Heavy D heading to screen near you

Taking a page from fellow rappers-turned actors Will Smith and Ice-T, Heavy D is hoping to make it, uh, big on the big screen. (Sorry,couldn't resist the obvious pun.) Mr. D, who already has small partsin 11 movies to his credit, joins Tim Allen, Rene Russo and Janeane Garofalo in the comedy "Big Trouble," now filming in Miami.

The entertainer also has plans for the small screen. Heavy D tellsthe New York Post he has been tapped for a recurring role on David E.Kelley's new show, "Boston Public."

WEEKEND WATCH: As usual, restaurant kingpin Alex Dana certainlywas juggling celebs at his eateries-helping actor Robert Conrad toasthis wife Velda's 40th birthday at Rosebud …

House rejects Republican effort on UN funds

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has rejected a Republican-led effort to force the United Nations to give back $179 million in overpayments.

The vote was 259-169. Republicans needed two-third of those voting for the bill to pass.

Republicans pushed for the legislation as part of a cost-cutting effort. The State Department said $100 million of the money already had been designated for the New York City police …

UN: Attacks on Hutus in 1990s could be genocide

A leaked U.N. draft report says the Rwandan army and its Congolese rebel allies committed massacres in Congo in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide that could also be classified as genocide, using hoes and axes to kill ethnic Hutus and burning others alive.

The report is a major embarrassment to Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, whose government has been credited with ending the 1994 slaughter in Rwanda during which more than half a million ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were brutally slain.

The French newspaper Le Monde, which first reported the leaked U.N. draft, said Kagame threatened to withdraw troops from the U.N.-African peacekeeping mission in …

Horizons of chemical engineering

Editors' Note: At each AIChE national meeting, local high school students are recruited to assist speakers in their sessions. In return, the students are given a overview of the profession during their lunch break to familiarize them with career options in chemical engineering.

The following was judged to be the best essay from precollege students who participated in the 1996 Annual Meeting student program. The essays were evaluated for clearness of concept, quality of insight, and expression of ideas. Students were encouraged to focus on what was experienced and learned at the meeting, both positive and negative. We thought it also provides a unique and fresh perspective to what …

Hard Spun Has Trainer Optimistic

STANTON, Del. - Having endured a heartbreaking second-place finish by Hard Spun in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Larry Jones is heading into the Preakness with no regrets.

"I wouldn't take anything back that we've done," Jones said Tuesday upon returning to Hard Spun's home stable at Delaware Park.

Given his horse's love for speed, and the fact that jockey Mario Pino calls Maryland home, Jones likes his chances in the May 19 race at Pimlico. Pimlico, he said, is a track that favors speed.

"If there's such a thing as home-court advantage, I hope we have it this time," he said of the second leg of the Triple Crown. "We sure don't feel like we're giving up anything by …

Robert Morris, Portland St. head to NCAA tourney

Robert Morris and Portland State have become the 13th and 14th teams to receive automatic berths in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Both teams needed a bucket in the closing seconds to win their respective tourneys.

Dallas Green picked up a loose ball and hit a basket with 2.5 seconds left, giving Robert Morris a 48-46 win over Mount St. Mary's in the Northeast Conference final. Jeremy Chappell finished with a team-high 15 points to help the Colonials reach the NCAA tourney for the first time in 17 years.

Portland State claimed the Big Sky Conference title, beating Montana State 79-77 on Julius Thomas' tiebreaking dunk with 3.5 seconds to play. Thomas …

Even cleaning may be hazardous to health

Many chemicals from cleaners, waxes and materials in your homemay build up and actually make you feel ill, irritable and depressed.

The most energy-efficient and inexpensive method to improve theair quality in your home is to reduce the amount of pollutants youput in the air.

Recent research also suggests that certain varieties of commonhouseplants can help purify indoor air.

When cooking, cleaning, painting, etc., operate an exhaust ventfan. Close the doors to that room and crack open a window just alittle to reduce heated air loss from the rest of your home.

Replace synthetic household cleaners and materials in your homewith "low-tox" natural …

GOP Shuns Immigration Hardliner in Ariz.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Randy Graf is a tough-on-immigration Republican in a district that is fed up with people pouring illegally across the border and hasn't elected a Democrat to the House in two decades.

Yet Graf's national party is turning its back on him, the retiring Republican congressman he wants to succeed has disavowed his candidacy and he's finding trouble getting traction beyond the most secure GOP voters - and a border militia that's backing him.

