Daya blog

Lewis extends lead in hot round at Kraft Nabisco

In the three years since Stacy Lewis lost a third-round lead at the U.S. Women's Open in her first pro tournament, she traveled the globe, opened her mind and thoroughly revamped her game.

A few bad iron shots and a little desert heat just aren't such challenges any more.

Lewis persevered through more triple-digit temperatures to shoot a 3-under 69 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Friday, opening a three-stroke lead over Yani Tseng, Brittany Lincicome and Jane Park.

Michelle Wie shot a 67, matching the day's best round and closing within six shots in contention for her first major title. Tseng, the defending champion and the world's top-ranked player, shot a 68, while first-round co-leader Lincicome mustered a 72 to stay one stroke ahead of Morgan Pressel and Amy Yang.

The leaders all managed to thrive on dry, speedy greens during a second windless day at Mission Hills, with the temperature topping 100 degrees by midday.

But Lewis pulled ahead at 9-under par after several big putts during the second round, smoothly reaching the halfway point of the LPGA Tour's first major in strong position to chase her first victory during what's expected to be a cooler weekend.

"My round was all over the place," said Lewis, who shared the first-round lead. "But I made some really good up-and-downs and stayed really patient on the back nine, and I was fortunate to get away with a couple of pars that I probably shouldn't have."

Big things were expected from Lewis after she burst onto the tour with a third-place finish behind Inbee Park at Interlachen in 2008, nearly becoming the first player to win a major in her professional debut.

Although she's now a solid pro, finishing 21st on last season's money list, she hasn't won. She's still enduring the maturation of any player coming out of college — finding a swing guru, figuring out the hectic travel schedule and mentally managing through weeks away from home, sometimes on the opposite side of the globe from her home in Texas.

"I just feel like I have a really good group of people around me now," Lewis said.

That group sometimes includes Lincicome, her road roommate and good friend. It also includes Betsy King, who accompanied Lewis on a trip to Africa with Lewis' mother.

Her experience in Rwanda, meeting families in a daily struggle for water and survival, affected her just as much as her ongoing charity work with dozens of young people with scoliosis, the same spinal affliction she overcame.

"I saw things (in Rwanda) I never thought I'd see in my life," Lewis said. "It was such a shock to me that people live the way that they do, but they are so happy and so grateful. It just makes me grateful for everything that I have, and it gave me a renewed purpose of what I'm doing out here. The better I play golf, the more I can help other people, the more I can inspire other people."

Lewis had to be resourceful from the opening holes Friday. She made tough putts on three straight holes before putting her tee shot on the nine behind a tree. She saved herself with a 200-yard hybrid shot and an up-and-down par before finishing strong with a bogey-free back nine.

Lewis and Wie memorably went to the same LPGA Q-school in December 2008. While Wie's presence got all the headlines, Lewis had the five-round event's best score.

Wie was 2 over in Thursday's first round, but she rallied impressively Friday morning after a horrible start.

Her first tee shot flew into the gallery and beaned a little girl, who needed attention from paramedics. Wie couldn't stick around to see how she was doing.

"I never felt so horrible about a shot ever," said Wie, who has drilled a few spectators in her day with a sometimes-erratic approach from the tee. "I felt so horrible about hitting that poor little girl. ... I thought I had hit a sprinkler or a tree or something. The little girl was the last thing on my mind, but hopefully she's OK."

Park played her way into the Kraft Nabisco field with a top-30 finish at last week's Kia Classic. The Los Angeles-area native, who missed the 2009 season with a back injury, excelled on the dry, fast greens of Mission Hills, which she first played when she was 16.

"The first time I played here, the golf course is just so visually intimidating," Park said. "Now, it still looks intimidating, but I'm not really afraid of the golf course, which is what was running through my mind as a kid."

Taylor's unpublished love letters up for auction

Before becoming a bride eight times over, Elizabeth Taylor was a 17-year-old starlet scribbling letters to her first fiance, charting on pale pink stationery his progression from her one-and-only to the one who got away.

"I've never known this kind of love before — it's so perfect and complete — and mature," Taylor wrote to William Pawley on May 6, 1949. "I've never loved anyone in my life before one third as much as I love you — and I never will (well, as far as that goes — I'll never love anyone else — period)."

Taylor, who died last week at age 79, was engaged to Pawley in 1949, just before her first marriage. More than 60 of the letters she wrote him between March and October of that year will be auctioned in May by RR Auctions of Amherst, N.H. It bought the letters two years ago from Pawley, who lives in Florida.

The unpublished letters — some written in purple fountain ink on pink paper — provide a glimpse of a teenager's transition to adult screen star.

She frets about her weight ("As I'm sitting here — writing to you, I'm just stuffing myself on a box of candy — honestly I've got to stop eating so much") and passing her high school exams. And she contrasts two movies she was filming at the time, "A Place in the Sun" and "The Big Hangover," praising the director of the former and complaining about her role in the latter.

