Bulls have a deal with Tarlac '95 draft pick coming for visit, could end up starting at center

Dragan Tarlac reportedly has agreed to a one-year, $2.5 millioncontract to play for the Bulls next season.

Reached by phone Friday, Tarlac-who is training with theYugoslavian national team in Switzerland-refused to confirm a reportby the Eleftheros Typos newspaper in Greece that he will sign acontract next week. But the 6-10, 240-pound center did say he willcome to Chicago on Sunday for a three-day visit with the Bulls.

"I want to wait until everything is 100 percent settled, and thenI will talk about anything you want on Tuesday," Tarlac said. "Rightnow, I'm very busy working out with the national team. I feel I'mready to play in the NBA. But I want to take one step …

Rights group: Sri Lanka still uses abusive laws

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Despite removing draconian wartime laws, Sri Lanka's government is using new "abusive" regulations to keep hundreds of people in jails without trial, an international human rights groups said.

In a statement Wednesday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch called on the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to abolish such detention laws and free the prisoners.

"The Sri Lankan government announced that the state of emergency is over, but it is holding on to the same draconian powers it had during the war" against the Tamil Tiger rebels, said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director.

Foreign governments critical of Sri Lanka should not be …

Stocks rise on earnings, economic reports

Stocks rose Tuesday after reports showed wholesale prices climbed for the first time since March and a big jump in industrial production.

A slight improvement in the weak housing market and better-than-expected earnings from Home Depot Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also gave investors a reason to buy.

Economic reports in recent months have almost exclusively pointed to slowing growth. Weakening data have led some investors to worry that the U.S. could fall back into recession. The data Tuesday provided a slice of optimism and some reassurance that the economy continues to expand, albeit slowly.

Prices at the wholesale level rose 0.2 percent last …

Luxury car bumpers don't pass muster

CRASH TESTS

Bumpers on expensive luxury cars don't resist damage in low-speed impacts, and can cost consumers and insurance companies big bucks to fix. Those are the findings of a recent series of crash tests conducted by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The tests were designed to mimic the impact of the most common types of low-speed crashes, from 3 to 6 mph. Many of the bumpers in the test did not effectively absorb energy in the crashes, which caused additional damage to body panels, grilles and headlights.

What's worse, the cost to repair these vehicles after low-speed crashes was high. Total repair costs ranged from more than $5,000 to …

Brewers Miss Out on 15-Year Opportunity

MILWAUKEE - Given a chance to move 10 games over .500 for the first time in 15 years, the Milwaukee Brewers fell short. Jose Bautista and Ronny Paulino hit consecutive home runs in a four-run seventh inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for a 4-2 victory Thursday night that stopped the Brewers' four-game winning streak.

"It's very frustrating," Brewers starter Dave Bush said. "Mostly it's just disappointing. I am one pitch away from maybe getting a win, at least putting us in a position to get a win. I am disappointed that when it came down to it, I couldn't make the pitch when I needed to. I wish I had an answer for it."

Tom Gorzelanny (4-1) won his fourth straight …

US boy, 11, charged with murder was avid hunter

Hunting is a way of life in the rural area where 11-year-old Jordan Brown regularly practiced target shooting with his 20-gauge, youth model shotgun.

Here in west-central Pennsylvania, hunting clubs are plentiful, the first day of deer hunting season means a day off from school and turkey shoots are held year round. A month ago, Brown won a turkey at a local shoot against older, more experienced hunters.

Days later, police believe Brown used the shotgun he planned to take hunting with his dad to fatally shoot his father's pregnant girlfriend. The crime was an anomaly in this small town, where guns are commonplace and children as young as 4 are taught to …

Gunmen kill `Born Free' lion expert Adamson

KORA NATIONAL RESERVE, Kenya Gunmen ambushed and killed Britishconservationist George Adamson of Born Free fame and two of hisemployees near his remote Kenyan homestead, police and a survivorsaid Monday.

The retired Kenyan game warden and hunter was gunned down whenthree men in military-style uniforms fired on his utility vehiclewith automatic rifles, said Mohamed Maru, an employee who survivedthe Sunday attack.

Adamson, 83, and his late ex-wife, Joy, became famous for theirwork in releasing captured lions to the wild, which she described inher book Born Free.

Richard Leakey, Kenya director of wildlife conservation andmanagement, said the killing was …