RIM shares fall at the open after earnings

DEAR ABBY: While searching for two of my husband's childhood friends, with his knowledge, I believe I may have found a child he doesn't know is his. I'm not positive that the child is his, but the time frame and location indicate that he could be, and there's a strong resemblance to my husband's brother. (I have seen photos on the Internet.) I am curious whether my hunch is correct, but I'm afraid of asking the questions, not knowing how they would be received. My husband is a kind and caring person, a great husband and father. ...

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Japan scrambles F-15s after China flies over disputed islands

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

The territorial standoff between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea further escalated today after a Chinese plane was spotted in what Tokyo considers its airspace.

Though the Chinese plane was not a military aircraft, its presence is the latest provocation in a dispute that has affected economic relations between the two countries and comes just three days before Japanese elections.

The Chinese state maritime agency said that the marine surveillance plane was sent to patrol the disputed islands – known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan – along with four boats, according to China’s Global Times. Japanese boats also patrolling the disputed area were asked to leave immediately, in line with the Chinese government’s stance, the Global Times reports.

RELATED: East Asia's top 5 island disputes

Japan’s defense agency dispatched eight F-15 jets in response, but the Chinese plane had already left the area by the time they arrived, according to the Associated Press. The Japanese government also issued an official complaint, however. China responded that it was “carrying out a normal operation,” reports AP.

“I want to stress that these activities are completely normal. The Diaoyu and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory since ancient times,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said of the plane. “China requires the Japanese side stop illegal activities in the waters and airspace of the Diaoyu islands.”

Osamu Fujimura, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, called the Chinese move “extremely regrettable.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, an airspace violation could take the dispute to the next level.

International law forbids entering another nation's airspace without permission and gives countries the right to expel unauthorized aircraft with force immediately. In contrast, foreign ships are able sail through a nation's territorial waters as long as it is considered "innocent passage."

The incident also puts further pressure on [Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda], whose ruling Democratic Party of Japan is likely to face a decisive defeat in Sunday's elections, according to various national polls. Shinzo Abe, who's likely to take his job away, has criticized Mr. Noda for his handling of the territorial issues, and called for a confrontational approach focused on the use of "physical power," rather than diplomacy.

Mr. Abe is expected to invest more money into the Japanese coast guard and defense, Reuters reports. The coast guard has gained popularity since the confrontation reignited earlier this year, with the most recent escalation taking place after Japan purchased the islands from a private Japanese investor in September. The move inspired anti-Japanese rallies across China, “with people looting and torching Japanese-owned businesses,” according to The Christian Science Monitor.

The New York Times reports that today’s incident was an “embarrassment for the current administration” in Japan because its radar system failed to register the Chinese plane. The alert came from Japanese ships near the islands.

The Japan Daily Press notes that the coast guard has earned fame from the action surrounding the charged island dispute, “causing a surge in job applications and even inspiring a local box-office hit film.” However, the civilian-staffed guard is “being stressed and tested to its limits.”

[I]n order not to escalate the situation, the government isn’t using the military Self Defense Forces. Instead, it has tasked the Coast Guard, composed of civilians and run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. Although somewhat on par with their Chinese counterparts, the Coast Guard is being stretched thin. Its crew, used to shifts of at most two weeks, are on duty without time off for months. They are also forced to skip crucial training, in a time when they are expected to be able to ward off and restrain offenders both on sea and on remote islands. Ships also receive only temporary repairs instead of much-needed overhauls.

… The situation has become a rallying and unifying point of many of the political parties and candidates running for election in a few days, with promises of allocating funds and beefing up the Coast Guard to empower it to respond to situations and emergencies that the pacifist nation hasn’t faced in decades.

Today was the first time both countries have used planes in the dispute. Reuters reports that Japanese analysts are concerned over the use of aircraft.

"This is serious ... intrusion into Japan's airspace is a very important step to erode Japan's effective control over the area," said Kazuya Sakamoto, a professor at Osaka University.

"If China sends a military plane as a next step, that would really make Japan's control precarious."

Toshiyuki Shikata, a Teikyo University professor and a retired general, said the use of aircraft by both sides was significant.

"Something accidental is more likely to happen with planes than with ships," he said.

The uptick in interest in the islands is likely linked to the potential for oil and gas in surrounding waters, but “For most of human history,” The Christian Science Monitor’s China bureau chief Peter Ford wrote this fall, “the five rocky islets in the eye of the current diplomatic storm between China and Japan have sat in remote and irrelevant obscurity, lapped by the tropical waters of the East China Sea.”

Japan bases its claim to the islands, which it calls the Senkaku, on a cabinet decision in January 1895 whereby because there was no trace of anyone else controlling them they were deemed "terra nullius," nobody else's, and Tokyo incorporated them into its territory.

