Ex-Bull Asik dominates as Rockets trounce Chicago 120-97

Rockets beat the Bulls 120-97 at the United Center.

Using a more profane term, Joakim Noah light-heartedly said he hoped Omer Asik played like garbage in Tuesday's homecoming game.

Instead, the Bulls did.

Remember that huge road victory over the Knicks on Friday? That was so 96 hours ago. Posting a second straight double-digit loss, the Bulls got blown out 120-97 by Asik and the Rockets in their first Christmas Day home game in 15 years.

It was only the second time in Tom Thibodeau's tenure that the Bulls have dropped consecutive games by double digits.

Don't let a fun, fourth-quarter rally featuring Taj Gibson at center and four perimeter players fool anybody. The Bulls tied for the most points allowed in Thibodeau's tenure, surrendered 56.1 percent shooting and were outrebounded for the fifth time in seven games.

"We were completely outplayed right from the start," Thibodeau said. "My job is to have them ready. Obviously, we're not ready. So that part's on me."

Asik's dominant night featured 20 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks, falling one point and rebound shy of career highs. James Harden added 26 points, Chandler Parsons had 23 and Jeremy Lin finished with 20 points and 11 assists in the Rockets' fourth straight win.

Houston enjoyed a 29-8 advantage in fast-break points and 66-32 in points in the paint.

"Our defense wasn't very good," Noah said. "Terrible Christmas.

"Omer was great rolling to the basket. We should've fouled him more."

To make matter worse, Luol Deng turned his right ankle. Limping badly after the game, he said he'll see if he can play Wednesday against the Pacers.

Nate Robinson scored all 27 of his points in the second half to lead the Bulls, who trailed by 35 on Asik's tip-in with 4 minutes, 58 seconds left in the third quarter. Marquis Teague came off the bench to team with Robinson and provide some energy, finishing with eight points, as the Bulls once closed to within 15.

Just like on Saturday in Atlanta, the Bulls collapsed in the second quarter, getting outscored 31-19.

The Bulls have been outscored 67-35 in the last two second quarters.

"We had a bad fourth quarter in New York," Thibodeau said. "We had a bad performance in Atlanta. And we followed it up. Things can change very quickly in this league. If you don't have an edge, you're not going to win without playing with intensity.

"We're not going to outscore people. So we have the wrong mindset right now."

Asik has 13 double-doubles.

"It's been fun," he said. "It's a young team. ... We're getting better each game."

When Asik blocked Carlos Boozer and Harden scored on a three-point play in transition, the big man remained stoic, never cracking a smile. His teammates' faces said it all.

"Omer is a big-time player," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "He was blocking shots, playing big, getting the break going. It was a big-time game."

kcjohnson@tribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop

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Jessica Simpson’s Christmas tweet seems to confirm pregnancy rumor

(Reuters) – U.S. actress, singer and fashion designer Jessica Simpson sent a Christmas Twitter message that apparently confirms media rumors that she is pregnant – showing a photo of her daughter Maxwell with the words “Big Sis” spelled out in sand.

The picture’s caption reads “Merry Christmas from my family to yours.”

Simpson had her first child, Maxwell Drew Johnson, in May. She has since become a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.

A representative for Simpson was not immediately available for comment.

Simpson rose to fame as a teen pop star and became a household name after starring in a TV reality show with her then-husband Nick Lachey, a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. The pair divorced after three years of marriage.

She went on to star in the 2005 film version of “The Dukes of Hazzard” and re-invented herself as a country singer in 2008. She currently designs apparel, accessories and other fashion products and is a mentor on the TV contest “Fashion Star.”

Simpson’s fiancé, Eric Johnson, is a former U.S. professional football player whose career spanned seven seasons for both the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints. (Reporting By Mary Wisniewski and Paul Simao)

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NORAD says record number of calls to track Santa

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) — Most of the thousands of children who call the annual Santa-tracking operation at a Colorado Air Force Base on Christmas Eve ask the usual questions: “Where’s Santa, and when will he get here?”

So volunteer Sara Berghoff was caught off-guard Monday when a child called to see if Santa could be especially kind this year to the families affected by the Connecticut school shooting.

“I’m from Newtown, Connecticut, where the shooting was,” she remembers the child asking. “Is it possible that Santa can bring extra presents so I can deliver them to the families that lost kids?”