But mostly, she gushes about Pawley, the 22-year-old son of a former ambassador to Brazil, reassuring him over and over that her love is true.

"My heart aches & makes me want to cry when I think of you, and how much I want to be with and to look into your beautiful blue eyes, and kiss your sweet lips and have your strong arms hold me, oh so tight, & close to you ... I want us to be `lovers' always ... even after we've been married seventy-five years and have at least a dozen great-great-grandchildren," she wrote on March 28.

At the time, Taylor was publicly dating football player Glenn Davis, but in several of the letters, she complains about the ruse promoted by her mother and the studio to maintain her girl-next-door image. In a 10-page letter dated April 1, she describes her reaction to Davis accidentally breaking a pair of earrings Pawley had given her.

"I have never had such a strong desire to hit anyone with all my might in all my life," she wrote. "I gave him back his `A' pin, the football and his All-American sweater ... I don't care what they say anymore ... from now on I'm going to live my life the way I want to."

In May, she told Pawley she was ready to say goodbye to her career and everything connected with it, "For I won't be giving anything up — but I will be gaining the greatest gift that God bestows on man — love, marriage, a family — and you my Darling."

By September, however, Taylor was writing about returning her engagement ring at Pawley's request.

"I know with all my heart and soul that this is not the end for us — it couldn't be — we love each other too much," she wrote.

Less than eight months later, she married hotel heir Conrad Nicholson "Nicky" Hilton.

The online auction, set for May 19-26, will also feature letters Taylor's mother wrote to Pawley after the engagement ended, including one in which she wrote, "You have a nervous condition and a problem with jealousy, as such you and Elizabeth can never be together."

Bobby Livingston, spokesman for the auction house, said the letters were estimated to be worth $25,000 to $35,000 before Taylor's death, and he expects they could fetch two or three times that amount now.

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Stock futures flat before jobless claims data

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday, the final day of the quarter, before weekly jobless claims data that could give insight into the U.S. employment situation.

On Friday investors will scrutinize non-farm payroll figures in the government's March unemployment report.

The week has been marked by some of the year's lowest volumes as traders opt to ride the quarter's gainers amid global risks. The S&P 500 is up 5.6 percent in the quarter, based on Wednesday's close.

Initial jobless benefits claims, due at 8:30 a.m., are forecast at 380,000, a slight decline from the prior week. Wednesday's reassuring ADP report on private payrolls kept sentiment up for Friday's payrolls report.

"We're in a bit of a pause as we wait for the important claims number," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.

"Though this won't necessarily echo the payroll number, if claims are very bearish a lot of people will reconsider about what to expect tomorrow. If this is disappointing, a lot of people may use it as an excuse to step back."

David Sokol, the man widely seen as the leading successor to Warren Buffett to head up Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N), has resigned after buying shares in chemical company Lubrizol Corp (LZ.N) before pushing Buffett to acquire it. Berkshire's Class B shares fell 2.4 percent to $83.42 in premarket trading.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.6 point and were about even with fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 8 points and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.25 point.

February factory orders data will be released at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) after the market opens. Factory orders are seen rising by a smaller amount than in the previous month.

Chicago PMI data for March, which covers Midwest business activity, will also be released.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) stepped up its rivalry with Google Inc (GOOG.O) on Thursday by filing a formal complaint with the European Commission, claiming Google systematically thwarts Internet search competition.

The Macau unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS.N) said it is being investigated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for alleged regulatory violations. Shares of Las Vegas Sands fell 5.4 percent to $41.14 before the bell.

U.S. stocks rose for a second session on Wednesday with activity dominated by some of the strongest-performing groups in the first quarter, including energy and small-cap stocks.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Bahrain protesters take control of main square

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Thousands of protesters poured into a main square in Bahrain's capital Tuesday in an Egypt-style rebellion that sharply escalated pressure on authorities as the Arab push for change gripped the Gulf for the first time.

Security forces have battled demonstrators calling for political reforms and greater freedoms over two days, leading to the deaths of two protesters and the main opposition group vowing to freeze its work in parliament in protest.

In a clear sign of concern over the widening crisis, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa made a rare national TV address, offering condolences for the deaths, pledging an investigation into the killings and promising to push ahead with reforms, which include loosening state controls on the media and Internet.

"We extend our condolences to the parents of the dear sons who died yesterday and today. We pray that they are inspired by the Almighty's patience, solace and tranquility," said the king, who had previously called for an emergency Arab summit to discuss the growing unrest.

As the crowds surged into the Pearl Square in the capital of Manama, security forces appeared to hold back. But key highways were blocked in an apparent attempt to choke off access to the vast traffic circle — which protesters quickly renamed "Nation's Square" and erected banners such as "Peaceful" that were prominent in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of protests there.