China disputes that claim, pointing to 15th-century accounts of sea voyages by Chinese envoys and a 17th-century map of China's sea defenses, among other documents, to show that "the Diaoyu islands were first discovered, named, and exploited by the Chinese," in the words of a Foreign Ministry statement.

IN PICTURES - Troubled waters: disputes in the China Seas

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Japan scrambles F-15s after China flies over disputed islands

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

The territorial standoff between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea further escalated today after a Chinese plane was spotted in what Tokyo considers its airspace.

Though the Chinese plane was not a military aircraft, its presence is the latest provocation in a dispute that has affected economic relations between the two countries and comes just three days before Japanese elections.

The Chinese state maritime agency said that the marine surveillance plane was sent to patrol the disputed islands – known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan – along with four boats, according to China’s Global Times. Japanese boats also patrolling the disputed area were asked to leave immediately, in line with the Chinese government’s stance, the Global Times reports.

RELATED: East Asia's top 5 island disputes

Japan’s defense agency dispatched eight F-15 jets in response, but the Chinese plane had already left the area by the time they arrived, according to the Associated Press. The Japanese government also issued an official complaint, however. China responded that it was “carrying out a normal operation,” reports AP.

“I want to stress that these activities are completely normal. The Diaoyu and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory since ancient times,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said of the plane. “China requires the Japanese side stop illegal activities in the waters and airspace of the Diaoyu islands.”

Osamu Fujimura, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, called the Chinese move “extremely regrettable.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, an airspace violation could take the dispute to the next level.

International law forbids entering another nation's airspace without permission and gives countries the right to expel unauthorized aircraft with force immediately. In contrast, foreign ships are able sail through a nation's territorial waters as long as it is considered "innocent passage."

The incident also puts further pressure on [Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda], whose ruling Democratic Party of Japan is likely to face a decisive defeat in Sunday's elections, according to various national polls. Shinzo Abe, who's likely to take his job away, has criticized Mr. Noda for his handling of the territorial issues, and called for a confrontational approach focused on the use of "physical power," rather than diplomacy.

Mr. Abe is expected to invest more money into the Japanese coast guard and defense, Reuters reports. The coast guard has gained popularity since the confrontation reignited earlier this year, with the most recent escalation taking place after Japan purchased the islands from a private Japanese investor in September. The move inspired anti-Japanese rallies across China, “with people looting and torching Japanese-owned businesses,” according to The Christian Science Monitor.

The New York Times reports that today’s incident was an “embarrassment for the current administration” in Japan because its radar system failed to register the Chinese plane. The alert came from Japanese ships near the islands.

The Japan Daily Press notes that the coast guard has earned fame from the action surrounding the charged island dispute, “causing a surge in job applications and even inspiring a local box-office hit film.” However, the civilian-staffed guard is “being stressed and tested to its limits.”

[I]n order not to escalate the situation, the government isn’t using the military Self Defense Forces. Instead, it has tasked the Coast Guard, composed of civilians and run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. Although somewhat on par with their Chinese counterparts, the Coast Guard is being stretched thin. Its crew, used to shifts of at most two weeks, are on duty without time off for months. They are also forced to skip crucial training, in a time when they are expected to be able to ward off and restrain offenders both on sea and on remote islands. Ships also receive only temporary repairs instead of much-needed overhauls.

… The situation has become a rallying and unifying point of many of the political parties and candidates running for election in a few days, with promises of allocating funds and beefing up the Coast Guard to empower it to respond to situations and emergencies that the pacifist nation hasn’t faced in decades.

Today was the first time both countries have used planes in the dispute. Reuters reports that Japanese analysts are concerned over the use of aircraft.

"This is serious ... intrusion into Japan's airspace is a very important step to erode Japan's effective control over the area," said Kazuya Sakamoto, a professor at Osaka University.

"If China sends a military plane as a next step, that would really make Japan's control precarious."

Toshiyuki Shikata, a Teikyo University professor and a retired general, said the use of aircraft by both sides was significant.

"Something accidental is more likely to happen with planes than with ships," he said.

The uptick in interest in the islands is likely linked to the potential for oil and gas in surrounding waters, but “For most of human history,” The Christian Science Monitor’s China bureau chief Peter Ford wrote this fall, “the five rocky islets in the eye of the current diplomatic storm between China and Japan have sat in remote and irrelevant obscurity, lapped by the tropical waters of the East China Sea.”

Japan bases its claim to the islands, which it calls the Senkaku, on a cabinet decision in January 1895 whereby because there was no trace of anyone else controlling them they were deemed "terra nullius," nobody else's, and Tokyo incorporated them into its territory.