Sara, just 13 herself, was surprised but gathered her thoughts quickly. “If I can get ahold of him, I’ll try to get the message to him,” she told the child.

Sara was one of hundreds of volunteers at NORAD Tracks Santa who answered thousands of calls, program spokeswoman Marisa Novobilski said. Spokeswoman 1st Lt. Stacey Fenton said that as of midnight Tuesday, trackers answered more than 111,000 calls, breaking last year’s record of 107,000.

First lady Michelle Obama, who is spending the holidays with her family in Hawaii, also joined in answering calls as she has in recent years. She spent about 30 minutes talking with children from across the country, telling some who asked that her favorite toys growing up were Barbie dolls and an Easy Bake oven.

She also received an invitation to visit an 11-year-old boy in Fort Worth, Texas, and a request to put her husband on the phone. “He’s not here right now. But you know what, I will tell him you asked about him. OK?” she replied.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.S.-Canada command responsible for protecting the skies over both nations, tracks Santa from its home at Peterson Air Force Base.

NORAD and its predecessor have been fielding Christmas Eve phone calls from children — and a few adults — since 1955. That’s when a newspaper ad listed the wrong phone number for kids to call Santa. Callers ended up getting the Continental Air Defense Command, which later became NORAD. CONAD commanders played along, and the ritual has been repeated every year since.

After 57 years, NORAD can predict what most kids will ask. Its 11-page playbook for volunteers includes a list of nearly 20 questions and answers, including how old is Santa (at least 16 centuries) and has Santa ever crashed into anything (no).

But kids still manage to ask the unexpected, including, “Does Santa leave presents for dogs?”

A sampling of anecdotes from the program this year:

___

THE REAL DEAL: A young boy called to ask if Santa was real.

Air Force Maj. Jamie Humphries, who took the call, said, “I’m 37 years old, and I believe in Santa, and if you believe in him as well, then he must be real.”

The boy turned from the phone and yelled to others in the room, “I told you guys he was real!”

___

DON’T WORRY, HE’LL FIND YOU: Glenn Barr took a call from a 10-year-old who wasn’t sure if he would be sleeping at his mom’s house or his dad’s and was worried about whether Santa would find him.

“I told him Santa would know where he was and not to worry,” Barr said.

Another child asked if he was on the nice list or the naughty list.

“That’s a closely guarded secret, and only Santa knows,” Barr replied.

___

TOYS IN HEAVEN: A boy who called from Missouri asked when Santa would drop off toys in heaven.

His mother got on the line and explained to Jennifer Eckels, who took the call, that the boy’s younger sister died this year.

“He kept saying ‘in heaven,’” Eckels said. She told him, “I think Santa headed there first thing.”

___

BEST OF: Choice questions and comments wound up posted on a flip chart.

“Big sister wanted to add her 3-year-old brother to the naughty list,” one read.

“Are there police elves?” said another.

“How much to adopt one of Santa’s reindeer?”

“What’s the best way to booby-trap the living room to trap Santa?”

“When you see Santa, tell him hello for me, I never see him.”

“How does Santa make iPads?”

____

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: NORAD got calls from 220 countries and territories last year, and non-English-speakers called this year as well.

Volunteers who speak other languages get green Santa hats and a placard listing their languages so organizers can find them quickly.

“Need a Spanish speaker!” one organizer called as he rushed out of one of three phone rooms.

___

HE KNOWS WHEN YOU’RE AWAKE: At NORAD’s suggestion, volunteers often tell callers that Santa won’t drop off the presents until all the kids in the home are asleep.

“Ohhhhhhh,” said an 8-year-old from Illinois, as if trying to digest a brand-new fact.

“I’m going to be asleep by 4 o’clock,” said a child from Virginia.

“Thank you so much for that information,” said a grateful mom from Michigan.

___

CHRISTMAS EVE IN AFGHANISTAN: Five U.S. service personnel answered calls from Afghanistan for about 90 minutes through a conferencing hookup.

“They had a great time,” said Novobilski, the program spokeswoman.

NORAD wanted to set up a call center in Afghanistan but that proved too complex, she said.

___

HEY, MR. ELF: “Mr. Elf,” said one caller, “This is Adam, and I’ve been really good this year.”

___

FOR GEARHEADS: For people who want to know the specs of Santa’s sleigh, NORAD offers a trove of tidbits, including:

Weight at takeoff: 75,000 GD (gumdrops).

