JERUSALEM — After a three-year break, the UnitedStates is returning to the job of helping broker peacebetween Israel and the Palestinians, but it is mov-ing cautiously for now.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, less thantwo weeks in office, arrived Sunday in Israel to con-fer with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the eveof their summit Tuesday in the Egyptian resort ofSharm el-Sheik. The summit could lead to a formalcease-fire.
Rice immediately declared the thaw in relations“a time of optimism” and said the Bush adminis-tration would help take advantage of the suddenmomentum toward peace talks after 4„ years of vi-olence and despair.
In meetings Sunday night, Rice urged IsraeliPrime Minister Ariel Sharon and his team to forgeahead with Israel’s plan to withdraw from the GazaStrip and take other steps to bolster the fragile po-sition of recently elected Palestinian President Mah-moud Abbas.
BY JASON KEYSERTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents in pickup trucks at-tacked a police station south of Baghdad late Sun-day, prompting an hourlong gunfight that left 22 Iraqisecurity forces dead, according to a police official.
But early today, the U.S. command in Baghdad,citing provincial authorities, denied that the attackon the Iraqi police station took place.
The Polish military, which is responsible for thearea, reported hours earlier that two Iraqi nationalguardsmen were killed and three were wounded inan ambush in the same community.
The alleged clash broke out about 10:30 p.m. inMahawil, 50 miles south of Baghdad, police Capt.Muthana Khalid Ali told The Associated Press bytelephone.
Ali said five Iraqi national guardsmen and 17 po-lice officers were killed and 18 security personnel
BY MANDY LOCKESTAFF WRITER
Richard Steven Keen knows hemessed up.
To score crack cocaine, he stoleanything he could from his par-ents’ home near Smithfield — alawnmower, a pickup, a gun col-lection. By the time he was 25, he
had racked upeight fe lonyc o n v i c t i o n sand pu l l ednearly threeyears in stateprison.
But last year,Keen startedshaping up. Af-ter he was con-victed of thegun thefts lastFebruary , a
judge ordered him into a drug re-hab program in Rocky Mount. Hewas drug-free, driving a dumptruck for a tree removal companyand making plans to marry hisgirlfriend.
Then federal agents showed upin June and hauled Keen to jailagain. He had become a target ofa federal program to get violentfirearms offenders off the streets.For days, he thought the feds hadmade a mistake and picked up thewrong guy.
“When I was finally on the rightpath — taking on responsibilityand staying clean — it was tookfrom me,” Keen said by phone
BY CATHERINE CLABBYSTAFF WRITER
When the attention lavishedearly in a courtship fades, takeheart. Nature — not a mate’s un-caring ways — may be to blame.
A UNC-Chapel Hill biologisthas discovered that male song-birds work hardest to lure at-tractive females when success isuncertain. When she-birds stickaround, males quiet down.
The finding strengthens grow-ing evidence that many creatures,including primates, temporarilyexert big effort to snag mates.
Keith Sockman, an assistantbiology professor at Chapel Hill,published his findings last weekon Cassin’s finches, redheadedsongbirds found in pine forests inthe American West.
Scientists have long knownthat male Cassin’s finches sing tolure females their way. But Sock-
man wanted to know when theyreally belted out their songs.
In a series of experiments us-ing 20 once-wild finches, he andscientists helping with the project
BY J. ANDREW CURLISSSTAFF WRITER
Students statewide soon couldattend a new kind of school that re-quires an extra year but awardsan associates degree or two yearsof college credit.
Gov. Mike Easley wants to ex-pand the Learn and Earn programstatewide to allow students to geta jump-start on higher education.The program includes a focus onconnecting students with emergingfields of work in the sciences,health care and technology.
Students would report every dayto a college, university or com-munity college and take all classesthere.
In his budget proposal expectedlater this month or in earlyMarch, Easley is set to more thandouble the number of schools in
the program, from 15 to about35 next year, according to schoolsofficials involved. One of the ex-isting schools is in Durham, onthe campus of N.C. Central Uni-versity.
Easley wants to create a total of85 or more schools by the time heleaves office in 2008. Lawmakerswould have to approve the expan-sion plan later this year, but havebeen generally supportive.
The governor and schools offi-cials see the idea as a way to reducethe high school dropout rate whileincreasing the number of college-going students.
A crucial part of the Learn andEarn program, officials say, is thatit aims to expose students to jobs.
CITY & STATESupporters of sex education want the state to broaden the cur-
riculum beyond “abstinence until marriage.” PAGE 1B
NATION & WORLDPope John Paul II blesses the faith-
ful from his hospital window. It was thepope’s first public appearance since hefell ill last week. PAGE 10APAGE 10B
LIFE, ETC.It hasn’t always
been easy, but plus-size women lookingfor stylish clotheshave more choicesnowadays. Why? Be-cause retailers knowit’s good for business.
PAGE 1C
INDEXWEATHER
Mideastgets visitfrom Rice
Optimistic but cautious, she saysthat the United States will takesteps to encourage peace talks.
