yosemite is famous for its spectacular, snowter-related casualties in Yosemite this year. Two hikers were swept off as they tried to cross a bridge spanning a waterfall near Hetch Hetchy Reservoir on June 29, and another hiker slipped and fell into the Merced River on the Mist Trail on May 13. The park averages 12 to 15 accidental deaths per year, with five or six tied to water, Gediman said. The Mist Trail, which attracts upwards of 1,500 visitors a day, is one of the more popular hikes up out of the Yosemite Valley due to its close proximity to the Merced River, and there are a number of spots where its very tempting to go close to pools in the river and its cataracts, said Kurt Repanshek, editor of the website National Parks Traveler. He added, While there are railings and signs in some of the more dangerous spots, those often are ignored by more than a few visitors, to their detriment. Warm summer temperatures coupled with turbulent, snow-fed rivers and streams are not a good combination, but I wouldnt say were doing anything differently this year, Gediman said. We do our best to educate our visitors, but Yosemite Valley is basically framed by 3,000-foot cliffs, and its impossible to put up barricades everywhere.

By Craig Kohlruss, The Fresno Bee, via AP

View at top: Visitors pause behind a safety railing at a Vernal Fall observation point last summer. fed spring waterfalls, but this year the flows have been stronger and have lasted longer because of a huge snowpack and unusually cool, wet conditions. The parks Tioga Pass Road stayed closed until mid-June, one of its latest openings on record, and several campgrounds remained offlimits until July. Tuesdays Vernal Fall deaths are the sixth wa-

Pool photo by Seth Wenig

A part of history: The FDNYs Ladder Company 3 firetruck is lowered by crane Wednesday into the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York. The firetruck was used to evacuate people from the twin towers on 9/11.

Nearly 10 years later

Outreach efforts help save lives

Heat death toll far lower than 1995 event
By Doyle Rice and Luke Kerr-Dineen USA TODAY Make no mistake: This blistering heat wave now gripping much of the country remains remarkable both for its intensity and duration. With the number of days of extreme heat and humidity of the current heat wave, it may be more significant and impact a larger area than the deadly 1995 heat wave, AccuWeather meteorologist Jim Andrews said. Chicago was ground zero in the 1995 heat wave, he said, where the death toll was 750 over the four-day episode. This weeks heat wave has killed at least 22 people across the USA, a death toll that remains a far cry from the carnage of 1995. It begs the question why. The main reasons appear to be more community outreach, better communication of heat warnings and danger and greater awareness, community leaders said. In Chicago, we want to make sure the patient comes in and immediately gets back to a bed and right to a doctor, said Kaleem Malik, the chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Saint Anthony Hospital. Everything else can wait, he said, such as taking down information or checking records. The city has seen no heat-related deaths yet in this heat wave, the Chicago Tribune reported. In Louisville, where high temperatures have been above 90 degrees for four days, with stifling humidity, no deaths have been reported this week. Chris Poynter, spokesman for the Louisville mayors office, credited a system called Operation White Flag, which puts a white flag outside homeless shelters to signal people they can take refuge there. When that flag is up, that means no one can be turned away, he said. Even if it means sleeping on a cot on the floor, we will find a place for them. Its a place to get water, food, get hydrated, take a shower if they want to. Nationally, the American

Brooklyn child was drugged, then killed

An 8-year-old boy who was abducted off a Brooklyn street last week and dismembered was given painkillers and muscle relaxants before he was smothered, the medical examiner said. Leiby Kletzky apparently was alive for a day after he disappeared July 11, police spokesman Paul Browne said. Investigators believe that while suspect Levi Aron was at work, the boy possibly was in his apartment all day, Browne said. Leiby got lost on his walk home from day camp and asked Aron for help. The boys feet, wrapped in plastic, were found in Arons freezer. Aron was indicted Wednesday on eight counts of murder and kidnapping.

Space shuttle landing for last time

Space shuttle Atlantis was scheduled to land early today at Kennedy Space Center, marking the end of NASAs 30-year-old shuttle program. The landing of a shuttle mission, usually cause for celebration, will usher in massive layoffs for Kennedy Space Center employees and contractors on Floridas Space Coast. United Space Alliance, one of the areas primary employers, will process employee layoffs Friday. Atlantis launched July 8 on a mission to deliver food supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. Donna Leinwand Leger

By Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, via AP

Mist opportunity: Trayvon Harris, left, 12 and Edward Brown, 9 , run through a sprinkler at Franklin Square Park on Wednesday in Milwaukee. They were part of a group from the Milwaukee Public Schools Department of Recreation.

N.J. to probe schools for cheating

New Jersey education officials will investigate 34 public schools for possible cheating after a study of scores from 2008 to 2010 found high rates of erased answers on standardized tests. Christopher Cerf, the acting education commissioner, said 120 schools had high levels of wrong-to-right erasures, but the results were in line with national trends. He said high wrong-to-right erasure rates are one way to identify possible irregularities. The state is probing 12 schools, districts are reviewing 22 others. Recent state investigations in Atlanta and Philadelphia of school test results have put a spotlight on high erasure rates, while a USA TODAY investigation this year prompted Washington, D.C., officials to reopen a cheating investigation of more than 100 schools there. Greg Toppo

The heat index has soared well above 100 degrees across much of the USA this week. The index measures how hot it feels when humidity is added to the actual air temperature. Selected heat index values from Tuesday:
Sidney, Mont. Gwinner, N.D.

Heat bakes USA

110

122

Hutchinson, Minn.

123

Newton, Iowa

Tekamah, Neb.

129

110

Champaign, Ill.

Lawrence, Kan.

