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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Winfrey to interview Ralph Lauren live in NYC (AP)

NEW YORK ? When Ralph Lauren sits down for a little chat Monday night with Oprah Winfrey, they'll pick up a discussion they started on TV back in the spring, when the fashion designer helped close out Winfrey's long-running talk show with an exclusive peek inside his Colorado estate.

But this time, their talk about Lauren's life, career and commitment to cancer causes will be done in front of a sold-out crowd of arts patrons at Lincoln Center and a celebrity guest list expected to include Jerry Seinfeld, Martha Stewart, Tom Brokaw, Naomi Watts and Anna Wintour.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Lauren's cancer care center in East Harlem, along with Lincoln Center itself.

Produced by Tony Award winner Darren Bagert, the multimedia presentation reinforces the Upper West Side venue as a fashion-industry destination. It's where most of the city's designers ? although not Lauren ? present their seasonal collections at New York Fashion Week.

Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared Monday as The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention Day.

Winfrey was expected to wear a custom-made gown by Lauren.

Back in May, Lauren told Winfrey during their televised interview that he considered becoming a baseball player, a basketball player, a cowboy, a dancer ? even Batman ? before settling on fashion as his livelihood. He said he was drawn to Batman because of "the ability to stay young, the ability to enjoy what you enjoyed when you were a kid, not to give up the hope and excitement."

___

Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://twitter.com/ap_fashion

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fashion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_en_ce/us_fea_fashion_oprah_winfrey_ralph_lauren

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Police, Wall Street protesters fall into uneasy truce (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? After a rough start marked by mass arrests and allegations of heavy-handed behavior, the New York Police Department has settled into an uneasy standoff with the protesters of Occupy Wall Street.

Officers say they are frustrated by people they think are willfully flouting the law -- protesters marching without permits, erecting tents, breaking noise and curfew regulations, publicly defecating and so on. Meanwhile, protesters say the cops should be with them, not against them, in their fight.

Five weeks after the first protest in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, a nervous stalemate has evolved as the movement mushroomed and drew the world's scrutiny.

Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association of the NYPD and a 30-year veteran of the force, finds the mixed messages from above frustrating. "At times we don't have to - or they don't want us to - do things, and at times they do want us to do things. There's no real clear message as to what right and wrong is," he said. "In many ways we are almost the pawns in this situation."

The early days of the protest, which routinely draws at least a few hundred people, were marked by more contentious relations. There was a high-profile incident of an occupier being pepper-sprayed by a senior officer, who has since been disciplined. On October 1, more than 700 people were arrested after a march on the Brooklyn Bridge; many accused the police of entrapping them.

Paul Browne, the NYPD's chief spokesman, was widely quoted after those arrests saying the protesters had been given ample warning to get off the bridge's roadway before being detained.

Browne did not return phone calls or emails over the course of a week seeking comment on the police's relations with the protesters or its tactics in dealing with the movement.

But as the Occupy Wall Street protests have grown larger and drawn more attention, the tone of relations has changed.

When a group of protesters was arrested in Washington Square Park in Manhattan early on October 16 for an act of civil disobedience - failing to obey a midnight curfew - the atmosphere, by all accounts, was relatively calm.

A branch movement has even popped up - OccupyPolice - to try and convince officers to join the protests. Its website lists contact information for police departments and attorneys general nationwide to further the effort.

CAUGHT ON FILM

The police are also under pressure because they know they are potentially on film at all times. The overwhelming majority of demonstrators have smartphones, and many have handheld cameras as well, such that anything the police do, day or night, can be captured from multiple angles.

One expert on policing policy said the constant scrutiny by protesters and the media had a clear effect.

"Police departments around the country and the world, and that includes the NYPD ... are very much concerned with visible accountability," said Maki Haberfeld, the chairwoman of the department of law and police science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Still, she said that despite the presence of cameras "you cannot demand of police officers that they perform their duties in an emotionless manner."

One officer who has become something of a media darling over the course of the protests said there was an unease between the sides but behind that there was also dialogue.

"There's mistrust on their end, there's mistrust on our end, but we're trying to maintain a relationship," said Detective Rick Lee, a non-uniformed officer who has been dubbed the "hipster cop" by a number of websites for his trendy dress and ongoing dialogue with the protesters.