Voters such as Sue Malusa, a mother of four from Tucson, think Graf and his supporters go too far. Graf is backed by the Minutemen, self-appointed border-watchers. Malusa will vote for a candidate who supports "a humane and …

Bollinger, Johnson wreck Indian batting in 6th ODI

Pace bowlers Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson ripped through India's top order Sunday, sharing eight wickets as Australia bundled the hosts out for 170 in the sixth limited-overs international.

Bollinger had figures of 5-35 and Johnson snared 3-39 to give Australia an opportunity to clinch the seven-match series.

Leading 3-2 after five games, Australia benefited from Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to bat first after winning the toss in the northeastern city of Gauhati, where matches start early to avoid poor visibility toward the end of the game.

India got off to a torrid start, losing the wickets of opener Virender Sehwag (4) …

How Mom Raised Mike // Stories of Parenting, by Deloris Jordan

"I kept thinking: He's only 19 years old. He's not ready to becut loose to make his own way alone in a big city like Chicago."

She's the mother of the world's most famous athlete, and shehas written a new book. In Family First, by Deloris Jordan withGregg Lewis (published by Harper San Francisco), Michael Jordan's momexplains her philosophy of parenting, as told through anecdotes abouthow she and her late husband, James, instilled values in their fivechildren in Wilmington, N.C. An excerpt:

Children are so anxious to grow up. At least all mine were -especially Michael.He was always a big kid compared to my other children. Hecaught up to and passed his older brother …

V-Day aims to mobilize 1 billion against violence

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eve Ensler wants a billion people around the globe to stand together against violence. Actually, she wants them to do more than stand: She wants them to dance.

"The Vagina Monologues" author says more needs to be done to change attitudes and realities when it comes to violence against women and girls around the world. She cites a United Nations statistic that says one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. On a planet with 7 billion people, that's more than a billion women.

V-Day, the anti-violence movement Ensler founded 14 years ago, is launching a yearlong initiative Tuesday. "One Billion Rising" encourages people worldwide to walk out of …

Alan Rickman to return to Broadway this fall

NEW YORK (AP) — Another member of the "Harry Potter" franchise is returning to Broadway. This time it's Alan Rickman.

Rickman, who won a Tony Award in the 2002 production of Noel Coward's "Private Lives," will star in the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's new play "Seminar" this fall.

The production will open at a Shubert theater to be announced soon.

Rickman, who plays professor Severus Snape in the "Potter" franchise, will portray a literary …

Earnings preview: More woe expected in Yahoo's 1Q

Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc. is scheduled to report its first-quarter results after the stock market closes Tuesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: This is the third straight year that Yahoo has vowed to boost its sagging profits, with a different chief executive calling the shots each time. The latest, Carol Bartz, is trying to undo the damage sustained under the watch of her predecessors, former movie studio boss Terry Semel and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.

Given Bartz just joined the Sunnyvale, California-based company in January, expectations for first-quarter earnings aren't high. Still, there are some doubts about whether Yahoo will even be able to meet a low target because it has become more difficult to sell Internet advertising as the recession worsened.

That point was hammered home late last week when Internet search leader Google Inc., which runs the largest online ad network, reported its first-quarter revenue rose by just 6 percent _ its slowest growth since the company went public in 2004.

Analysts believe Yahoo's net revenue dropped by about 10 percent in the first quarter. In a stark reminder of how poorly Yahoo has fared as the economy unraveled, Yang last year promised to engineer a turnaround that would boost Yahoo's 2009 revenue by about 25 percent _ a goal the company has since abandoned.

Yahoo eliminated more than 1,500 jobs shortly before it hired Bartz. The purge apparently isn't over. After spending most of her tenure so far studying Yahoo's strengths and weaknesses, Bartz is expected to reduce Yahoo's payroll of 13,600 workers with another series of significant cuts that could shove hundreds more people into the unemployment line.

Bartz already has reshuffled Yahoo's management. The shake-up announced in February will include the departure of chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen, who plans to leave the company when Bartz finds his successor.

While Yang was CEO, Yahoo turned down a chance last May to sell to Microsoft for $47.5 billion. That decision still haunts Yahoo's shareholders, with the company's market value hovering around $20 billion.

Microsoft has made it clear it still would like to run Yahoo's search engine and sell text-based ads alongside the results. Yahoo's search engine appeals to Microsoft because it's the second largest on the Internet behind Google Inc.'s. If Bartz does a deal like that, she would want Yahoo to handle the online billboards, called "display advertising," on Microsoft's Web sites, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Yahoo to earn 8 cents per share on revenue of $1.2 billion. The earnings estimate excludes one-time accounting charges and the revenue excludes the commissions that Yahoo pays its advertising partners.