117

106

Ardmore, Okla. 110

St. Louis

115
Memphis

Terre Haute, Ind.

107

112

Fort Hood, Texas

111

Source: Hydrometeorological Prediction Center By Doyle Rice and Karl Gelles, USA TODAY

By Jim Mone, AP

In St. Paul: Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton receives the Minnesota budget bill to sign Wednesday. The bill, which ends a government shutdown, was a deal made with GOP lawmakers. Dayton said he was not entirely happy with it.

Shutdown ends in Minn.

College of Emergency Physicians puts out press releases and alerts to really try to emphasize for people to watch out for the heat, to stay cool, and to check on elderly neighbors, said David Seaberg, president-elect of the organization. In Minnesota, which saw high tempertures in the mid- to upper-90s this week, the press has done a good job of alerting people, said Eric Christianson, an emergency medical physician with the Minnesota Medical

Center in Fairview. If people have any of the normal resources, then theyre able to deal with it, he said. In New York, which is bracing for the worst of the heat wave today through Saturday, We have hundreds of cooling stations all around the state, which could be a municipal library, a school, anything where we can provide air conditioning and water, said Dennis Michalski, spokesperson for the New York State Office of Emergency Management.

According to the National Weather Service, 33 states were under heat advisories and warnings on Wednesday in a direct line from western Nebraska to southern Maine, a distance of almost 1,600 miles. A total of 100 million people were affected by the heat advisories on Wednesday. Chicago had a heat index of 108 degrees on Wednesday afternoon, The Weather Channel reported. The heat index measures how hot it feels when humidity is added to the actual air temperature. On Tuesday, at least 17 states hit the 100-degree mark, while more than 40 surpassed 90 degrees, AccuWeather reported. Roads and sidewalks across many cities and towns from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania have buckled in the extreme temperatures. Nationwide, the heat is putting significant stress on the nations power grid. Today and Friday are expected to be hotter than any time since 1950 for many areas, said Travis Hartman, the Energy Weather Manager at MDA Earthstat, which provides forecasts for utilities. Its going to mean elevated power demand for an extended period of time for a

lot of people, he said. The dangerous heat will peak Thursday through Saturday in the East, as winds turn west to southwest over the Northeast and tap into the hot, humid air from the Midwest and South, said Weather Channel meteorologist Jon Erdman. The heat will ease in the northern Plains and upper Midwest during that same time, he added. The break in the heat there will likely only be temporary, as the heat is forecast to build back into the Midwest by next week, said Weather Channel meteorologist Brian Fortier. The hoary clich, its not the heat, its the humidity, appears to be accurate. The heavy rain throughout the spring in the upper Midwest and northern Plains is helping to raise the humidity levels across the region during this heat wave, Fortier said. The temperatures arent as hot because of all the moisture, he said. But the humidity is making the heat just as bad if not worse than the historic heat waves, Fortier said. Contributing: Carly Mallenbaum; the Associated Press uComplete weather, 10A

Good fences make good neighbors

Arizona launched a website to accept donations to pay for fencing along the Mexico border. A new law allows the state to build the fence, as long as backers can raise private donations and persuade landowners to allow it on their property. Republican state Sen. Steve Smith, who sponsored the bill, said buildtheborderfence.com has an initial goal of $50 million. Donate to the countrys security, Smith said. This is an American problem, not an Arizona problem. Alia Beard Rau, The Arizona Republic

TSA: Airport body scans more private

Critics say new software may not ease fliers concerns
By Gary Stoller USA TODAY The Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that it has begun installing software to give passengers more privacy when theyre screened by some of the fullbody scanning machines at airport checkpoints. The TSA says the software for millimeter-wave body-scanning machines, which use electromagnetic waves to screen passengers, replaces a passengers image with a generic one that will still expose any dangerous items that could be hidden. It also says that the softwares automatic detection capability eliminates the need for a TSA agent to look at a passengers image in a viewing room. Many fliers have objected to having their naked images viewed by TSA personnel. This software upgrade enables us to continue providing a high level of security through advanced imaging technology screening, while improving the passenger experience at checkpoints, TSA Administrator John Pistole said Wednesday. The TSA says it expects all 241 machines at 40 U.S. airports to be upgraded by the end of the year. The agency plans to test similar software in the fall for its 247 bodyscanning backscatter devices, which use high-speed X-rays and emit a low dose of radiation. The backscatter machines are at 38 airports. The move doesnt appease some consumer and privacy advocates who say the machines are a waste of money and represent an unlawful, virtual strip search of passengers. They also are concerned that radiation from the X-ray devices could be harmful. The machines are not effective, so the new software is throwing money at a solution thats not a solution, says Kate Hanni, executive director of FlyersRights.org. The machines wont find low-density powdered explosives, liquid explosives or much more than the old metal detectors. TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball says the machines are the best technology currently available to detect well-concealed non-metallic explosives, which are among the most significant threats to our national security today. Ginger McCall of the Electronic Information Privacy Information Center a group that focuses attention on civil liberties issues says its unclear whether the new software will eliminate privacy concerns. She says the TSA must be more transparent about the capabilities of the software. If the software is simply an overlay which still permits the machines to capture, store or transfer the graphic naked image, then it doesnt solve the privacy problems created by these machines, says McCall, a lawyer for the group.

CDC issues warning on dwarf frogs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising parents of children under 5 to resist buying them African dwarf frogs because of an ongoing national outbreak of salmonella that has sickened more than 240 people, mostly children, since 2009. The CDC said the outbreak has been traced to Blue Lobster Farms, a breeding site in Madera County, Calif. Elizabeth Weise By John Bacon with staff and wire reports

Please recycle