China disputes that claim, pointing to 15th-century accounts of sea voyages by Chinese envoys and a 17th-century map of China's sea defenses, among other documents, to show that "the Diaoyu islands were first discovered, named, and exploited by the Chinese," in the words of a Foreign Ministry statement.

IN PICTURES - Troubled waters: disputes in the China Seas

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NJ residents go home after toxic chemicals cleared

PAULSBORO, New Jersey (Reuters) - Residents of New Jersey evacuated after a freight train derailment last week spewed toxic vinyl chloride began returning home on Friday as tests of the air came back clean, a Coast Guard official said.

Exactly one week after a bridge collapsed, derailing seven of the 82 Conrail freight-train cars crossing the Mantua Creek in southern New Jersey, residents who were ordered out of more than 200 homes nearest the wreck were allowed back into their homes on Friday afternoon.

Coast Guard Captain Kathy Moore said air tests in Paulsboro showed no further evidence of vinyl chloride, which had leaked from a gash in one tanker that tumbled into the waterway that feeds into the Delaware River near Philadelphia.

At the time of the wreck, authorities said 12,000 gallons (45,425 liters) of vinyl chloride had escaped.

Groups of residents were being led to their homes by law enforcement and air quality officials. The Coast Guard also offered in-home air quality checks to any resident seeking further assurance that their home is safe.

One of those set to return home Friday was Yasmen Stafford, 19, the mother of 6-month-old twin boys who has been living in a motel for the last week.

"I just want to get settled back in and get back to my regular routine," said Stafford as she waited at the Paulsboro volunteer fire department for an escort by a police officer and air quality specialist.

Koren Warrington, 39, who has also been living in a nearby hotel, confessed she was a "little nervous" about returning home, fearing her home would smell of toxic chemicals.

Paulsboro Mayor Jeff Hamilton said 680 people from some 204 houses had been evacuated after the train crash. He said he knew of nobody that has reported an air quality problem upon returning home.

Vinyl chloride is a highly toxic and flammable industrial chemical. Exposure to it can cause respiratory problems, coughing and light-headedness, said Lawrence Ragonese, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The failed rail-bridge is near both residential and commercial sections of the town of 6,100 people, which is also home to two oil refineries as well as chemical plants.

Conrail is jointly owned by rail operators CSX Corp and Norfolk Southern Corp.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg, Todd Eastham and Leslie Adler)

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Rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s autopsy released 15 years after murder

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The autopsy report on murdered hip hop star Notorious B.I.G. has been released by the Los Angeles County Coroner, more than 15 years after his shooting.

Notorious B.I.G was gunned down at the age of 24 in Los Angeles in the early morning on March 9, 1997, in a drive-by shooting. The rapper was sitting in the passenger seat of a sport-utility vehicle after a party when he was killed.

The report, released quietly last week and obtained by Reuters on Friday, indicates Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was struck in his arm, back, thigh and abdomen. It said the fatal shot that struck his abdomen perforated his colon, liver, heart and lung.

The murder remains unsolved, and the Los Angeles Police Department declined to comment on Friday on why the report was released at this time. The coroner's office said the report was under a "security hold," which had been lifted by the police department but gave no other details.

Although there was little new to be gleaned from the report, it revived the countless conspiracy theories around the murder.

One prominent theory is of an East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud that saw Notorious B.I.G.'s murder as retribution for the killing of Los Angeles-based rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, which is also unsolved.

Notorious B.I.G., who was from New York, was known for his witty rhymes as well as his enormous size. He was 6-foot-1 and 395 lbs. at the time of his death, the report said.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Todd Eastham)

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Mali's PM resigns after being arrested by junta

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Soldiers arrested Mali's prime minister and ordered him to resign, showing that the military is still the real power in the capital of this large West Africa country even though soldiers made a show of returning control back to civilian leaders several months after launching a coup in March.

Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra, dressed in a dark suit and his forehead glistening with sweat, went on TV at 4 a.m. to announce his resignation. He was reportedly back in his house Tuesday afternoon under military guard, brought there from a military base.

"Our country is living through a period of crisis. Men and women who are worried about the future of our nation are hoping for peace," he said on TV. "It's for this reason that I, Cheikh Modibo Diarra, am resigning along with my entire government on this day, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. I apologize before the entire population of Mali."

Despite the events, planning for a European Union military training mission aimed at giving the Malian army the ability to oust Islamist insurgents who have seized northern Mali will proceed, said Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. He added that the EU is watching the situation closely and hopes for the quick appointment of a new prime minister, leading to credible elections and the restoration of constitutional rule.