Propulsion: 9 RP (reindeer power).

Fuel: Hay, oats and carrots (for reindeer).

Emissions: Classified.

___

Online:

Track Santa online at http://www.noradsanta.org

___

Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP

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One Illness After Another, and an Eviction Looming

As the water surged through the basement apartment of a Coney Island town house during Hurricane Sandy, Jeffrey Cowen, a cherubic and chatty sort, tried to calm down the two tenants who had remained with him in the building.

Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Jeffrey Cowen, 51, in his Coney Island apartment. His illnesses have led to his falling about $8,400 behind in his rent.

For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families and the elderly in New York. To celebrate the 101st campaign, an article will appear daily through Jan. 25. Each profile will illustrate the difference that even a modest amount of money can make in easing the struggles of the poor.

Last year donors contributed $7,003,854, which was distributed to those in need through seven New York charities.

2012-13 Campaign

Previously recorded:

$3,512,137

Recorded Friday:

302,605

*Total:

$3,814,742

Last year to date:

$3,648,728

*Includes $709,856 contributed to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

The Youngest Donors

If your child or family is using creative techniques to raise money for this year’s campaign, we want to hear from you. Drop us a line on Facebook or talk to us on Twitter.

“The water is not here yet, and we have two more floors and the roof,” Mr. Cowen, 51, recalled telling them, as everybody stood in his first-floor studio apartment. “It’s not time to panic. Even if the water gets in here, we’re still not going to panic, because that’s how people get hurt.”

This levelheadedness seems to inform his attitude about his illnesses — spinal stenosis, diabetes, hypertension and heart problems. Mr. Cowen has been to the operating room enough, he said, that he has developed a “shtick”:

“I say to the doctors, ‘Listen up — Rule No. 1: I don’t want to hear “Oops!”

“ ‘Rule No. 2: I don’t want to hear: “Dr. Brown, we haven’t seen anything like this since med school.” ’ ”

Nonetheless, Mr. Cowen’s illnesses have led to his falling about $8,400 behind in his rent; he could face eviction proceedings beginning next month.

Mr. Cowen, a counselor at John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy, a charter school for at-risk youth, was born in Washington Heights in Manhattan but grew up with two siblings in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Mr. Cowen’s father owned a pallet-making business located in Portsmouth and Columbus, Ohio. The business thrived until the main plant in Portsmouth burned to the ground, he said.

The family eventually received welfare benefits.

Mr. Cowen received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Ohio State University, and another in political science from Antioch College. He went to Los Angeles after his five-year marriage ended in divorce. In 2000, an online relationship brought him to New York, and when the relationship ended, he stayed.

In 2007, he began feeling “a tingling down my spine.” An M.R.I. revealed that he had spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column that puts pressure on the cord. He had surgery to remove a piece of bone from his vertebrae to relieve pressure, he said.

In June 2010, he began feeling sick, and so run-down that he frequently missed work. When his sick days and vacation days were used up and he could not work, he had no income. About four months later, he had a heart attack, and had stents implanted. Because he had worked sporadically, he had fallen $3,300 behind in his rent and utilities, he said. Within nine months, he had recovered financially, he said.

“Around early fall of last year, I became weaker and weaker,” Mr. Cowen said. He exhausted his vacation and sick days and again began falling behind on his rent and bills. He said he did not seek medical care because disability payments would not be enough for him to make his rent. Being out of the hospital allowed him to work, if only intermittently.

“I popped children’s aspirin like M & M’s just to keep the blood flowing,” he said, but eventually he went to the hospital, where he found out he needed heart surgery — a triple bypass. He also found out that he had hypertension and diabetes.

Now, Mr. Cowen is back at work, trying to keep up with his rent and to pay his landlord extra each month to bring his rent current. He said he was relieved when he received assistance from the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation of New York, one of the organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. Met Council drew $1,387 from the fund to help him pay outstanding electric and heating bills.

Mr. Cowen is applying to various sources for ways to pay the back rent, but he said that soon his landlord might have to initiate eviction proceedings.

And while he acknowledges that sometimes the whole situation “feels like a house of cards,” he does not feel sorry for himself. “It’s not unusual right now,” he said. “In this country, working people are often one medical disaster away from financial ruin.”

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Corporate tax rate overhaul may be part of a 'fiscal cliff' deal

WASHINGTON — Amid the wrangling over the so-called fiscal cliff, President Obama and congressional Republicans can agree on something: They want to lower the corporate tax rate.