ANALYST TAKE: Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali already is getting excited about a potential deal with Microsoft. In a recent research report, Squali estimated that Yahoo could trim its annual expenses by up to $1.3 billion by turning over its search operations to Microsoft and generate $600 million to $800 million in additional revenue by selling display advertising on Microsoft's sites.

Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst George Askew is similarly enthusiastic, predicting a Microsoft partnership would be "very positive" for Yahoo.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Yahoo's Web site has been testing a redesigned front page that would display a variety of applications from a variety of other Internet services. The switch to the new design is expected to occur later this year.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Yahoo shares edged up 5 percent in the first quarter and have been gaining more ground recently amid the reports of a possible Microsoft partnership.

Merc makes HQ deal; CME Group stays on Wacker, moves trading floors to CBOT

The parent company of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange said Mondayit closed a property deal that lets it maintain its headquartersalong Wacker Drive even as it moves it trading floors to itsrecently acquired Chicago Board of Trade at 141 W. Jackson.

Terms call for the Merc's two trading floors at 20 S. Wacker tobe converted into office space outfitted with the latest inelectronic equipment. The Merc will lease one of the floors whilethe other will be marketed to financial firms for use as a tradingcenter.

A charitable trust affiliated with the Merc sold the tradingfloors to Tishman Speyer Properties LP. The space connects officetowers at 10 and 30 S. Wacker that Tishman acquired in February aspart of its $1.72 billion absorption of the Chicago buildings thatbelonged to Equity Office Properties Trust.

Sources said the Merc's trust is getting $16 million for thefloors. Terms also allow the Merc to extend its office leases in the10 and 30 S. Wacker towers, with the exchange occupying about360,000 square feet in the complex.

The Tishman-Equity Office transaction is the largest real estatesale in Chicago, and the Merc's piece is a small part of it. Butit's also the most visible part for Chicagoans who wonder how themerger of the city's two premier futures exchanges will change thedowntown business landscape.

Merc Chairman Terry Duffy said the new arrangement will give hiscompany, CME Group Inc., maximum flexibility as it serves the needsof electronic trading operations and those that still use the face-to-face markets in the pits. About 75 percent of the businessconducted at the Merc and Board of Trade now is done via electronictrading.

Support for the electronic markets will be concentrated on Wackerand in a West Loop high-rise at 550 W. Washington, where the Mercplans to occupy about 220,000 square feet by 2011. The trading floorstaff will be centered at 141 W. Jackson.

Having three locations downtown "will be a huge benefit to thecity and to our company," Duffy said. "We have a very close-knitorganization," so coordination among the locations won't be aproblem, he said.

Duffy said the transaction serves as a boost for the Wacker Driveoffice market as well as for the La Salle Street district where theBoard of Trade is a traditional anchor.

Terms of the leases were not disclosed, except that the Merc dealon Wacker runs through 2022. The exchange has targeted the secondquarter of 2008 for the transfer of the floor operations to theBoard of Trade.

The Merc and Board of Trade together will employ almost 2,000people, Duffy said, after a projected layoff of 380 workers by mid-2008.

The Merc's trust will add the sales proceeds to its roughly $64million in assets, said its executive director, Kassie Davis. Shesaid the added cash might allow it to increase the $3 million inannual giving it plans for charities that concentrate on financialeducation and on the well-being of children.

Davis said the trust is evaluating new investment plans for itsholdings. The trust was formed in 1969 to help customers affected bya Merc member's default, but it has never had to pay a claim.

The lease with Tishman will allow substantial renovations for theMerc office space, said Holly Duran, principal of Holly Duran RealEstate Partners LLC, who represented the exchange in thenegotiations. She said Tishman was receptive to "our creative,strategic approach" for space that's efficient in terms of cost andenergy.

The lease will let the Merc reduce its overall occupancy in theWacker complex by about one-third. The trading floors, whichcurrently look like a box between the sawtoothed towers, will getwindows.

Renovations of the space will be directed by the firm FujikawaJohnson Gobel Architects, the original designers of the buildings.The Merc started using the trading floors in November 1983.

Tishman's other Chicago acquisitions from Equity Office includehigh-rises at 161 N. Clark, 1 N. Franklin, 30 N. La Salle and theCivic Opera Building at 20 W. Wacker, just north of the Merc. Thedeal also included the 101 N. Wacker building, but Tishman alreadyhas resold it to Hines Interests LP.

A source said Tishman has no plans to sell the other parts of theportfolio.

droeder@suntimes.com

Hawker Beechcraft lays off 350 workers

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Hawker Beechcraft became the second airplane maker in Kansas this week to announce layoffs when it announced plans Friday to cut 350 jobs

CEO Bill Boisture told workers in a letter that like all aircraft manufactuers, Hawker Beechcraft continues to experience the effects of a worldwide recession.