EU foreign ministers on Monday approved the concept of an EU training mission for an attempt by Malian and other African troops to deprive the Islamists of a haven and training sites in north Mali, where they have instituted strict Shariah law, including punishment by stoning and amputation. But Germany's foreign minister indicated the arrest of Diarra may obstruct the plan.

"One thing is clear: our offers of help come with the condition that the process of restoring constitutional order in Mali be conducted credibly," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement. He later added: "A return to constitutional order is a very decisive criteria for our involvement" in the military training mission."

Hours before he announced his resignation, Mali's prime minister was arrested by the military in his home, forced into a car and driven to the Kati military camp, the sprawling base where the March 21 coup was launched. The developments indicate the military is still the real power in Mali, whose northern half fell to Islamist insurgents in the wake of the coup, even though the soldiers made a show months ago of handing power back to civilians.

Westerwelle said President Dioncounda Traore and other political leaders "must now act responsibly so that Mali returns to stability." But the 70-year-old Traore might not have the power to bring the military to heel. In May, Yerewoloton, a violent citizen's movement which is believed to be backed by the junta, broke through the security cordon at the presidential palace and severely beat Traore.

A police officer who was on duty Monday night at Bamako's international airport said the same group stormed the airport before the prime minister was to fly to Paris.

"The plane that was to take the prime minister to France was on the point of departure," said the officer, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. "It was stopped by people from the group Yerewoloton who invaded the airport. The people from Yerewoloton are still at the airport as we speak, searching cars."

In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said: "We condemn the circumstances in which Prime Minister Sheik Modibo Diarra was compelled to resign ... the former junta must stop its interventions in the political affairs of the country."

"These developments underline the need for the deployment of an African stabilization force," Lalliot said.

The spokesman for the military junta acknowledged that Malian soldiers arrested Diarra.

"For several days now, Cheikh Modibo Diarra has mobilized his supporters and boycotted the national conference (currently being held to discuss Mali's future)," said spokesman Bacary Mariko. "And now he says he's going to Paris for medical tests ... but we know better and realize that he is trying to flee in order to go and create a blockage in the Mali situation."

Mariko claimed that Diarra was "not getting along" with the president or coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo.

"It's the reason why Mali's army has taken things into their own hands and told Cheikh Modibo Diarra to resign for the good of Mali," Mariko said.

A police officer and an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press said the 60-year-old Diarra was arrested at his home around 10 p.m. Monday by soldiers loyal to Sanogo.

Diarra's televised declaration may have been made at the military barracks, and not at the headquarters of the state broadcaster. Behind Diarra when he spoke on TV was a bare wall, not the professional studio of the national television station.

Human Rights Watch's senior researcher for West Africa, Corinne Dufka, condemned the military's intervention, saying it fits with the pattern of abuse by the soldiers ever since the coup eight months ago.

"They've arrested, beaten and intimidated journalists; tortured and disappeared military rivals; and now, apparently, arbitrarily detained the prime minister. None of these incidents have been investigated and those responsible appear to have been emboldened by the shameful lack of accountability," said Dufka.

For several weeks, tension has been mounting between the officers who led the coup and Diarra, the civilian prime minister whom they were forced to appoint when they handed back power to a transitional government.

Diarra, an astrophysicist who previously led one of NASA's Mars exploration programs, was initially seen as in step with Sanogo. Critics lambasted him for frequently driving to the Kati barracks to see the coup leader, apparently to seek his advice long after Sanogo was supposed to have handed power to civilians. In recent weeks though, Diarra has appeared to be taking stances that sometimes conflict with Sanogo.

Last weekend for example, Diarra helped organized a demonstration calling for a United Nations-backed military intervention to take back Mali's north.

___

Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal. AP writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Don Melvin in Brussels and Jamey Keaton in Paris contributed to this report.

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Golf-European Tour season opener in jeopardy after more rain

Well, this is nice. Though the marriage was called off once in 2011, it seems that 86-year-old Hugh Hefner and his 26-year-old fiancée, Playboy's Miss December 2009 Crystal Harris, are finally going to tie the knot at the end of this month. Yes, the couple went and got their marriage license in Beverly Hills and have set the date for New Year's Eve, which will be festive, because Hugh will already be dressed up like Father Time, as is his duty every year. ...

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Residents go home after toxic chemicals cleared in NJ train wreck

PAULSBORO, New Jersey (Reuters) - Residents evacuated after last week's freight train derailment spewed toxic vinyl chloride began returning home on Friday as tests of the air came back clean, a Coast Guard official said.

Exactly one week after a bridge collapsed, derailing seven of the 82 Conrail freight-train cars crossing the Mantua Creek, residents who were ordered out of 148 homes nearest the wreck were allowed back into their homes on Friday afternoon.