The U.S. has the highest overall rate of any of the world's developed economies. It took the top spot in March after Japan reduced its rate, mimicking other countries that have lowered taxes to lure new businesses and keep existing companies from leaving.

Negotiations to avert automatic income tax increases and federal spending cuts scheduled to kick in Jan. 1 could provide the impetus for U.S. policymakers to tackle an overhaul of the corporate tax code next year.

The White House wants to put a corporate tax overhaul, along with changes to the individual income tax system, on a fast track as part of any deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff."

The centerpiece of an overhaul would be slashing the 35% corporate tax rate, a goal long sought by corporate executives and lobbyists.

Quiz: How much do you know about the 'fiscal cliff'?

"In the name of global competitiveness, I think that has largely been agreed to," Jim McNerney, chief executive of Boeing Co., said about how both parties view the need for major corporate tax changes.

In February, Obama proposed lowering the federal rate to 25% for manufacturing companies and to 28% for other firms. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been pushing a plan to lower the rate to 25% for all corporations.

In both cases, the rate cuts would be accompanied by the elimination of some of the numerous tax breaks that allow many companies to pay a much lower effective tax rate — and sometimes to avoid paying any corporate taxes at all.

"The administration's position on this is very much in sync with what Republicans say they want, which is a lower rate and a broader base," said Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the former chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden.

But there still are some obstacles to a deal.

Some Democrats want to use an overhaul to increase the amount of tax revenue coming from corporations, while Republicans want to keep the amount the same. The White House and congressional Republicans also differ on how the U.S. should treat money earned abroad.

And the business community itself is divided. Many small companies file taxes as individuals. They're opposed to any "fiscal cliff" deal that would raise their rates while giving corporations a rate reduction.

Analysts said the obstacles could be overcome because there is consensus around the broader point that the U.S. needs to bring its corporate tax rate in line with other developed nations.

"Regardless of your political persuasion, it is unquestionably the case that the nominal U.S. corporate tax rate is much higher than that of peer countries," said Edward Kleinbard, a USC law professor and former chief of staff of Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation.

The case for corporate tax reform got a boost when the overall U.S. rate of 39.1%, which includes federal, state and local corporate taxes, became the highest this year among the 34 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Two decades ago, the U.S. was 13th.

"At one time in the '80s, we had a competitive corporate tax rate," said Dorothy Coleman, vice president of tax and domestic economic policy for the National Assn. of Manufacturers. "We've fallen behind by standing still."

Quiz: The year in business

But the rate in the tax code isn't what many companies pay because of a host of deductions and tax credits. In 2011, the effective corporate tax rate in the U.S. was 29.2%, roughly in line with the 31.9% average of the six other largest developed economies, the Obama administration said.

The White House said that parity does not mean the statutory rate shouldn't be reduced. It simply means that many tax breaks should be eliminated, allowing the rate to be lowered without adding to the deficit.

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Women were at parties, children died in fire: prosecutors

Two women accused of leaving four children alone in a home where a fire broke out, killing two of them, were each ordered held on $100,000 bond Monday.

Tatiana Meakens, 23, the mother of the four children, and her sister, Britany Meakens, 22, left the home in the 6400 block of South Prairie Avenue while their children were sleeping, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jamie Dickler. A hot plate being used for heat in a bedroom where the two victims slept sparked the fire early Saturday, Dickler said.

The women told firefighters and police officers responding to the fire that a cousin named Brandy was supposed to have been watching the children, but Dickler said the two women do not have a cousin by that name.

Each of the women is charged with two felony counts of endangering a child causing their death and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the life and health of a child.

Defense attorney Marijane Placek, who unsuccessfully asked Judge Israel Desierto for lower bonds, called the fire "a tragedy" and said the women "will never forgive themselves."

"These are two people who made an awful mistake," Placek said.

Killed in the fire were Jariyah Meakens, 3, and Javaris Meakens, 2, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Two older children who escaped the blaze were put in custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Autopsies on Sunday found that the victims died of carbon monoxide intoxication and inhalation of smoke and soot, and their deaths were ruled accidental, according to the medical examiner's office.

Dickler said the sisters had initially agreed that Tatiana Meakens would stay home with the children so Britany Meakens could go to a mutual friend's housewarming party.