"While there are pockets of growth in the global economy, the market for new production aircraft has stagnated at a very low level," he wrote. "Readily available, high quality, used aircraft and the lack of financing have combined to depress the prices on private and business aircraft."

The latest round of layoffs come on top of the more than 2,800 announced layoffs at Hawker Beechcraft since late 2008. On Tuesday, Cessna Aircraft announced it was laying off 700 workers in the wake of a stagnant economic recovery.

"Although those difficult people decisions sustained us, the market for new production aircraft is not improving as we had hoped," Boisture said. "In fact, the market is flat to slightly down and the conditions that would signal an upturn are not in sight for at least the next 12 months or longer."

Hawker Beechcraft told employees the new round of layoffs will be from its salaried work force, with decisions on where to make the cuts expected by Nov. 1.

The company told employees that as "rates and efficiencies change" the firm will continue to manage its hourly work force size. It said it did not see a large-scale layoff of hourly employees, but small reductions or short furloughs may be required to manage production and reduce unsold aircraft inventory.

Hawker Beechcraft declined to release its current work force figures.

Meanwhile, Hawker Beechcraft is in negotiations with its machinists union. The talks were opened in August, a year before the current contract is set to expire amid reports that the company is considering moving jobs out of Wichita.

Union leaders have said company officials told them a move could happen if talks aren't successful. The machinists union now represents about 2,400 workers in Wichita.

The mood going into this year's early negotiations sharply contrasted with talks in August 2008, when striking machinists accepted a three-year labor contract after nearly a month on the picket lines. That contract covered about 4,700 hourly workers at the Wichita plant and 500 in Salina. The company has since announced it is closing the Salina facility.

US citizens warned on travel in Djibouti

The U.S. Embassy in the tiny port nation of Djibouti, a key U.S. ally in the Horn of Africa, warned American citizens against traveling near the border with Eritrea after the two countries exchanged fire.

At least nine Djiboutians were killed and more than 60 injured in fighting this week, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said, condemning Eritrea's "military aggression" toward Djibouti.

"These hostilities represent an additional threat to peace and security in the already volatile Horn of Africa," Gallegos said Wednesday in Washington.

More than 1,200 U.S troops are stationed in Djibouti, which hosts the base for an anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa. France also has a base in Djibouti, its former colony.

"For security and safety reasons, the U.S. Embassy urges American citizens to avoid traveling to northern Djibouti and to exercise caution if travel is essential," the embassy said in a statement Wednesday.

Djibouti's foreign minister has said Eritrea has launched a major military buildup on their border overlooking critical Red Sea shipping lanes. Skirmishes between the countries' troops have been reported this week.

Higher expenses hurt Brown-Forman in 4th quarter

Liquor company Brown-Forman Corp. said Wednesday that higher expenses and continued sluggish sales to bars and restaurants watered down gains by its flagship Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and contributed to its fourth-quarter net income falling 9 percent.

Brown-Forman's profit has been hurt in recent quarters by the struggling economy as consumers have chosen less expensive brands _ and by the company's increased spending on advertising to focus more on people who drink at home. Like other liquor companies, Brown-Forman hopes to take better advantage of the recession-born trend away from drinking in bars and restaurants.

But Don Berg, Brown-Forman's chief financial officer, said out-on-the-town drinking _ which the industry calls "on premise" consumption _ has shown early signs of renewal.

"While it appears that consumers are returning to restaurants and bars, their spending seems to be greatly reduced," Berg said in a conference call with industry analysts. "Over time, we believe the on-premise channel will rebound as unemployment decreases and the global economy improves."

Berg said those sales account for about one-fourth of the company's total distilled-spirits volumes.

The company previewed new packaging Wednesday, along with plans for line extensions, executives said they hope to expand the Jack Daniel's brands overseas.

The company's Class B shares rose 37 cents to $57.55 in early afternoon trading.

The Louisville-based company reported strong sales of ready-to-drink products _ mostly cocktails like its Lynchburg Lemonade _ popular with consumers who don't patronize bars and restaurants.

In the three months that ended April 30, Brown-Forman's net income fell 9 percent to $72.7 million, or 49 cents per share. A year earlier, it was $79.6 million, or 53 cents per share. Revenue rose 7 percent to $733 million from $683 million.

The company's results were hurt by higher compensation expenses and one-time costs related to the health care overhaul.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, on average predicted earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $694.1 million.