Some protesters are willing to concede that not all the police guarding them are against them.

"They're asking people questions, they're intrigued, they want to know," said protester Andrew Carbone of Brooklyn. "The cops, you see them a lot of times smiling, laughing at stuff."

RUNNING COUNT

In keeping with the core role social media plays in the Occupy movement, a Twitter account has popped up, @OccupyArrests, to keep a running count of those who have been arrested for participating in some capacity. As of Monday afternoon, the account tallied 2,382 arrests worldwide, though that figure is not independently verified.

Fears of a crackdown have spawned parody. A Facebook page called "Occupy Lego Land," urging peaceful protests by the popular children's' toys, carried pictures of toy police roughing up toy protesters during a "demonstration."

Joke or not, cops chafe at such images.

"If anything rankles a police officer it's that kind of stuff, it's the kind of stuff that makes the cops look like they're out of control," said one retired police official now involved with an association of officers.

The protesters tell police they too are "the 99 percent" -- working and middle-class Americans who struggle to pay bills and chafe at the inequities in the financial system.

For the dozens of cops circling the park, who spend most days doing little more than standing cross-armed and staring at the crowd, there is some financial upside.

"There's so much of this stuff going on, our guys tend to look at it as 'great I'll get some overtime,'" the retired official said.

(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz, editing by Martin Howell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111024/us_nm/us_protests

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Obama offers mortgage relief on western trip (AP)

LAS VEGAS ? The Obama administration offered mortgage relief on Monday to hundreds of thousands of Americans in the latest attempt to ease the economic and political fallout of a housing crisis that has bedeviled President Barack Obama as he seeks a second term.

Obama was pitching new rules for federally guaranteed loans in Las Vegas, the epicenter of foreclosures and joblessness, in recognition that measures the administration has taken so far have not worked as well as officials had expected. The housing effort represents a new emphasis on executive steps he can take to address economic ills and other domestic challenges while circumventing Republican lawmakers, who have been blocking most of his proposals.

His jobs bill struggling in Congress, Obama tried a new catchphrase ? "We can't wait" ? to highlight his administrative initiatives and to shift blame to congressional Republicans for lack of action to boost employment and stimulate an economic recovery. Later in the week, Obama plans to announce measures to make it easier for college graduates to pay back federal loans.

While Obama has proposed prodding the economy with payroll tax cuts and increased spending on public works and aid to states, he has yet to offer a wholesale overhaul of the nation's housing programs. Economists point to the burst housing bubble as the main culprit behind the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, the combination of unemployment, depressed wages and mortgages that exceed house values has continued to put a strain on the economy.

"There is no silver bullet," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One, and he acknowledged that the president's unilateral measures have their limits. "They are not a substitute to congressional action."

While the White House tried to avoid predicting how many homeowners would benefit from the revamped refinancing program, the Federal Housing Finance Administration estimated an additional 1 million people would qualify. Moody's Analytics say the figure could be as high as 1.6 million.

Under Obama's proposal, homeowners who are still current on their mortgages would be able to refinance no matter how much their home value has dropped below what they still owe.

In spelling out the plan to homeowners in in a Las Vegas neighborhood, Obama has chosen a state that provides the starkest example of the toll the housing crisis has exacted from Americans. One in every 118 homes in the state of Nevada received a foreclosure notice in September, the highest ratio in the country, according to the foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac.

Carney criticized Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for proposing last week while in Las Vegas that the government not interfere with foreclosures. "Don't try to stop the foreclosure process," Romney told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Let it run its course and hit the bottom."

"That is not a solution," Carney said. "That is a solution that basically says to middle-class Americans who have been responsibly paying their mortgages, who, through no fault of their own, have seen their economic situation get quite desperate because of the crisis in the housing market, that `you're on your own, tough luck, I'm not going to help you.'"

The president also was using his visit to Las Vegas to promote a $15 billion neighborhood revitalization plan contained in his current jobs proposal that would help redevelop abandoned and foreclosed properties and stabilize affected neighborhoods.

The Nevada stop is the first leg of a three-day tour of western states, blending his pitch for boosting the economy with an aggressive hunt for campaign cash.