But while Britany Meakens was getting ready, Tatiana Meakens received a phone call and decided she wanted to go to a CD release party in Blue Island, prosecutors said. Tatiana Meakens ran out of the house and told her sister she was leaving despite their prior agreement, even as Britany Meakens asked her not to go, Dickler said.

Britany Meakens then left the children alone in their apartment, sleeping, and while at her party called her sister to let her know the children were alone, prosecutors said.

The fire broke out about 3:20 a.m. Saturday in a first-floor bedroom where the two victims were sleeping. The brothers who survived, Darnell Meakens, 7, and Marquis Meakens, 4, were in a back bedroom.

Tatiana Meakens returned to the home only after being notified that there was a fire, Dickler said.

At bond court Monday, Placek said the home's heat had been turned off. She later said in an interview that the women had been asked by their landlord to get out "for a number of reasons."

"They weren't being helped at this particular time," Placek said. "Nobody was sending heat to that apartment."

The building's owner could not be reached for comment Monday.

nnix@tribune.com

Twitter @nsnix87

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Reaction to the death of actor Jack Klugman

Celebrities on Monday reacted to the death of “Odd Couple” star Jack Klugman, who died Monday at age 90. Here are samples of sentiments expressed on Twitter:

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“R.I.P. Jack Klugman, Oscar, Quincy a man whose career spanned almost 50 years. I first saw him on the Twilight Zone. Cool guy wonderful actor.” — Whoopi Goldberg.

___

“You made my whole family laugh together.” — Actor Jon Favreau, of “Swingers,” ”Iron Man” and other films.

___

“I worked with Jack Klugman several years ago. He was a wonderful man and supremely talented actor. He will be missed” — Actor Max Greenfield, of the “New Girl” on Fox.

___

“So sorry to hear that Jack Klugman passed away. I learned a lot, watching him on television” — Dan Schneider, creator of Nickelodeon TV shows “iCarly,” ”Drake and Josh” ”Good Burger,” ”Drake & Josh.”

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News Analysis: Getting Polio Campaigns Back on Track

How in the world did something as innocuous as the sugary pink polio vaccine turn into a flash point between Islamic militants and Western “crusaders,” flaring into a confrontation so ugly that teenage girls — whose only “offense” is that they are protecting children — are gunned down in the streets?

Nine vaccine workers were killed in Pakistan last week in a terrorist campaign that brought the work of 225,000 vaccinators to a standstill. Suspicion fell immediately on factions of the Pakistani Taliban that have threatened vaccinators in the past, accusing them of being American spies.

Polio eradication officials have promised to regroup and try again. But first they must persuade the killers to stop shooting workers and even guarantee safe passage.

That has been done before, notably in Afghanistan in 2007, when Mullah Muhammad Omar, spiritual head of the Afghan Taliban, signed a letter of protection for vaccination teams. But in Pakistan, the killers may be breakaway groups following no one’s rules.

Vaccination efforts are also under threat in other Muslim regions, although not this violently yet.

In Nigeria, another polio-endemic country, the new Islamic militant group Boko Haram has publicly opposed it, although the only killings that the news media have linked to polio were those of two police officers escorting vaccine workers. Boko Haram has killed police officers on other missions, unrelated to polio vaccinations.

In Mali, extremists took over half of the country in May, declaring an Islamic state. Vaccination is not an issue yet, but Mali had polio cases as recently as mid-2011, and the virus sometimes circulates undetected.

Resistance to polio vaccine springs from a combination of fear, often in marginalized ethnic groups, and brutal historical facts that make that fear seem justified. Unless it is countered, and quickly, the backlash threatens the effort to eradicate polio in the three countries where it remains endemic: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

In 1988, long before donors began delivering mosquito nets, measles shots, AIDS pills, condoms, deworming drugs and other Western medical goods to the world’s most remote villages, Rotary International dedicated itself to wiping out polio, and trained teams to deliver the vaccine.

But remote villages are often ruled by chiefs or warlords who are suspicious not only of Western modernity, but of their own governments.

The Nigerian government is currently dominated by Christian Yorubas. More than a decade ago, when word came from the capital that all children must swallow pink drops to protect them against paralysis, Muslim Hausas in the far-off north could be forgiven for reacting the way the fundamentalist Americans of the John Birch Society did in the 1960s when the government in far-off Washington decreed that, for the sake of children’s teeth, all drinking water should have fluoride.

