Toyota to curb N. America production after quake

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, said Thursday it expects to halt production at some of its factories in North America due to shortages of parts from Japan following a devastating earthquake.

Toyota's move adds to the spreading economic damage from the magnitude-9.0 quake and tsunami on March 11 that killed thousands of people and triggered an unfolding nuclear crisis. Japanese automakers suspended production in Japan and are still deciding when to resume full-scale operations.

In a statement released in New York, Toyota said it was unclear which North American facilities will be affected or how long the suspension might last. It gave no …

The Pushkin Handbook

David M. Bethea, ed. The Pushkin Handbook. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2005. xlii, 665 pp. Select Bibliographies. Index. $60, cloth.

North American and Russian Pushkin scholars differ in their approaches. While Russian scholars at the Pushkin House in Leningrad/St. Petersburg have historically excelled at textological scholarship, North Americans over the past fifty years have generally tried to look at larger issues, both within Pushkin's writing itself and while placing him in a literary and historical context. The brilliance of The Pushkin Handbook is that it brings together some of the best Pushkinists from both continents under one cover, juxtaposing approaches, …

Capitals Win in OT

Tomas Fleischmann scored with 2:33 left in overtime to lift the Washington Capitals past the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Thursday night.

Lightning goalie Karri Ramo dived for a loose puck near the net, but couldn't control it. Brooks Laich passed it to Fleischmann in the right circle for the winner.

Laich, Matt Bradley and Alexander Semin also scored for the Capitals, who remained two points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Washington trails Southeast Division-leading Carolina, which has one game in hand, by two points.

Capitals center Alexander Ovechkin, who has a league-leading 61 goals and 107 points, didn't get a point. He had …

Up with purple Great recipes for the regally robed eggplant

When I was a teenager, purple was my favorite color to wear. I hadclothes in every shade from lavender to aubergine.

I've since expanded my clothing color palette beyond the colorpurple but I am still attracted to it, even in my food. When I'm inthe grocery store, which is almost a daily event, I am alwaysfascinated by eggplants and try to find an excuse to bring them home.

Thanks to Helene Stone of Highland Park, I had two good reasons topurchase a couple of these dark purple, pear-shaped fruits. Yes,fruit--actually a berry--related to the tomato/potato family. Tworecent requests for eggplant caviar and baba ghanoush, which both useeggplant, were answered by Stone, a …

Pollsters' fear: too many polls, too few answers

Much to the dismay of pollsters and market researchers, Americansare increasing inclined to hang up the phone when pollsters seektheir opinions on everything from how they'll vote to what TVprograms they watch to which brand of peanut butter they prefer.

"One of the problems facing the research industry today is thecontinuing and alarming decline in rates of participation," saidMervin Field, the veteran pollster who conducts the respectedCalifornia Poll of political races. "Polls should not be accepted ontheir face."

The Gallup Organization, perhaps America's best known surveycompany, was able to reach more than 80 percent of the people itcalled when it first …

UEFA charges De Rossi over Shakhtar clash

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA has charged AS Roma captain Daniele De Rossi with improper conduct after he appeared to strike Shakhtar Donetsk captain Dario Srna in the face during a Champions League match.

Referee Howard Webb missed the incident during Roma's 3-0 defeat Tuesday. However, the English official showed Srna a yellow card for protesting.

UEFA says its …

Boat sinking after whaling clash in Antarctica

A ship in the Japanese whaling fleet collided with a much smaller boat from a conservation group in the frigid waters of Antarctica on Wednesday and was sinking, the group said. The boat's six-person crew were safely rescued.

The clash was apparently the most serious in the several years that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has sent vessels into far southern waters to try to harass the Japanese fleet into ceasing its annual whale cull.

Clashes using hand-thrown stink bombs, ropes meant to tangle propellers and high-tech sound equipment have been common in recent years, and collisions between ships have sometimes happened.

The society said …