From Nevada, Obama will head for the glamor of Hollywood and the homes of movie stars Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas and producer James Lassiter for some high-dollar fundraising. On Tuesday, he will tape an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, his second time on the show as president and fourth time overall. He will also raise money in San Francisco and in Denver.

Before the president addressed his mortgage refinancing plan, he attended a fundraiser at the luxurious Bellagio hotel, offering a sharp contrast between well-to-do who are fueling his campaign and the struggling homeowners hoping to benefit from his policies.

The mortgage assistance plan by the Federal Housing Finance Administration will help borrowers with little or no equity in their homes, many of whom are stuck with 6 or 7 percent mortgage rates, to seek refinancing and take advantage of lower rates. The FHFA plans to remove caps that had allowed homeowners to refinance only if they owed up to 25 percent more than their homes are worth.

The refinancing program is being extended until the end of 2013. It was originally scheduled to end in June 2012.

The administration's incremental steps to help homeowners have prompted even the president's allies to demand more aggressive action.

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, a moderate Democrat from California, gave voice to Democratic frustration on the housing front last week when he announced his decision not to seek re-election, blaming the Obama administration directly for not addressing the crisis.

"I am dismayed by the administration's failure to understand and effectively address the current housing foreclosure crisis," Cardoza said in a statement that drew widespread attention. "Home foreclosures are destroying communities and crushing our economy, and the administration's inaction is infuriating."

Obama's new "We can't wait" slogan is his latest in a string of stump-speech refrains he hopes will pressure Republicans who oppose his $447 billion jobs package. He initially exhorted Congress to "Pass this bill!" then demanded "I want it back," all in the face of unanimous Republican opposition in the Senate, though even some Democrats were unhappy with the plan.

Obama has now agreed to break the proposal into its component parts and seek congressional approval one measure at a time. The overall proposal would increase taxes on millionaires, lower payroll taxes on workers and businesses for a year, pay for bridge, road and school construction projects, and help states and local governments retain teachers and emergency workers on the job.

Divvied up, the proposals with the best chance of passage are the payroll tax cuts and extensions in jobless insurance to the long-term unemployed.

Countering Obama's criticism, GOP leaders say the sluggish economy and stubbornly high unemployment rate are the result of failed Obama administration policies, including the 2009 stimulus package and financial regulation bill.

"They got everything they wanted from Congress the first two years," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Sunday. "Their policies are in place. And they are demonstrably not working."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_on_en_mo/us_obama

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Thousands of Somalis flee area fearing fighting

African Union peacekeepers are seen in the Deynile district of the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. In the Somali capital Thursday, al-Shabab was chased out of the northernmost neighborhood of Deynile in a dawn offensive by Somali government troops and African Union peacekeepers who took control of the area, which the Islamist insurgency used as an execution ground and as an area for carrying out amputations, residents said. (AP Photo/Ali Bashi)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT. Al-Shabab militants display the bodies of dozens of men they claimed were African Union (AU) peacekeepers, in Elasha Biya, 20km from Mogadishu, in Somalia Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. On Thursday fierce fighting in Mogadishu claimed the lives of at least ten peacekeepers and dozens of other soldiers, and al-Shabab fighters displayed dozens of bodies which they said were AU peacekeepers - many but not all wore flak jackets and helmets which would be highly unusual for Somali government soldiers, though it was unclear if some of them might be government troops. (AP Photo)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) ? Thousands of people fled a camp for the displaced near Somalia's capital on Sunday, fearing an imminent clash between African Union peacekeepers and the al-Qaida-linked militants who are trying to demonstrate their strength amid an assault on two fronts.

In the country's south, meanwhile, others braced for fierce battles as Kenyan soldiers closed in on a militant-held town in their weeklong effort to defeat the al-Shabab group blamed for suicide bombings, kidnapping foreigners and killing famine victims.

African Union forces already have pushed the militants from their last base in the capital of Mogadishu, and those staying on the outskirts said they worried the battles were approaching. The African Union Mission to Somalia force, also known as AMISOM, said in a statement Sunday they had advanced to Mogadishu's outskirts.

"We want to pass here before the fighting closes the escape routes," said Salado Abdullahi, a mother of six, who was at a checkpoint in Mogadishu on Sunday.