Coast Guard Captain Kathy Moore said air tests in the south New Jersey town showed no further evidence of vinyl chloride, which had leaked from a gash in one tanker that tumbled into the waterway that feeds into the Delaware River near Philadelphia.

At the time of the wreck, authorities said 12,000 gallons (45,425 liters) of vinyl chloride had escaped.

Groups of residents were being led to their homes by law enforcement and air quality officials. The Coast Guard also offered in-home air quality checks to any resident seeking further assurance that their home is safe.

"Our priority has been and continues to be the safety of Paulsboro residents," Moore said.

Earlier in the week, residents said they were anxious to get back home after living in a series of hotels.

"I've been in tears because I want to go home," said Terri Manning, 51, who was evacuated with her husband and son from their home about 200 yards from the wreck.

"My parakeet is in the house. She's probably dead by now," said Manning, a farmers market worker who said she had spent all her cash paying for hotels and other emergency living expenses.

Vinyl chloride is a highly toxic and flammable industrial chemical. Exposure to it can cause respiratory problems, coughing and light-headedness, said Lawrence Ragonese, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The failed rail-bridge is near both residential and commercial sections of the town of 6,100 people, which is also home to two oil refineries as well as chemical plants.

Conrail is jointly owned by rail operators CSX Corp and Norfolk Southern Corp.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Todd Eastham)

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Hamilton, Greinke remain on market after meetings

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A quiet winter meetings figures to lead to a busy rest of December, given how few moves actually got finished at sprawling Opryland hotel.

As teams headed home Thursday, the biggest free agents were still on the market. The availability of slugger Josh Hamilton and pitcher Zack Greinke held up decisions on other signings and possible trades involving Rangers infielder Michael Young and Mets Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.

The Yankees, quiet thus far, were pursuing former Boston star Kevin Youkilis and also met with the agent for Mark Reynolds.

With most clubs already packed up, Philadelphia acquired outfielder Ben Revere from Minnesota for right-handers Vance Worley and Trevor May.

Hamilton could remain with Texas, and Seattle seemed to be interested. Greinke's options include staying with the Los Angeles Angels, moving up the coast to the Dodgers or signing with the Rangers.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said that after taking in information from other clubs and agents, it was time to return home and "cool your jets."

"There can be a domino effect," he said. "I think when clubs are focusing on a certain position, a certain need, there's options out there. And once one option goes away, then that changes the landscape of what a club would want to do. Everybody's got their ducks lined up in a row, and it's just a matter of how things fall. And there's timing involved."

The annual meeting wasn't much of a swap session. The Phillies-Twins deal was just the fourth trade over the four days.

Atlanta announced a one-year deal with outfielder Reed Johnson on Thursday, and Texas said reliever Koji Uehara had reached an agreement with Boston. Minnesota agreed with reliever Jared Burton on a $5.5 million, two-year contract that includes a club option for 2015, and third baseman Ian Stewart said he is re-signing with the Chicago Cubs, confirming the move on Twitter.

But the 25-foot wide dais with a podium backed by MLB logos was used just three times: Yankees general manager Brian Cashman discussed Alex Rodriguez's hip injury; Major League Baseball announced an auction benefiting Stand Up to Cancer; and the Mets talked about David Wright's $138 million, eight-year contract, which had been agreed to last week.

The Yankees have been quiet, watching as catcher Russell Martin agreed with Pittsburgh last week and backup third baseman Eric Chavez went to Arizona during the meetings. Wanting to get under the $189 million luxury tax threshold in 2014, the Yankees are being cautious. Still, Cashman maintained it hasn't been a rough week for him.

"Because I don't read the papers as much as I used to," he said. "This year's marketplace, it might be strong in terms of the dollars being thrown around, but I don't think it's a strong market in terms of the available talent."

As the meetings ended, Cashman had made a $12 million offer to Youkilis, who would play third base while A-Rod recovers. The Phillies were trying to obtain Young, the infielder who has been with the Rangers for his entire 13-season career and would have to approve a trade. Arizona was listening to offers for outfielder Justin Upton.

"It seems like when people leave the winter meetings, there's a bit of a quiet period," Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said. "People kind of get out of the frenzy, maybe take a step back and realize that maybe something they were talking about isn't such a good idea. Sometimes things get close and never end up happening."

For all the talk, the Dodgers have made only one big move since the end of the season, re-signing closer Brandon League. But they've been quite busy over 2012. After they were bought in May for $2 billion by a group headed by Mark Walter and Stan Kasten, Los Angeles added stars Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett. The Dodgers face a Sunday deadline to reach a deal with South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-Jin, whose rights they gained for a $25.7 million bid.

