Ruins Await Residents' Return in Kansas

GREENSBURG, Kan. - Rescue crews have twice searched the debris-strewn yards and splintered homes that once held Greensburg's 1,500 residents. They began a third sweep Monday to secure the area before families who lost almost everything were to be allowed back in.

Not much remained in Greenburg to go back to.

The F5 tornado, the most powerful to hit the U.S. in eight years, demolished every business on the main street. Churches lost their steeples, trees were stripped of their branches, and neighborhoods were left unrecognizable. Officials estimate as much as 95 percent of the town was destroyed. At least 10 people died in the storms.

"We've been over the town …

Meche stifles Dodges _ except Manny

Royals ace Gil Meche didn't pitch around Manny Ramirez on Friday. If he had, the Dodgers wouldn't have had a hit that reached the outfield grass.

Meche worked seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits _ three singles Ramirez _ as the Royals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1.

The only other hit he gave up was to starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who reached on an …

Symphony shimmers with color

It was a perfect night for outdoor music at Grant ParkWednesday. The skyline's white lights glittered against the blacksky, and the Grant Park Symphony led by Paul Freeman, music directorof the Chicago Sinfonietta, provided plenty of orchestral color.

At first the colors were muted in the opening work, Gershwin's"Cuban Overture." The Latin-flavored music had a nice swagger, butshort solo turns for individual instruments were blurred. Theexotic percussion clattered and bounced, but that was moredistracting than piquant. By the slower second section, Freeman andhis players had settled in and the massed strings were playing withthat bluesy, luxurious sweep so typical of …

Tigers beat Twins 4-2 to complete the 3-game sweep

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers have been streaky this season.

Good and bad.

Brennan Boesch believes they're about to get on a roll.

Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the third and Rick Porcello pitched into the seventh inning, lifting Detroit to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

The Tigers swept the three-game series and has won four straight in an up-and-down season.

"I think it will be mostly feast the rest of the year," Boesch said. "We got a good team and we're confident."

The two-time defending AL Central champion Twins, who have won six division titles since 2002, are used to having a good team.

Not this year.

Minnesota has …

Finland, Estonia ratify EU's Lisbon Treaty before Irish vote

Finnish and Estonian lawmakers overwhelmingly ratified the European Union's Lisbon Treaty on Wednesday _ a day before a national referendum in Ireland could determine the fate of the charter.

The Finnish Parliament voted 151-27 in favor of the treaty, which was negotiated after voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitution in referendums in 2005.

In neighboring Estonia, lawmakers in Tallinn approved the treaty in a 91-1 vote.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the votes.

"The European Union will be stronger and better equipped to serve its citizens in the face of today's global …

VIOLENT CRIME ON THE RISE

VIOLENT crime recorded in North Somerset surged by more than 25per cent last year, according to controversial Home Office figuresreleased today.

The Avon and Somerset force also had the worst detection rateoutside London, with 15 per cent of crimes solved .

According to the detailed breakdown of offences in the district,there were 3,492 crimes of violence against people last year.

That figure showed that violent crime was up 26 per cent from1,877 to 2,362 along with a 24 per cent rise in sex crime, from 105to 130. Robberies were up 18 per cent in North Somerset, houseburglaries were down 17 per cent while there was a 14 per cent dropin thefts from vehicles. …

UAW wins seat on Daimler board

It is working with IG Metall to create a more global union.

Little did Steve Yokich know the brightly colored Moslem prayer cloth hanging on the wall of his riverfront office at Solidarity House would so accurately forecast the future. A gift from an Arab-American organization, it is a prayer for a "world leader" written in Arabic. As president of the UAW, Yokich is closer to that station today, as the DaimlerChrysler merger slams home the UAW's new position as a major union in the first transnational automaker.

Initially, its place in the new company seemed a bit in question. But in a history-making agreement, IG Metall, the union representing German Daimler workers, …