Somalia has been a failed state for more than 20 years, and the lawless country is a haven for pirates and international terrorists. Al-Shabab fighters have been waging a war against the weak Somali government for more than five years.

A force of 9,000 peacekeepers from Burundi and Uganda have been aiding the Somali forces. Al-Shabab retreated from Mogadishu amid a devastating famine a few months back, but re-emerged by staging their deadliest single bombing that killed more than 100 people.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber killed himself and wounded two AU troops when he ran after the AU convoy.

The Kenyan military sent troops into neighboring Somalia one week ago to pursue the militants following a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil that were blamed on Somali gunmen. Al-Shabab has threatened to launch suicide bombings inside Kenya in retaliation, and the U.S. Embassy warned late Saturday than an imminent terrorist attack is possible.

Kenya's military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said fighting was a likely to occur in the town of Afmadow "very soon."

"Most likely man-to-man battles will occur in Afmadow," he told The Associated Press. "That is one of the areas we really want to inflict trauma and damage on the al-Shabab basically to reduce their effectiveness completely so that they do not exist as a force."

Hundreds of residents were fleeing Afmadow Sunday in anticipation of fighting. Chirchir said al-Shabab were regrouping in the town of Bula Haji to face the Kenyan troops.

Somali gunmen have kidnapped four Europeans in the last six weeks ? two from Kenya's Lamu coastal resort region and two from the Dadaab refugee camp near the Somali border. One of the hostages, a quadriplegic French woman, died on Wednesday.

The kidnappings have threatened Kenya's tourism industry, which had only recently bounced back from a near collapse after postelection violence left more than 1,000 dead several years ago.

Kenya's troops are untested and it isn't clear if they are prepared for a long-term occupation requiring counterinsurgency skills ? a scenario that ended U.S. and Ethiopian interventions during Somalia's 20-year-old civil war. The Somalia operation is Kenya's biggest foreign military commitment since independence in 1963.

However, al-Shabab has been weakened by a severe famine in its strongholds. Al-Shabab also is beset by internal divisions and public discontent over the group's strict punishments, recruitment of child soldiers and indiscriminate bombings.

_____

Tom Odula reported from Nairobi, Kenya.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-23-AF-Somalia-Kenya/id-d94e5cf3f746417a82e8cfe5c638b17b

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'Junk DNA' defines differences between humans and chimps

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2011) ? For years, scientists believed the vast phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzees would be easily explained -- the two species must have significantly different genetic makeups. However, when their genomes were later sequenced, researchers were surprised to learn that the DNA sequences of human and chimpanzee genes are nearly identical. What then is responsible for the many morphological and behavioral differences between the two species?

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have now determined that the insertion and deletion of large pieces of DNA near genes are highly variable between humans and chimpanzees and may account for major differences between the two species.

The research team lead by Georgia Tech Professor of Biology John McDonald has verified that while the DNA sequence of genes between humans and chimpanzees is nearly identical, there are large genomic "gaps" in areas adjacent to genes that can affect the extent to which genes are "turned on" and "turned off." The research shows that these genomic "gaps" between the two species are predominantly due to the insertion or deletion (INDEL) of viral-like sequences called retrotransposons that are known to comprise about half of the genomes of both species. The findings are reported in the most recent issue of the online, open-access journal Mobile DNA.

"These genetic gaps have primarily been caused by the activity of retroviral-like transposable element sequences," said McDonald. "Transposable elements were once considered 'junk DNA' with little or no function. Now it appears that they may be one of the major reasons why we are so different from chimpanzees."

McDonald's research team, composed of graduate students Nalini Polavarapu, Gaurav Arora and Vinay Mittal, examined the genomic gaps in both species and determined that they are significantly correlated with differences in gene expression reported previously by researchers at the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.

"Our findings are generally consistent with the notion that the morphological and behavioral differences between humans and chimpanzees are predominately due to differences in the regulation of genes rather than to differences in the sequence of the genes themselves," said McDonald.