For the year, net income rose 3 percent to $449.2 million, or $3.02 per share, from $434.4 million, or $2.87 per share last year.

Revenue rose 1 percent to $3.23 billion from $3.19 billion last year.

The company expects a "moderately better" global economy in fiscal 2011 and said its net income will be $2.98 to $3.38 per share. Analysts expect a profit of $3.30 per share.

Berg said the past year was difficult as consumers traded down to cheaper brands and competitors discounted their prices. He said he hoped industry discounting will be "less pervasive" in the next year.

Looking ahead, the company said it sees opportunities to increase market share for Jack Daniel's both in developed markets such as France _ where the flagship Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey brand has just a 2 percent share of the whiskey category _ and in emerging markets such as Russia, Poland and Mexico.

The company said it plans to expand several lines in the U.S., including the premixed Southern Comfort Lime and Southern Comfort Lemonade.

The company also said Wednesday that its board has approved a plan to buy back up to $250 million of its outstanding shares by December.

___

Associated Press Business Writer Mae Anderson contributed reporting from New York.

Housing permits up 78% over last year, thrift says

Fueled by a surge of multifamily activity, housing permits inthe Chicago area skyrocketed 78 percent in February from a yearearlier, according to the monthly "Survey of Building" report fromBell Federal Savings.

All told, the number of permits rose to 2,068 in February from1,165 in February, 1988. The biggest jump was in multifamily units,which leapt to 1,010 from 199.

Chicago and Schaumburg, with 466 and 408 permits, respectively,accounted for the bulk of the activity. Chicago's starts wereaccounted for by a total of 22 different buildings, whileSchaumburg's were all from one project, a 34-building apartmentcomplex to be called Lincoln Meadows, Bell reported.

Other towns with double-digit starts were Merrillville, Ind.,and Buffalo Grove, both 36; Aurora, 16, and Des Plaines, 12.

Single-family permits rose 10 percent to 1,058 from the 966 ofFebruary, 1988. The towns leading the way are familiar to new-homebuyers: Schaumburg, 73; Naperville, 56; Aurora, 54; Orland Park,50; Buffalo Grove, 40; Carol Stream, 29; Elgin, 28; Tinley Park,24; Vernon Hills and Algonquin, both 23, and Bartlett, 22.

For the first two months of the year, the top five housingmunicipalities outside of Chicago, and the number of total permitsare Schaumburg, 486; Naperville, 109; Aurora and Buffalo Grove,both 99, and Orland Park, 98.

A Cold Shower Is in the Wind

The robins are chirping this morning - chirping out SOS, probably, over the raw wind blowing off Lake Michigan. An east to northeastbreeze will keep temperatures stunted in the 40s. Throw in a coldrain by midday and you have a great day to be indoors.

In the high Plains, snow will fall on the cold, western sideof the storm track. Farther south, in the warm, juicy air, tornadoesmay swirl up by late afternoon as close as Kansas and Missouri.

We could sample a thunderstorm or two by Friday, but any severeweather will probably stay well south of Chicago. Rainfall for themonth is running well above normal, and there's every indication thatshowers will linger into at least early Saturday.

This storm will reluctantly pull out over the weekend, and anystubborn clouds and sprinkles Saturday should give way to coolsunshine on Sunday. Weather Quiz

Which of these may affect the number of hurricanes forming nearthe United States? A) Ocean temperatures. B) El Nino current in Pacific. C) Ultraviolet radiation. D) Siberian highs. Answer: (A)(B). Ocean water warmer than 86 degrees is usuallynecessary for hurricanes to develop. A Colorado State forecastersaid a weakening El Nino could mean a stormier hurricane season.William Gray predicts 10 tropical storms, six of which will reachhurricane force, with two storms packing at least 111 m.p.h. winds. Weather Fact

In a typical April we would have picked up 2.1 inches of rain todate. So far we've been soaked with 3.3 inches.

Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested in Ga.

HULL, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say two Occupy Wall Street protesters walking in a group from New York City to Atlanta have been arrested in northeast Georgia.

Madison County Sheriff Kip Thomas says officials received calls on Monday in Hull, Ga., saying the protesters were creating a traffic hazard and harassing people who drove by.

Thomas says 33-year-old Garth Aaron Kiser of Murphysboro, Ill., and 29-year-old Sarah Lynn Handyside of Anchorage, Alaska, were arrested after refusing to produce identification when deputies requested it.

He says they were charged with obstruction.

Group spokesman Darrin Annussek told The Athens Banner-Herald the two didn't show identification because they felt it was a violation of their civil rights.

Hull is about 80 miles northeast of Atlanta.