For profit plus safety, look into bonds

Here's a hot tip:

You set aside $1,000 from the funds you have allotted forplaying Lotto. You find a friendly broker and persuade him to acceptyour $1,000 to buy one of Commonwealth Edison's first mortgage bonds,specifically the 8 1/4 bond due in 2007.

You hold it for one year and get your broker to sell it for you.You walk away with $1,242.50. Your $242.50 profit consists of $82.50for one year's interest plus $160 because the bond cost you $840 butyou have sold it for $1,000.

Maybe.

David Poitras, the manager of the bond department at WayneHummer & Co. thinks it could happen that way.

Like many, many bonds, that particular …

Bush Cites Chief Justice in Vote Rally

ELKO, Nev. - Searching for new arguments to mobilize conservative voters, President Bush said Thursday that Chief Justice John Roberts would not be on the Supreme Court if Democrats controlled the Senate.

Bush told voters at rallies in the red states of Montana and Nevada that if Democrats take control of the Senate, they could affect what kind of judges sit on federal courts.

Roberts' earlier nominations to a lower federal appeals court were blocked by the Senate when it was under Democratic control, Bush said. The Senate approved Bush's nomination of Roberts to head the Supreme Court last year with 22 Democrats voting for him and 22 Democrats voting against him.

…

Democratic fundraiser faces sentencing

Former Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu is headed for a lengthy prison sentence after his conviction for violating campaign finance laws.

Hsu, a native of Hong Kong, is scheduled for sentencing Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.

His donations became an embarrassment for then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign. His arrest led Clinton to return more than …

Ready or not // Woods' decision to go pro signals a new era for golf

At approximately 2:30 p.m. today at Brown Deer Park Golf Coursein Milwaukee, Tiger Woods will walk into a roomful of microphones,notepads, cameras and expectations and tell the breathlessly waitingsports world why he has turned professional. The clicking, whirring,scribbling, buzzing and flashing will be at once blinding anddeafening.

Woods released a statement Tuesday announcing his decision.Today he will explain why he chose the Greater Milwaukee Open to gopro. Already cell phones are lighting up like Christmas trees.Deal-makers are emerging from every imaginable nook and cranny,pushing, shoving and angling. Scammers are huddling. Publishers arescheming. TV talk show …

Malaysian cop jailed 5 years for killing teenager

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian policeman has been sentenced to five years in jail for fatally shooting a teenager in an incident that sparked public outcry over alleged police brutality.

Lawyer N.Surendran says 48-year-old Jenain Subi was found guilty Thursday of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for firing 21 shots during a car chase that killed 14-yera-old …

Valero stops DeMarco after nine rounds

Edwin Valero of Venezuela retained his WBC lightweight belt by stopping Mexico's Antonio DeMarco in their title fight Saturday.

DeMarco sat in his corner and declined to come out for the 10th round. The Mexican was well behind on points and, though he had no obvious injuries, officials said he retired on the advice of his handlers.

When the fight ended, Valero was eight points up on the scorecards of all three judges.

Valero improved 27-0, with none of his bouts going the distance. DeMarco suffered only his second career defeat against 23 wins a draw.

"My physical strength started to show," Valero said. "Little by little I started gaining ground. The first three or four rounds I couldn't hit him with my jab, but then I started to connect."

Valero picked up a gash across his forehead in the second round, which came from a DeMarco elbow that was ruled accidental. Valero needs three stitches afterward to close the wound.

Valero said he'd like a fight with Manny Pacquiao, which would force the Latin American to move up several weight categories.

"That's the fight the world wants to see," the Venezuelan said.

There could be many problems standing in the way of a Pacquiao-Valero fight.

Valero has been denied a U.S. visa because of a drunk-driving charge in Texas. He claims he was turned down because of his strong support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a vocal critic of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.

Valero also had a severe motorcycle accident in February 2001 that left him with a fractured skull and required surgery to remove a blood clot. He eventually failed a pre-fight exam in New York. He was handed an indefinite suspension that effectively banned him from fighting in the United States.

The Venezuelan claimed the belt with a second-round TKO of Antonio Pitalua in April last year, and defended it in December when Hector Velasquez retired after six rounds.

DeMarco took an interim version of the belt with a 10th round TKO of Jose Alfaro in October last year.

DOE EXPLAINS ALGAE EXCLUSION IN BIOMASS UPDATE

Unrest within the algae community was blooming following the release of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 2011 update of the Billion Ton Study projecting biomass supply for the bioenergy and bioproducts industries. The reason for the unrest was that algae biomass was not considered. The report, an update of the Billion Ton Study undertaken by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the DOE in 2005, projects that that the U.S. will have between 1.1 billion and 1.6 billion tons of available and sustainable biomass - not including algae - by 2030.

In answer to a question on its "Bioenergy: Knowledge Discovery Framework" website (www.nationalalgaeassociation.com) as to why the study did not include estimates for algal biomass, DOE officials responded: "Algal biomass was not included in the 2011 U.S. Billion Ton Update because there was insufficient data to estimate and project the availability of algal feedstocks with any degree of accuracy. The Department of Energy (DOE) Biomass Program is funding an initial strategic national assessment of the resource potential of algae grown for biofuels, but more work is needed before there are enough credible public data to consider algal biomass to the same level of detail as terrestrialbased feedstocks in the U.S. Billion Ton Update." Data will need to be evaluated under different daily and seasonal temperatures, solar resource regimes, as well as weather-related events.

The DOE officials noted that a recent study conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, sponsored by the DOE Biomass Program, indicates a U.S. potential of several billion gallons of additional renewable fuels from algae that can be produced on lands with poor soil quality using nonfresh water. "This resource assessment will serve as a foundation on which to conduct more thorough national assessments as more data become available."