The northerners already had grievances. In 1996, the drug company Pfizer tested its new antibiotic, Trovan, during a meningitis outbreak there. Eleven children died. Although Pfizer still says it was not to blame, the trial had irregularities, and last year the company began making payments to victims.

Other rumors also spring from real events.

In Pakistan, resistance to vaccination, low over all, is concentrated in Pashtun territory along the Afghan border and in Pashtun slums in large cities. Pashtuns are the dominant tribe in Afghanistan but a minority in Pakistan among Punjabis, Sindhis, Baluchis and other ethnic groups. Many are Afghan refugees and are often poor and dismissed as medieval and lawless.

Pakistan’s government is friendly with the United States while the Pashtuns’ territory in border areas has been heavily hit by American Taliban-hunting drones, which sometimes kill whole families.

So, when the Central Intelligence Agency admitted sponsoring a hepatitis vaccination campaign as a ruse to get into a compound in Pakistan to confirm that Osama bin Laden was there, and the White House said it had contemplated wiping out the residence with a drone missile, it was not far-fetched for Taliban leaders to assume that other vaccinators worked for the drone pilots.

Even in friendly areas, the vaccine teams have protocols that look plenty suspicious. If a stranger knocked on a door in Brooklyn, asked how many children under age 5 were at home, offered to medicate them, and then scribbled in chalk on the door how many had accepted and how many refused — well, a parent might worry.

In modern medical surveys — though not necessarily on polio campaigns — teams carry GPS devices so they can find houses again. Drones use GPS coordinates.

The warlords of Waziristan made the connection specific, barring all vaccination there until Predator drones disappeared from the skies.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, a Canadian who is chief of polio eradication for the World Health Organization, expressed his frustration at the time, saying, “They know we don’t have any control over drone strikes.”

The campaign went on elsewhere in Pakistan — until last week.

The fight against polio has been hampered by rumors that the vaccine contains pork or the virus that causes AIDS, or is a plot to sterilize Muslim girls. Even the craziest-sounding rumors have roots in reality.

The AIDS rumor is a direct descendant of Edward Hooper’s 1999 book, “The River,” which posited the theory — since discredited — that H.I.V. emerged when an early polio vaccine supposedly grown in chimpanzee kidney cells contaminated with the simian immunodeficiency virus was tested in the Belgian Congo.

The sterilization claim was allegedly first made on a Nigerian radio station by a Muslim doctor upset that he had been passed over for a government job. The “proof” was supposed to be lab tests showing it contained estrogen, a birth control hormone.

The vaccine virus is grown in a broth of live cells; fetal calf cells are typical. They may be treated with a minute amount of a digestive enzyme, trypsin — one source of which is pig pancreas, which could account for the pork rumor.

In theory, a polio eradicator explained, if a good enough lab tested the vaccine used at the time the rumor started, it might have detected estrogen from the calf’s mother, but it would have been far less estrogen than is in mother’s milk, which is not accused of sterilizing anyone. The trypsin is supposed to be washed out.

In any case, polio vaccine is now bought only from Muslim countries like Indonesia, and Muslim scholars have ruled it halal — the Islamic equivalent of kosher.

Reviving the campaign will mean quelling many rumors. It may also require adding other medical “inducements,” like deworming medicine, mosquito nets or vitamin A, whose immediate benefits are usually more obvious.

But changing mind-sets will be a crucial step, said Dr. Aylward, who likened the shootings of the girls to those of the schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn.

More police involvement — what he called a “bunkerized approach” — would not solve either America’s problem or Pakistan’s, he argued. Instead, average citizens in both countries needed to rise up, reject the twisted thinking of the killers and “generate an understanding in the community that this kind of behavior is not acceptable.”

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Rumored iPad 5 to be thinner

By Chris O'Brien

1:03 p.m. CST, December 24, 2012

That iPad 3 you got last March? Forget it. It's like the eight-track tape  of tablets. (Kids: Ask your parents what that means.) Even that iPad 4 you're about to unwrap Christmas morning that you think is so darn new is about to become yesterday's news. 

At least, that is, if the latest iPad rumors are true. According to the Japanese blog Macotakara, the next iPad is due to hit in March. At which time, all previous versions of the iPad will feel like bricks.

QUIZ: What set the Internet on fire in 2012? 