Quite different from the days under the previous owner, Frank McCourt.

"You couldn't get an agent to return a phone call," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. "Now you've got them lined out the door."

Texas GM Jon Daniels was popular, too, given his interest in Hamilton and Greinke, and talks involving Upton and a possible a multi-team trade.

"It just makes it tougher, more than two clubs," he said, adding he had a variety of trade and free-agent options. "There are a couple of big decisions that are going to impact the direction. We've narrowed it down, but there's still a couple ways we can go. Some of that is up to us, and some of that is up to the guys on the other side of the table."

After exploring trades involving Dickey, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said it was possible the team could keep the knuckleballer without a deal for beyond 2013.

"I don't think it's necessarily the optimum result, but it's a possible result," he said.

Some teams worry about overpaying this early in the offseason. Other clubs conclude they must.

"You run into people, like, 'Man, I didn't want to do that, but I had no choice,'" Cashman said. "So they're getting a problem solved, but they're not happy with their solution and what they had to do to solve it. I don't want to be in that position. I'd rather feel good about what I'm doing."

NOTES: The winter meetings will return to Nashville in 2015, the governing body of the minor leagues announced. Next year's meetings are in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and the 2014 session is in San Diego.

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European Tour season opener in jeopardy after more rain

Well, this is nice. Though the marriage was called off once in 2011, it seems that 86-year-old Hugh Hefner and his 26-year-old fiancée, Playboy's Miss December 2009 Crystal Harris, are finally going to tie the knot at the end of this month. Yes, the couple went and got their marriage license in Beverly Hills and have set the date for New Year's Eve, which will be festive, because Hugh will already be dressed up like Father Time, as is his duty every year. ...

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Notre Dame's Te'o eyes Heisman after Maxwell win

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Manti Te'o is one of the most important leaders for undefeated Notre Dame, having played in a ton of big games for the Fighting Irish.

Even so, he had a tough time processing this victory.

The senior linebacker was "at a loss for words" after capturing the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding player, one of three honors he received at the 22nd Home Depot College Football Awards show Thursday night at Disney World.

"The last time I ever dreamt of winning that award was on a video game," he said. "So to win it is a mind-blowing experience."

Te'o now has won six major awards since the end of Notre Dame's regular season, also taking home the Bednarik Award for top defensive player and Walter Camp Foundation player of the year award on Thursday. He became the first defensive player to win the Maxwell Award since 1980, ending a string of nine straight quarterbacks.

Next up is the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday night, with Te'o and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel considered the favorites. Then Te'o will try to help the Fighting Irish dethrone defending champion Alabama in the BCS national championship game.

Wearing a black beaded lei representing his native Hawaii, Te'o said coming back to play football following the deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend just four days apart this season makes everything he's achieved since then more worthwhile.

"I never thought that me coming back for my senior year would be the best situation for me with the tragedy," Te'o said. "It's a testament that the Lord answered my prayers and that I had 80-plus brothers there with me, sacrificing for me."

Te'o finished the regular season with 103 tackles and seven interceptions.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, who was presented with the Coach of the Year award after leading the Irish to their first 12-0 regular season since 1988, said Te'o is an example of the family culture he's tried to build in his three seasons in South Bend.

"Everybody knows you don't do it with one guy," Kelly said. "Collectively, everybody just bought in. ... We still got one (game) left. We want to finish it off the right way."

While Te'o and Notre Dame certainly had a big night, so did Texas A&M. Manziel won the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and junior offensive lineman Luke Joeckel took home the Outland Trophy for the nation's best interior lineman.

Other players honored Thursday were Southern California's Marqise Lee (Biletnikoff Award for top receiver), Tulane's Cairo Santos (Lou Groza Award for top kicker), Louisiana Tech's Ryan Allen (Ray Guy Award for top punter), Mississippi State's Johnthan Banks (Jim Thorpe Award for top defensive back), and Wisconsin's Montee Ball (Doak Walker Award for top running back).

Manziel acknowledged he will be nervous Saturday knowing he has a chance to win college football's most hallowed individual honor. Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein is the third finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

Three sophomores have won the Heisman, including Tim Tebow in 2007, Sam Bradford in 2008 and Mark Ingram in 2009. The best a first-year player has ever done is second.

"I had high expectations, but I never would have expected this for myself," said Manziel, a redshirt freshman. "I'll be with two of the best players in the country, all eyes are on you. It's the biggest award in college football. I think you're gonna have a few butterflies."

Joeckel said even he has been amazed at watching "Johnny Football" and his exploits this season.

"It's hard to protect for someone when nobody knows where he is," Joeckel said. "He's a fun guy to block for."

