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Egyptian army moves to stop Cairo violence

CAIRO – The Egyptian military is taking up positions between anti-government demonstrators and supporters of President Hosni Mubarak.

Soldiers did not intervene, other than firing warning shots, during attacks on the anti-government protesters Wednesday by Mubarak supporters.

Hours after automatic gunfire hit the protest camp at Tahrir Square, killing at least three protesters, soldiers carrying rifles could be seen lining up between the two sides late Thursday morning. Several hundred other soldiers were moving toward the front line.

Four tanks have cleared a highway overpass from where Mubarak supporters had hurled rocks and firebombs onto the protesters.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CAIRO (AP) — Automatic weapons fire pounded the anti-government protest camp in Cairo's Tahrir Square before dawn on Thursday in a dramatic escalation of what appeared to be a well-orchestrated series of assaults on the demonstrators. At least three protesters were killed by gunfire, according to one of the activists.

Hours after the shooting ended, the army, which protesters have criticized for failing to intervene to protect them, moved four tanks to clear a highway overpass from where supporters of President Hosni Mubarak had continued hurling rocks and firebombs onto the protesters.

It was not immediately clear if the steps were part of a wider decision for the army to begin protecting the demonstrations.

The crowds seeking an end to Mubarak's nearly three decades in power were still reeling from attacks hours earlier in which Mubarak supporters charged into the square on horses and camels, lashing people with whips, while others rained firebombs and rocks from rooftops.

The protesters accused Mubarak's regime of unleashing a force of paid thugs and plainclothes police to crush their unprecedented nine-day-old movement, a day after the 82-year-old president refused to step down. They showed off police ID badges they said were wrested from their attackers. Some government workers said their employers ordered them into the streets.

The violence intensified overnight, as sustained bursts of automatic gunfire and powerful single shots rained into the square starting at around 4 a.m. and continuing for more than two hours.

Protest organizer Mustafa el-Naggar said he saw the bodies of three dead protesters being carried toward an ambulance. He said the gunfire came from at least three locations in the distance and that the Egyptian military, which has ringed the square with tank squads for days to try to keep some order, did not intervene.

Footage from AP Television News appeared to show two more dead bodies being dragged along the highway overpass where the Mubarak supporters were massed.

A tank spread a thick smoke screen along the overpass, just to the north of the square, in an apparent attempt to deprive attackers of a high vantage point. The two sides seemed to be battling for control of the overpass, which leads to a main bridge over the Nile.

At daybreak, the two sides were still battling with rocks and flaming bottles of gasoline along the front line on the northern edge of the square, near the famed Egyptian Museum.

Demonstrators took cover behind makeshift barricades of corrugated metal sheeting taken from a nearby construction site and Mubarak supporters held their ground on the overpass until tanks managed to clear them away and seal off the bridge. Between the two sides stretched a burning no-man's-land of smoldering cars, hunks of concrete and fires.

Two empty troop carriers were burning in front of the museum, though it wasn't clear if they were targeted purposely.

Farther back in the square, around 4,000 protesters were holding out. A man with a microphone called out the names of the missing — most of them children — from the hours of clashes.

At an open-air clinic in the middle of the square, doctors treated the injured. Dr. Amr el-Yamani said most had suffered head injuries from hurled rocks.

The demonstrators appeared to be growing more enraged at the military's failure to protect them. Soldiers fired occasional shots in the air throughout Wednesday's clashes but did not appear to otherwise intervene and no uniformed police were seen.

"This army is part of the regime," complained Said Mohammed, an unemployed 50-year-old protester.

The fighting began more than 12 hours earlier, turning the celebratory atmosphere in the square over the previous day into one of terror and sending a stream of wounded to makeshift clinics in mosques and alleyways on the anti-government side. Three people died in the violence on Wednesday and 600 were injured.

Mustafa el-Fiqqi, a senior official from the ruling National Democratic Party, told The Associated Press that businessmen connected to the ruling party were responsible for what happened.

The notion that the state may have coordinated violence against protesters, who had kept a peaceful vigil in Tahrir Square for five days, prompted a sharp rebuke from the Obama administration.

"If any of the violence is instigated by the government, it should stop immediately," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

The clashes marked a dangerous new phase in Egypt's upheaval: the first significant violence between government supporters and opponents. The crisis took a sharp turn for the worse almost immediately after Mubarak rejected the calls for him to give up power or leave the country, stubbornly proclaiming he would die on Egyptian soil.

His words were a blow to the protesters. They also suggest that authorities want to turn back the clock to the tight state control enforced before the protests began.

Mubarak's supporters turned up on the streets Wednesday in significant numbers for the first time. Some were hostile to journalists and foreigners. Two Associated Press correspondents and several other journalists were roughed up in Cairo. State TV had reported that foreigners were caught distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets, apparently trying to depict the movement as foreign-fueled.

The scenes of mayhem were certain to add to the fear that is already running high in this capital of 18 million people after a weekend of looting and lawlessness and the escape of thousands of prisoners from jails in the chaos.