The current analysis of the genetic differences between humans and chimpanzees was motivated by the group's previously published findings (2009) that the higher propensity for cancer in humans vs. chimpanzees may have been a by-product of selection for increased brain size in humans.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Journal Reference:

Nalini Polavarapu, Gaurav Arora, Vinay K Mittal, John F McDonald. Characterization and potential functional significance of human-chimpanzee large INDEL variation. Mobile DNA, 2011; 2: 13 DOI: 10.1186/1759-8753-2-13

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/5cuIu0-GIRE/111025122615.htm

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Businesses: No hiring, and not much firing

By Reuters

U.S. companies do not plan to significantly increase payrolls over the next six months but neither do they intend to aggressively fire workers, according to a survey on Monday that suggested lackluster job growth.

The National Association of Business Economics' industry survey found that 59 percent of the 68 respondents saw no change in their employment levels, up from 49 percent in July. That was the highest percentage since January last year.

The survey was conducted between September 20 and October 5.

About 29 percent of businesses expected to increase payrolls, down from 43 percent in July. Three percent planned to lay off workers, up from zero three months ago.

The findings suggest that job growth will probably remain too slow to lower a stubbornly high unemployment rate that has been stuck above 9 percent.

After adding to payrolls at a brisk pace early in the year, businesses have turned cautious as the debt crisis in Europe and acrimony in Washington over budget policy cloud the economic outlook.

While the euro zone accounts for about two percent of U.S. exports, economists warn the fiscal troubles in the region could trigger a financial crisis that would hit American banks and drag the economy into a new recession.

The NABE survey found that a fifth of businesses had seen a drop in sales because of the European debt crisis, with just under a third expecting the drag to continue through the first quarter of 2012.

Amid the economic uncertainty, businesses are cutting back on capital spending. A third of businesses said they were increasing investment in capital, down from 41 percent in July. About 60 percent planned no changes to their capital spending budgets, up from 53 percent three months ago.

Business spending in equipment and software has supported the weak economy. While businesses are cutting back on capital spending, they still do not believe the economy will slide into recession.

Most respondents expected the economy to grow slowly but not slip back into recession. About 84 percent expected gross domestic product to grow at an annual pace of about 2 percent or less.

Jobless rates drop in half of US states

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/24/8464756-businesses-no-hiring-and-not-much-firing

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Racing community pays tribute to Wheldon in Indy

People attending a memorial service for race-car driver Dan Wheldon file past a floral display around a photo of Wheldon in Indianapolis, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Wheldon was killed Sunday, Oct. 16, in a 15-car crash in the IndyCar race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Fans sign a tribute banner before a memorial service for race-car driver Dan Wheldon in Indianapolis, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Wheldon was killed Oct. 16, in a 15-car crash at the IndyCar race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Dario Franchitti, left, of Scotland; Tony Kanaan, of Brazil; and Bryan Herta tell stories during a memorial service for Dan Wheldon in Indianapolis, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Wheldon was killed Sunday, Oct. 16, in a 15-car crash during the IndyCar auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Randy Bernard, IndyCar chief executive officer, speaks during a memorial service for the late race-car driver Dan Wheldon in Indianapolis, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Wheldon was killed Oct. 16, in a 15-car crash in the IndyCar race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Garth Brooks performs during a memorial service for Dan Wheldon in Indianapolis, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Wheldon was killed Sunday, Oct. 16, in a 15-car crash during the IndyCar Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Dan Wheldon's friends shed a few tears and shared lots of laughs Sunday.

Some couldn't even bear to say goodbye a week after the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was killed in a fiery crash at Las Vegas.

The 87-minute memorial service was a fitting tribute to Wheldon's life, with former teammates and bosses providing dozens of stories about the roles Wheldon played ? fierce competitor on the track, comedian off of it and loving father and husband.

"At first Dan was pretty much the little brother we didn't want," four-time IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti said drawing laughter before pausing to collect his thoughts. "And now we'd do anything to have him back. We'll miss you D.W."

With an estimated crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 filling Conseco Fieldhouse, it was a shared sentiment on yet another dark day in the racing world.

Hundreds of fans signed two large banners that will be given to Wheldon's wife, Susie, who attended the ceremony but did not speak.

Some of the community's most prominent organizations ? the Colts, Pacers, Indianapolis 500 Festival and Indiana General Assembly Motorsports Caucus ? sent floral arrangements. A few fans wore Wheldon No. 4 shirts from his days with Panther Racing, and others delivered flowers, contributed to the family trust fund or dropped off personal mementoes.