The site reports that the fifth version of the iPad will be thinner and lighter than the last iPad. For those of you hoping that Apple's next version of the iPad would be heavier and clunkier, this is no doubt crushing news.

For the rest of the planet, however, this is pretty much what you'd expect from Apple. Macotakara says its sources say the next iPad will be 2 millimeters thinner and 17 millimeters narrower. 

If true, it marks a continuation of the accelerated product update cycle that kicked into gear this past year under Apple CEO Tim Cook. 

According to 9to5Mac.com, if the dimensions are correct, "The new supposed thinness would mean the next iPad is nearly as thin as the 7.2mm thin iPad mini."

Speaking of the Mini, Macotakara reports that Apple is cooking up a retina screen for the next iPad mini. 

Here's the real thing iPad owners need to fear: How long will Apple continue to support those older iPads? It already doesn't let owners of the first iPad download new versions of iOS. 

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Follow me on Twitter @obrien.

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Bears alive, but need help heading into final Sunday

The defensive end after the Bears beat the Cardinals 28-13 on Sunday.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — They're alive.

Only because they faced an offense far more disjointed than their own were the Bears able to withstand another lethargic start. Jump-started by two defensive touchdowns — their first since Week 9 — the Bears trounced the woeful Cardinals on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The 28-13 victory improved the Bears to 9-6 and kept them in the NFC playoff race. They need to win the regular-season finale against the Lions in Detroit on Sunday and have the Packers defeat the Vikings at the Metrodome to claim a wild-card spot. The Bears have won eight of their last nine vs. the Lions, who will look to be a spoiler while trying to get wide receiver Calvin Johnson 2,000 yards on the season. He needs 108.

The Packers will be motivated against the Vikings with a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed in the NFC on the line.

"I've always been a big Packers fan," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "It's not hard at all for me. We have a tough division, but as we said this week, we can't do much about that. All we can do is get a win against Detroit."

Reserve cornerback Zack Bowman, playing against the Cardinals' heavy package, recovered a fumble by Beanie Wells for the first score of the game and Charles Tillman returned an interception 10 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, the Bears' ninth defensive touchdown of the season, leaving them one behind the 1998 Seahawks for the most in NFL history.

Those plotting an end to the Smith era have to hold on now. Most consider it unlikely the Bears will have a housecleaning project under general manager Phil Emery if the club reaches the playoffs. Emery has spoken publicly only once since the season began, during the off week.

But the Bears are not going to go anywhere in the postseason if the offense doesn't find a level of consistency. Running back Matt Forte once again is nursing a right ankle injury as he was knocked out of the game in the third quarter after carrying 12 times for 88 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown. Wearing a walking boot afterward, he declared he would play against the Lions, but it is too early to know.

"With running lanes like that, you can make moves in the open field and get extra yards," Forte said. "It is unfortunate I had to leave the game, but I felt like we were really starting to roll in the running game."

Quarterback Jay Cutler missed on 10 of his first 11 passes, yet the Bears took a 14-3 lead while he was misfiring. Cutler put together a nice drive at the end of the second quarter, firing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall, but that was about it for rhythm in the passing game. He finished 12 of 26 for 146 yards, but he didn't turn the ball over.

"It wasn't pretty," Cutler said. "I thought the offensive line did a great job. I missed a lot of throws."

Cardinals quarterback Ryan Lindley was benched for Brian Hoyer after the Tillman interception and the Cardinals struggled moving the ball at all, converting only three of 15 third downs. Julius Peppers had a season-high three sacks to give him 111/2, his most in three seasons with the Bears. The biggest play for the Cardinals was Justin Bethel's 82-yard return of a blocked Olindo Mare field-goal attempt.

So, the Bears, thanks in part to the Ravens' victory against the Giants on Sunday, have a chance as they prepare for the Lions. No one knew how they would respond after losing five of their previous six games. Their mantra has been that the playoffs already have started. That is why it wasn't surprising to hear the hollering through the cinder-block walls of the locker room afterward.

"We feel like we have new life," said cornerback Tim Jennings, who returned after missing two games with a dislocated right shoulder. "We forgot what it felt like to be in the win column."

The last time the Bears won in Arizona during the regular season, then-Cardinals coach Denny Green said to "crown their ass!" No one is going to crown these Bears, but they can't be written off either.

"We need some help," Marshall said. "But the only thing we can control is going out there and playing against the Lions."

bmbiggs@tribune.com

Twitter @BradBiggs

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