Kreps' heroics key rally

Robo Kreps put the pressure on himself to be the difference-maker.

The junior UIC guard scored eight of his game-high 19 points in the final 2:53 as the Flames outscored Oregon State 13-4 down the stretch to reverse a seven-point deficit in stunning the Beavers 63-61 on Wednesday night at the Pavilion.

The victory snapped the Flames' six-game skid and ruined the homecoming of Craig Robinson, the former Mount Carmel star and second-year Oregon State coach. Robinson watched his team turn the ball over four times in the final 1:20.

''It was a total collapse on our part,'' Robinson said. ''This is the kind of game we won last year, but this year we've struggled with …

Simone Forti

LOS ANGELES

Simone Forti

THE BOX

Dance has long been overlooked in the art world. But in the past decade, a handful of modest retrospective exhibitions have used the gallery setting to redress the medium's wide-ranging role in the postwar avant-garde, with institutions from the Mus�e d'art contemporain de Lyon to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis granting overdue attention to the careers of such figures as Anna Halprin, Trisha Brown, and Yvonne Rainer. The most recent subject of this renewed interest is Simone Forti, who received a solo exhibition at the Box, a young gallery committed to exhibiting underrecognized artists and that has, so far, directed much of its …

Simon Cowell issue a very public apology to David Cook at 'American Idol' finale

Did Simon Cowell know David Cook would win? Or was he, for once, just being nice?

Right before host Ryan Seacrest announced Cook as the next "American Idol," Cowell issued an uncharacteristic apology to the sincere 25-year-old rocker for skewering him during Tuesday's final performance show. The British judge went so far as to say that the remarks he made the night before to the future "Idol" winner were "verging on disrespectful."

"When I went back home and watched it, it wasn't quite so …

Colorado's Bloom to fight NCAA ruling

University of Colorado receiver Jeremy Bloom decided Wednesday tokeep fighting the NCAA for the right to accept commercial skiendorsements while playing college football.

Bloom, a world-champion freestyle skier, asked the university toappeal the NCAA's latest ruling that he would be ineligible to playcollege football if accepts endorsements. He has been fighting theNCAA for two years and initially told family members he didn't wantto go through another appeal after losing another round this week.

"I do plan on going through with the final appeal," Bloom said ina statement from Santiago, Chile, where he is training with the U.S.ski team. I owe it to my teammates, my …

National Annenberg sifts through data

National Annenberg sifts through data

by Cindy Richards

When former ambassador and media magnate Walter Annenberg plopped $500 million on the table to strengthen school improvement efforts across the nation, he challenged other donors to "feel an obligation to join this crusade for the betterment of our country."

With three-quarters of the money going into challenge grants requiring a 2-for-1 local match--hence, the name Annenberg Challenge--the philanthropist's largesse generated more than $1 billion for reform programs. Today, Annenberg programs are working in nearly 2,700 schools in 300 school districts.

Judging the impact of such a diverse, farflung …

Unemployment applications lowest since April '08

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week to its lowest level since April 2008, extending a downward trend that shows the job market strengthening.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the third straight weekly drop.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile gauge, fell for the 11th time in 13 weeks. At 380,250, it's the lowest since June 2008. Applications generally must fall below 375,000 — consistently — before hiring is strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate.

Unemployment applications are a measure of the …

Poland's jobless rate rises to 13 percent in Feb

Poland's jobless rate has jumped to 13 percent in February from 12.7 percent the previous month, continuing a steady rise that began with the global economic downturn.

Data released by the Central Statistical Office on Wednesday showed that …