"Thank you for the many wonderful memories," Rebecca Nix wrote on a folded flag with a photo of Wheldon pinned to it.

The day was full of emotion ? from the moment of silence organizers observed in honor of MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, who was killed Sunday in a crash at Malaysia, right down to Garth Brooks' final song, "The Dance."

But after touching eulogies from IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and CEO Jeff Belskus, most speakers interspersed light-hearted moments from Wheldon's life with somber farewells because they said that's how Wheldon would have wanted it.

Tony Kanaan, the 2004 series champion and one of Wheldon's closest friends, recounted the pranks he, Franchitti and Bryan Herta pulled on Wheldon when the four were teammates with Michael Andretti's team. He remembered stealing the left shoe from each of Wheldon's pairs in Japan and shipping them back to the U.S., the time they threw everything out of the self-proclaimed neat-freak's tidy locker and then had to help him clean it up and the countless times they joked about Wheldon's "tight" racing suit.

From his supply of hair products to his boy-band looks, the teammates teased Wheldon mercilessly.

And everybody had some sort of funny story.

Panther Racing's Mike Kitchel recalled the "phone-stealing" game often played with the public relations staff. Wheldon would take the staff's cell phones and send messages to someone from the contact list, setting up meetings, lunches or worse.

Business manager Mickey Ryan called Wheldon the Imelda Marcos of race-car drivers.

But in the end, everyone was emotional.

"Our time together is not over. We have our friends, we have our memories, and one day we'll be together again," Kanaan said. "It is for this reason that I'm not saying goodbye because goodbye is final. So today, I say see you later."

Some of the sport's biggest names attended the service.

In addition to Franchitti, Kanaan and Herta were current drivers Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal; former IndyCar star Sam Hornish Jr. and three-time Indy winner Johnny Rutherford. Team owners John Barnes, Sarah Fisher and Roger Penske and speedway chairwoman Mari Hulman George also were in the crowd.

So were a handful of National Guard members, the people Wheldon represented while driving for Barnes' Panther Racing team.

None of them spoke during a service that included a photo collage of Wheldon's greatest moments in racing ? from his racing days as a child to the moment he kissed Indy's famed yard of bricks as his 2-year-old Sebastian sat next to him.

Wheldon's father and Wheldon's siblings also sent a videotaped message thanking fans for their support. Country music star Reba McEntire and The Band Perry also performed during the service.

The stage was decorated with a Borg-Warner Trophy and a winner's wreath from the 500, two bottles of milk, symbolic of his two Indy wins, and Wheldon's 2005 points championship trophy.

Mike Hull, managing director for Target Chip Ganassi, brought his own prop ? a pair of sunglasses to mimic Wheldon's trademark look around the track. Everybody laughed.

"This guy was in the middle of everything we were doing at Chip Ganassi Racing," said Hull, Wheldon's boss when he left Andretti's team. "I had never, up to that point, been around someone like Dan Wheldon."

On the track, Wheldon was a hard-nosed racer with a penchant for finding his way to the front.

Wheldon began driving go-karts as a 4-year-old, and racing stayed with him as he attended school in England as a child, winning eight British national titles along the way. He moved to the United States in 1999, quickly trying to find sponsor money to fund his dream, and by 2002 ? after stints in some lower-profile open-wheel series, such as the F2000 championship, Toyota Atlantic Series and IndyLights ? he was on the IndyCar grid for the first time.

By 2005, he was not only the funniest driver on the circuit but the most dominant. He won his first Indy that year, giving Michael Andretti his first victory lap around the famed Brickyard, and later went on to win the points championship.

But over the years, Wheldon grew up in front of everyone.

After winning his first Indy, his business managers said, Wheldon partied until 4 a.m. After becoming the 18th two-time winner in May, he reserved the celebration for his wife and two young sons.

And that's how most in the racing community will remember Wheldon.

"Dan's legacy on and off the track lives on in each one of us and we should remember that," Herta said. "God bless you Danny and thank you. We all appreciate it.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-10-23-CAR-IndyCar-Wheldon-Tribute/id-fc8208a102734e9bba32cb6283469ff4

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