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said that type of level-headed poise is what has defined his quarterback all season.

"The way he plays, no moment has been too big for him," Sumlin said.

In one of the non-competition awards presented Thursday, Texas long snapper Nate Boyer was honored with the Disney Spirit Award, given annually to the most inspirational figure or team.

Boyer, a 32-year-old sophomore, earned a Bronze Star for his service with the U.S. Army Special Forces Unit and has also provided assistance to autistic children and Darfur refugees.

Former Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian was honored with the Contribution to College Football Award for his works off the field.

Kelly said the former coach is every bit as revered as he was in his prime leading the Irish.

"He walks with a limp, but let me tell you, he could still coach today. And he can tell me things about my football team." Kelly said.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower .

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Illinois lawmaker running for Congress out on bond after gun charge

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Illinois state senator running for former Democratic U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.'s seat in Congress was released on bond on Thursday, following his arrest for trying to bring a gun onto an airplane.

A Cook County judge set bail at $25,000 for Donne Trotter, 62, on the felony charge. Trotter, who has called the incident an honest mistake, posted bond and was released shortly afterward.

If convicted, Trotter could face a sentence ranging from probation to up to four years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Trotter, a Chicago Democrat, is a gun control advocate who once voted "no" on a measure that would have allowed state residents to carry concealed weapons in 1995.

Last week, Trotter joined the crowded field of candidates hoping to succeed Jackson, who resigned from Congress on November 21. Democrats hold a primary on February 26 to select their candidate in the heavily Democratic district, with the election on April 9,

Trotter did not comment after the hearing, but later told reporters outside his home that he planned to stay in the congressional race, according to a broadcast on the local ABC television network.

"I intend on staying in the race at this time and will continue to campaign for the people of the 2nd District," Trotter said.

Prosecutors said Trotter's handgun was not registered with the city of Chicago, as required by municipal ordinance. He had a valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card and a permit allowing him to carry his gun to and from work.

He was arrested on Wednesday at O'Hare International Airport after security officers spotted a .25 caliber Beretta in his garment bag. Trotter has a job as a security guard and said he did not know the gun was in his bag, according to court records.

In the Illinois statehouse since 1988, Trotter is among several Illinois lawmakers who have fallen afoul of authorities this year. Two other state lawmakers have been indicted, and Jackson acknowledged in his resignation letter that he was under investigation by federal authorities.

The charge does not bode well for Trotter's congressional run, said Jeffrey Hill, chair of the political science department at Northeastern Illinois University.

"For someone who was arguably the front-runner in the campaign, this could only increase the probability he'll face good competition," Hill said.

(Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Peter Cooney)

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Deportation looms for tech guru McAfee after heart drama

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Software guru John McAfee, fighting deportation to Belize, was rushed to a hospital in Guatemala on Thursday shortly after his asylum request was rejected, but a suspected heart attack turned out to be stress in a fresh twist to the saga.

The 67-year-old U.S. computer software pioneer was taken swiftly from a hospital in a police car out of the sight of media, after earlier arriving in an ambulance lying on a stretcher.

His lawyer said he was being taken back to an immigration department cottage where he has been detained since crossing illegally into Guatemala from neighboring Belize, where police want to question him in connection with his neighbor's murder.

"He never had a heart attack, nothing like that," said Telesforo Guerra, a former attorney general who had earlier said McAfee had two mild heart attacks.

"I'm not a doctor. I'm just telling you what the doctors told me," he added. "He was suffering from stress, hypertension and tachycardia (an abnormally fast heartbeat)."

McAfee was posting on his blog www.whoismcafee.com in the morning, the time he suffered the stress attack.

"I don't think a heart attack prevents one from using one's blog," Guerra had said at the time.

Guerra's assistant, Karla Paz, earlier said she found McAfee lying on the ground and unable to move his body or speak.

McAfee was detained by Guatemalan police on Wednesday for illegally sneaking across the border with his 20-year-old girlfriend to escape authorities in Belize. He has said he fears authorities in Belize will kill him if he returns.

Guatemala's foreign minister, Harold Caballeros, said earlier McAfee's request for asylum was rejected.

Constitutional lawyer Gabriel Orellana, a former foreign minister, said the government should have given more weight to the asylum request rather than rush to a decision.

"We should take into account the fact that McAfee has not been accused of any crime in Belize," he said.

QUARRELED WITH FELLOW AMERICAN

Police in Belize want to quiz McAfee as "a person of interest" in the killing of a fellow American, Gregory Faull, with whom he had quarreled. But they say he is not a prime suspect in the probe.