Feds cuffgun-lawviolators
PATRIOTS’ DAY
Punishment goestoo far, some say
Keen’s termmay exceed
15 years.
Iraqi police,U.S. militarydispute raid
Biologist finds birds puta bit more into love songs Students get head start on college
Governor wants to expand program that blends high school, higher education
History teacher Dare Ford, right, answers freshmanstudent Ivanna Lyons’ question at the early college high
school at N.C. Central University in Durham.STAFF PHOTO BY HARRY LYNCH
Cassin’s finchPHOTO BY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE
ONLINE: Hear a sound file of thebird song at newsobserver.com.
SEE LOVE SONG, PAGE 6A
SEE GUN LAW, PAGE 6A
HEELS PULL AWAYFROM SEMINOLES
AP PHOTO BY STEVE CANNON
Raymond Felton and NorthCarolina fended off FloridaState on Sunday. The TarHeels broke open the gamewith a 21-4 run in the secondhalf to claim the 81-60 victory.
SPORTS — PAGE 1D
SEE LEARN, PAGE 7A WHO OFFERS PROGRAM: See list of N.C.’s participating schools. ÷ 7A
SEE IRAQ, PAGE 6A
SEE MIDEAST, PAGE 6A
The New England Patriots areonce again the NFL’s champions,and they’re making history. With
a hard-fought win Sunday over Philadel-phia, the Patriots have won the SuperBowl three times in four seasons. Only
the Dallas Cowboys can make the sameclaim. In addition, New England coachBill Belichick improved his career play-off record to 10-1, surpassing GreenBay’s Vince Lombardi for the NFL’sbest postseason coaching mark.
New England coach Bill Belichick celebrates with his team as the Patriots win another Super Bowl.AP PHOTO BY AMY SANCETTA
SUPER BOWL XXXIXNEW ENGLAND 24 F PHILADELPHIA 21
INSIDE AND ONLINE: For full coverage of the Super Bowl, go to Sports and www.newsobserver.com.
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Published: Feb 7, 2005Modified: Feb 7, 2005 6:16 AM
Male birds work hard to snagmates
Cassin's finch
Photo by U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service
By CATHERINE CLABBY, Staff Writer
When the attention lavished early in a courtship fades, take heart. Nature --not a mate's uncaring ways -- may be to blame.
A UNC-Chapel Hill biologist has discovered that male songbirds work hardestto lure attractive females when success is uncertain. When she-birds stickaround, males quiet down.
The finding strengthens growing evidence that many creatures, includingprimates, temporarily exert big effort to snag mates.
Keith Sockman, an assistant biology professor at Chapel Hill, published hisfindings last week on Cassin's finches, redheaded songbirds found in pineforests in the American West.
Scientists have long known that male Cassin's finches sing to lure females theirway. But Sockman wanted to know when they really belted out their songs.
In a series of experiments using 20 once-wild finches, he and scientists helpingwith the project placed males in cages by themselves. They placed females inseparate cages next to them but then removed them.
Using a microphone installed above the cages, the scientist recorded eachsong sung when females disappeared. Somehow the finches knew whichpotential mates were very fertile -- something not clear to scientists until weekslater when the birds molted.
"They'd sing five or 10 songs an hour after losing less fertile birds. But inresponse to losing the very fertile birds, they'd sing 300 songs an hour,"Sockman said.
Once the females were returned, the birds got quiet.
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Assuming one animal's behavior can explain another's is fraught with peril.Earth's creatures vary profoundly. But biologists increasingly observe all sortsof animals, including primates, pouring extra efforts into early "courtships."
A male baboon, for one, will work harder to keep other males from a highlyfertile female than from less fertile females. Once again, humans can't tellwhen the females are at that stage, but baboons can.
But males aren't the only ones in this game. Monica Moore, a psychologyprofessor at Webster University in Missouri, has spent decades studyingwomen's behavior during early courtship.
In settings where unattached men and women know they are likely to find alove interest -- say dance clubs or campus student unions -- flirting women givemen attention in ways that don't show up elsewhere.
They move more, for one thing. Their facial expressions change frequently,they smooth their hair again and again, they hike their skirts. "Their behavior isjust dramatically different," Moore said.
Moore isn't certain whether nature or nurture explains why. But Sockman saidit's likely most creatures expend more energy when trying to snag an attractivemate. And it may be impossible to sustain such efforts over long periods oftime.
Other work beckons, including feeding and sheltering themselves and theiryoung, said Sockman, who tackled the bird project and other research duringpost -doctoral studies subsidized over three years by a $100,000 NationalInstitutes of Health grant.
Biologists such as Sockman describe the mating game as an example of"maximizing ratios of benefit to cost," or adjusting "output to probabledividends."
But here's another way to tell it: Pouring it on early might be more aboutsmarts than about hearts.
Staff writer Catherine Clabby can be reached at 956-2414 [email protected].
