Japan will lead search for middle ground. (Japan's stand on global warming)

TOKYO - While the United States debates what stance to take toward a global-warming treaty, the Japanese government has staked out its position.

Mediator.

As host of the Kyoto conference in December, Japan seems determined to find a middle ground among nations whose positions on global warming vary radically.

Japan's proposal, tendered last week, calls for reducing worldwide greenhouse gases by 5 percent from 1990 levels. That is nowhere near as stringent as the 15 percent cut favored by the European Union.

Indeed, the European Union had indicated to Japan that it would consider anything less than a 5 percent target unacceptable.

Speaking in …

Beaury scores two; Rushes for 71 yards to pace La Salle victory.(Sports)

Byline: Staff reports

Brian Beaury ran for 71 yards and two touchdowns to power La Salle to a 20-7 win over Niskayuna.

After going ahead 7-0 in the first half, La Salle started the second half with a 10-play drive that led to Beaury's second score. Marquis Terrell found the end zone for La Salle in the fourth quarter.

LaSalle shut out Niskayuna for most of the game until Chris Okonski scored on a 35-yard pass from quarterback Dan Peters in the fourth quarter. Peters had nine completions in the game for 120 yards.

Queensbury 21, CBA 13

Brad Middleton ran for two touchdowns and caught another one for Queensbury, which needed a …

BIZARRE TWISTS BECOME THE NORM IN SIMPSON CASE AN INVESTIGATOR CALLS A NEWS CONFERENCE TO SAY HE KNOWS NOTHING.(MAIN)

Byline: JIM NEWTON Los Angeles Times

Dunton LOS ANGELES In a day of bizarre twists and turns in the O.J. Simpson murder case, a private investigator called a news conference Thursday to say he has no information about the killings, and a witness who says she does have information was accused of fabricating her account.

Anthony Pellicano, a well-known private investigator who rose to national attention for his work with entertainer Michael Jackson, was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight of the Simpson case when a mysterious witness said he had heard that Pellicano had Simpson's house under surveillance at the time of the killings.

``I …

Media Briefing for Upcoming Launch of NASA'S Space Infrared Telescope Facility.

Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- The launch of NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility aboard a Boeing Delta II Heavy expendable launch vehicle is scheduled for Friday, August 22, at the opening of an instantaneous launch window that occurs at 10:37:29 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (1:37:29 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 23). Launch will occur from Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility marks the finale of NASA's Great Observatories Program, which includes the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Its unprecedented infrared sensitivity will allow astronomers to study the most distant, coldest, and most dust- obscured objects and processes in the universe.

The observatory's amazing ability to sleuth around for low-temperature objects will also aid in the search for planetary systems in the making, some of which may breed Earth-like planets. The mission is a cornerstone of NASA's Origins Program, which seeks to answer the questions, "Where did we come from? Are we alone?"

NASA has scheduled a media …

Oakland Tribune, KTVU report 2 Amtrak trains have collided in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Tribune, KTVU …

Pirates' defense Cubs' best offense

Double-play ball -- a pitcher's best friend. Or, in the case ofthe Cubs' erratic offense Monday, a hitter's best friend if you arefacing the Pittsburgh Pirates' hot-potato defense.

The Cubs scored their only runs during a second-inning rally builtaround a series of botched double-play balls. Yes, Greg Maddux setthe stage for the Pirates' 13-2 blowout by forgetting where they keephome plate at Wrigley Field. But somebody else has to share the blamefor the Cubs making Kris Benson look like the pitcher with a ticketalready stamped for Cooperstown.

Three hits against the Pirates is not what the Cubs had in mindwhen they told us not to overlook their lineup while we were …

China's C[O.sub.2] emissions are far outpacing previous estimates, growing by at least 11%/year, compared with the 2.5-5% forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the period 2004-2010, according to economists at the University of California, Berkeley and San Diego.(Safety & Environment)

China's C[O.sub.2] emissions are far outpacing previous estimates, growing by at least 11%/year, compared with the 2.5-5% forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the period 2004-2010, according to economists at the University of …