McAfee says he has been persecuted by Belize's ruling party because he refused to pay around $2 million he says it is trying to hustle out of him, he said.

Belize's prime minister denies this and said McAfee, who made millions from the Internet anti-virus software that bears his name, was "bonkers." McAfee later lost much of his fortune and turned to a life of semi-reclusion by the Belizean beach.

McAfee spent Wednesday night reading his blog and posting his thoughts on a laptop he said was lent to him by the warden of the cottage where he was staying.

One person asked him if he felt like committing suicide.

"I enjoy living, and suicide is absurdly redundant," he wrote. "The world, from the very beginning, hurls viruses, accidents, hungry animals, defective DNA - and uncountable more - in an attempt to kill us. It always succeeds. Suicide is simply aiding and abetting."

McAfee's earlier posts spoke of his relief at arriving in Guatemala, thinking he had found a way out of his troubles.

One of his readers posted a message offering him just that.

"John. I have a special ops team near the La Aurora International Airport. I can get you out of jail and provide safe passage back to the States for a fee. Please let me know if this interests you."

DRUG PAST

Guatemala's government originally said the eccentric tech entrepreneur, who loves guns and young women and has tribal tattoos covering his shoulders, would be expelled to Belize within hours. But it later rowed back.

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of McAfee's arrest and its embassy was providing "appropriate consular services," but could not comment further.

On the island of Ambergris Caye, where McAfee has lived for about four years, residents and neighbors say he is eccentric and at times unstable. He was seen to travel with armed bodyguards, sporting a pistol tucked into his belt.

The predicament of the former Lockheed systems consultant is a far cry from his heyday in the late 1980s, when he started McAfee Associates. McAfee has no relationship now with the company, which was sold to Intel Corp.

McAfee was previously charged in Belize with possession of illegal firearms, and police had raided his property on suspicions that he was running a lab to produce illegal synthetic narcotics. He says he has not taken drugs since 1983.

"I took drugs constantly, 24 hours of the day. I took them for years and years. I was the worst drug abuser on the planet," he told Reuters just before his arrest. "Then I finally went to Alcoholics Anonymous, and that was the end of it."

(With reporting by Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Simon Gardner and Dave Graham; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Philip Barbara)

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Romney campaign had $25.7 million left after U.S. election

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's presidential campaign had $25.7 million left in the bank days after the November 6 election that ended months of relentless fundraising in the most expensive race in U.S. history, new campaign finance disclosures showed on Thursday.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, defeated the Republican candidate following a campaign that cost more than $2 billion overall.

Obama's re-election effort had $14.2 million left as of November 26, according to the Federal Election Commission disclosures.

Leftover campaign cash is common and often goes to the national party or other candidates.

The Romney campaign on Thursday said every raised dollar had gone toward Romney's run and that it "continues to process invoices for pre-election expenses." It expected to have less than $1 million by the end of the year.

"It is not uncommon. It is of course a great risk," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics that tracks campaign finance. "As a loser you want to make sure you've given it your all."

Obama and Romney both spent much of their campaign cash on voter outreach and especially advertising. But the Democrat and his "Super PAC" backers at Priorities USA Action, an unlimited-spending group, held an early advertising game advantage.

Obama's campaign dominated the airwaves, booking the increasingly expensive spots earlier and at the lowest price.

The "super" political action committee, which was legally barred from coordinating with the campaign, ran a series of aggressive ads about Romney's private equity past that portrayed him as a corporate raider.

The damaging ads, as well as negative press surrounding Romney's disparaging "47 percent" comment about Americans relying on government funds, contributed to the candidate's defeat.

The pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future - boosted once again by this year's Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson - plowed $45.5 million into a last-ditch effort to sway voters, according to Thursday's filings.

But according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, nearly three-quarters of Americans had made up their minds in the presidential race before Obama and Romney faced off in the first debate on October 3.

The pro-Obama group spent $20.9 million from October 18 and had $4.3 million in cash on hand as of November 26, according to the FEC filings. Romney's Restore Our Future reported having $842,062 left.

Adelson, billionaire chief executive of Las Vegas Sands, and his wife Miriam contributed another $10 million to Restore Our Future, accounting for nearly half of all the group's last-minute fundraising and bringing the couple's total gift to the Super PAC to $30 million.

Adelson's total donations to Republican candidates and organizations, although not all of them are disclosed, are said to have topped $100 million this election cycle. He planned to spend "that much and more" in the next campaign, he told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

The pro-Obama Super PAC received 11th-hour $1 million infusions from two of its own top donors, media mogul Fred Eychaner and Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn. They brought Eychaner's total to $4.5 million, and Mostyn's to $3 million, according to FEC filings.

(Editing by Xavier Briand)

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