Some of the worst street battles on Wednesday raged near the Egyptian Museum at the edge of the square. Pro-government rioters blanketed the rooftops of nearby buildings and hurled bricks and firebombs onto the crowd below — in the process setting a tree ablaze inside the museum grounds. Plainclothes police at the building entrances prevented anti-Mubarak protesters from storming up to stop them.

The two sides pummeled each other with chunks of concrete and bottles at each of the six entrances to the sprawling plaza, where 10,000 anti-Mubarak protesters tried to fend off more than 3,000 attackers who besieged them. Some on the pro-government side waved machetes, while the square's defenders filled the air with a ringing battlefield din by banging metal fences with sticks.

In one almost medieval scene, a small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-government crowds, trampling several people and swinging whips and sticks. Protesters dragged some riders from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody. The horses and camels appeared to be ones used to give tourists rides around Cairo.

Dozens of men and women pried up pieces of the pavement with bars and ferried the piles of ammunition in canvas sheets to their allies at the front. Others directed fighters to streets needing reinforcements.

The protesters used a subway station as a makeshift prison for the attackers they managed to catch. They tied the hands and legs of their prisoners and locked them inside. People grabbed one man who was bleeding from the head, hit him with their sandals and threw him behind a closed gate.

Some protesters wept and prayed in the square where only a day before they had held a joyous, peaceful rally of a quarter-million, the largest demonstration so far.

Egyptian Health Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said three people died and at least 611 were injured in Tahrir Square on Wednesday. One of those killed fell from a bridge near the square; Farid said the man was in civilian clothes but may have been a member of the security forces.

Farid did not say how the other two victims, both young men, were killed. It was not clear whether they were government supporters or anti-Mubarak demonstrators.

After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by the uprising in Tunisia took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of demonstrations across this nation of 80 million. For the past few days, protesters who camped out in Tahrir Square reveled in a new freedom — publicly expressing their hatred for the Mubarak regime.

"After our revolution, they want to send people here to ruin it for us," said Ahmed Abdullah, a 47-year-old lawyer in the square.

Another man shrieked through a loudspeaker: "Hosni has opened the door for these thugs to attack us."

The pressure for demonstrators to clear the square mounted throughout the day, beginning early when a military spokesman appeared on state TV and asked them to disperse so life in Egypt could get back to normal.

It was a change in attitude by the army, which for the past few days had allowed protests to swell with no interference and even made a statement saying they had a legitimate right to demonstrate peacefully.

Then the regime began to rally its supporters in significant numbers for the first time, demanding an end to the protest movement. Some 20,000 Mubarak supporters held an angry but mostly peaceful rally on Wednesday across the Nile River from Tahrir, responding to calls on state TV.

They said Mubarak's concessions were enough. He has promised not to run for re-election in September, named a new government and appointed a vice president for the first time, widely considered his designated successor.

They were bitter at the jeers hurled at Mubarak.

"I feel humiliated," said Mohammed Hussein, a 31-year-old factory worker. "He is the symbol of our country. When he is insulted, I am insulted."

The anti-Mubarak movement has vowed to intensify protests to force him out by Friday.

State TV said Vice President Omar Suleiman called "on the youth to heed the armed forces' call and return home to restore order." From the other side, senior anti-Mubarak figure Mohamed ElBaradei demanded the military "intervene immediately and decisively to stop this massacre."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke with Suleiman to condemn the violence and urge Egypt's government to hold those responsible for it accountable, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

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AP correspondents Hadeel al-Shalchi, Sarah El Deeb, Hamza Hendawi, Diaa Hadid, Lee Keath and Michael Weissenstein contributed to this report.

Wendy's/Arby's posts 4Q net loss, lower revenue

ATLANTA – Wendy's/Arby's says its fourth-quarter loss shrank from a year earlier, despite a 7 percent drop in revenue that the company blamed "largely" on this year's fourth quarter being a week shorter than last year's.

In a report that Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. called "preliminary," the company said Wednesday its net loss was $10.8 million, or 3 cents per share, for the three months that ended Jan. 2. It lost $14.7 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time charges, the Atlanta restaurant operator — which is trying to sell its struggling Arby's business — said it earned a penny per share.

Analysts polled by Factset, who typically exclude one-time items, were expecting the company to break even on revenue of $841.4 million.

The company said its quarterly revenue fell to $840.7 million from $900.9 million.

Fourth-quarter revenue at Arby's restaurants open at least a year grew 2 percent, which "demonstrates progress on Arby's turnaround," the company said. The figure is considered a key indicator because it excludes restaurants that recently opened or closed. Total revenue for the chain fell less than 5 percent, compared with more than 7 percent at Wendy's.

"2011 will be a transition year as we explore strategic alternatives for Arby's, including a sale of the brand, reduce our corporate (expenses) to support a single brand and focus our energies on investing in Wendy's growth opportunities," President and CEO Roland Smith said in a statement.

During the economic downturn, Arby's has struggled more than Wendy's and other chains because its sandwiches — which can cost $5 or more — are more expensive than many other fast-food offerings.

For the full year, the company's preliminary report shows a net loss of $4.3 million, or 1 cent per share, including one-time charges of 15 cents per share. In 2009 it earned $3.5 million, or 1 cent per share, from continuing operations.

The company's full-year revenue fell slightly, to $3.4 billion from $3.6 billion.

Shares of Wendy's/Arby's climbed 3 cents to $4.65 in after-hours trading The stock had closed down 3 cents at $4.62.

The company is hosting an investor day Thursday in New York.

Congress marks 50 years since Kennedy inaugural

WASHINGTON – The 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inaugural address was marked at the Capitol with speeches celebrating Kennedy's famed call on Americans to serve their country.

Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Kennedy's daughter Caroline Kennedy were among the speakers at the ceremony in the Rotunda of the Capitol held a half-century after Kennedy's 1961 address.

Biden said the speech — with the words "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" — set in motion a new era where Americans were challenged to contribute a part of their lives to service.

President Barack Obama is to speak at another event commemorating the address at the Kennedy Center Thursday night.

PHOTO ARCHIVE: Remembering the Costume Designs of Theoni V. Aldredge

Playbill.com takes a look back at the career of costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge, who died Jan. 21 in Stamford, CT.

Aldredge, 78, worked on everything from Shakespeare to Sondheim, but was best known for her designs for musicals. She won Tony Awards for her costumes for the original Broadway productions of Annie, Barnum and La Cage aux Folles. She was Tony-nominated a total of 15 times, and created iconic costumes for such shows as A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls and 42nd Street. She was called on to recreate her simple yet memorable work for A Chorus Line when the musical was revived in 2006.

Here is a look back at a number of Aldredge's designs from a career spanning nearly 50 years:

[flipbook]

Read her full obituary .

Alford, Whimper and Bomar among NY Giants cuts

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New York Giants cuts some ties to their 2008 Super Bowl championship team, waiving defensive tackle Jay Alford and offensive lineman Guy Whimper.

The Giants also made a couple of other surprising moves Saturday in reaching the 53-man limit, waiving quarterback Rhett Bomar, veteran receiver Derek Hagan and tight end Bear Pascoe.

Also cut were defensive ends Tommie Hill and Alex Hall, defensive tackles Dwayne Hendricks and Nate Collins, cornerbacks Seth Williams and Courtney Brown, safeties John Busing, Matt O'Hanlon and Sha'reff Rashad, quarterback Dominic Randolph, running backs Gartrell Johnson and Andre Brown, fullback Jerome Johnson, receiver Tim Brown, tight end Scott Chandler, center Jim Cordle and offensive tackles Dennis Landolt, Jacob Bender and Herb Taylor.

Hall and Brown were waived injured. Hagan, Whimper and Busing had their contracts terminated.

The Giants open the regular season next Sunday in their new $1.6 billion stadium against the Carolina Panthers.

"We put the roster together in the best interest of our football team, the best way in which we felt would possibly balance off our numbers and still be very much aware the way in which you would rank the ability level of all the players on the team," coach Tom Coughlin said.

The Giants typically make a move or two in the week leading up to the opener, so the roster will probably be tweaked.

The defensive and offensive lines are the deepest spots on the team and Alford, who missed last season because of ACL surgery, and Whimper fell victim to the depth.

Bomar and Hagan probably lost their jobs when the Giants acquired veteran quarterback Sage Rosenfels and running back-special teams maven Darius Reynaud from the Vikings for a couple of future picks.

A second-year pro who has never played in an NFL regular-season game, Bomar played the entire second preseason game because of injuries to Manning and Jim Sorgi. It seemed he nailed down the backup job with a good performance on Thursday against New England, but the Giants eventually decided they wanted an experienced backup.

"Bomar's progress has been outstanding," Coughlin said. "He's worked very, very hard. He did receive a lot of attention, he did make progress and he did show us what he can do."

Pascoe was let go because the Giants decided to keep second-year tight end Travis Beckum, who missed most of training camp with a hamstring and neck injuries. For a week in camp, Pascoe was the only healthy tight end.

"There was an awful lot of sentiment for Bear, because of what he was able to do," Coughlin said.

The roster includes two free agent receivers — Victor Cruz, who grew up in nearby Paterson, and Duke Calhoun of Memphis, who caught a game-winning touchdown pass from Bomar in the preseason finale against New England.

A third-round draft pick in 2007, Alford was an up-and-coming linemen until his injury in a preseason game against Chicago last summer. His most memorable play as a Giant was a sack of Tom Brady on the final Patriots' series in the Super Bowl, helping nail down the title.

"It was competitive in that spot this year," Coughlin said. "Even though we still feel like we have a ways to go to have the front that we say we have, it was a very difficult choice to have to make."

Whimper, a fourth round pick in 2006, played in all 16 regular season games and four postseason games — mostly as a backup — in the 2007 season. He got a lot of playing time in the preseason but it wasn't enough to get him a job again.

The only other surprise was the release of Brown. The fourth-round draft pick missed his rookie season after tearing his Achilles' tendon in training camp. He looked good at times in camp this year but did not do a good job on kickoff returns.