The dramatic move Tuesday came just hours after a second protester died in clashes with police in the strategic island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Oppositions groups aren't calling for the ruling Sunni monarchy to be ousted, but they do want an end to its grip on key decisions and government posts.

Other demands — listed on a poster erected in the square — included the release of all political prisoners, more jobs and housing, an elected Cabinet and the replacement of longtime prime minister, Sheik Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The nation's majority Shiites — about 70 percent of the population of some 500,000_ have long complained of discrimination and being blackballed from important state jobs.

Many in the square waved Bahraini flags and chanted: "No Sunnis, no Shiites. We are all Bahrainis." It also appeared they were planning for the long haul. Some groups carried in tents and sought generators to set up under a nearly 300-foot (90-meter) monument cradling a giant white pearl-shaped ball symbolizing the country's heritage as a pearl diving center.

Bahrain is one of the most politically volatile nations in the Middle East's wealthiest corner despite having one of the few elected parliaments and some of the most robust civil society groups. A crackdown on perceived dissent last year touched off weeks of riots and clashes in Shiite villages, and an ongoing trial in Bahrain accuses 25 Shiites of plotting against the country's leadership.

A prolonged showdown could draw in the region's two biggest rivals: Saudi Arabia, as close allies of Bahrain's Sunni monarchy, and Iran, whose hard-liners have spoken in support of the nation's Shiite majority.

Bahrain is also an economic weakling compared with the staggering energy riches of Gulf neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which can afford far more generous social benefits. Bahrain's oil reserves are small and its role as the region's international financial hub have been greatly eclipsed by Dubai.

One protester, 24-year-old Hussein Asamahiji, echoed the complaints from Tunisia and Egypt: a lack of jobs and allegations that the ruling elite monopolizes the best opportunities.

"We simply want the chance at a better future," he said. "Egypt showed it's possible."

The bloodshed already has brought sharp denunciations from the largest Shiite political bloc, which suspended its participation in parliament, and could threaten the nation's gradual pro-democracy reforms that have given Shiites a greater political voice.

The second day of turmoil began after police tried to disperse up to 10,000 mourners gathering at a hospital parking lot to begin a funeral procession for Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima, 21, who died in Monday's marches.

Officials at Bahrain's Salmaniya Medical Complex said a 31-year-old man became the second fatality when he died of injuries from birdshot fired during the melee in the hospital's parking lot. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to journalists.

After the clash, riot police eventually withdrew and allowed the massive funeral cortege for Mushaima to proceed from the main state-run medical facility in Manama. He was killed Monday during clashes with security forces trying to halt marches to demand greater freedoms and political rights. At least 25 people were injured in the barrage of rubber bullets, birdshot and tear gas, relatives said.

The main Shiite opposition group, Al Wefaq, denounced the "bullying tactics and barbaric policies pursued by the security forces" and said it was suspending its participation in parliament, where it holds 18 of the 40 seats.

The declaration falls short of pulling out the group's lawmakers, which would spark a full-scale political crisis. But Al Wefaq warned that it could take more steps if violence persists against marchers staging the first major rallies in the Gulf since uprisings toppled long-ruling regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed alarm from Moscow at what she described as authorities' excessive use of force

"I have been urging the authorities to curb the excesses of the security apparatus and to undertake serious investigations into allegations of torture and abuse," she said.

"I urge the authorities to immediately cease the use of disproportionate force against peaceful protestors and to release all peaceful demonstrators who have been arrested," Pillay added.

A statement from Bahrain's interior minister, Lt. Gen. Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, expressed "sincere condolences and deep sympathy" to Mushaima's family. He expanded on the king's pledge: stressing that the deaths will be investigated and charges would be filed if authorities determined excessive force was used against the protesters.

But that's unlikely to appease the protesters, whose "day of rage" Monday coincided with major anti-government demonstrations in Iran and Yemen.

In the past week, Bahrain's rulers have attempted to defuse calls for reform by promising nearly $2,700 for each family and pledging to loosen state controls on the media.

State media reported that the king telephoned the head of Egypt's ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on Tuesday. No further details were given, but Bahrain had earlier appealed for an emergency summit of Arab leaders to discuss the widening protests.

Bahrain's ruling Sunni dynasty also has extremely close ties with the leadership in Saudi Arabia, which is connected to Bahrain by a causeway. Bahrain has given citizenship to Sunnis in Saudi Arabia and across the region to bolster its ranks against the country's Shiite majority.

Bahrain's Sunni leaders point to parliamentary elections as a symbol of political openness. But many Sunnis in Bahrain also are highly suspicious of Shiite activists, claiming they seek to undermine the state and have cultural bonds with Shiite heavyweight Iran.

Chinese: Pa. museum never OK'd for mummies exhibit

PHILADELPHIA – A diplomatic official says two mummies and other ancient artifacts from China were never approved for display at the Philadelphia museum now embroiled in a dispute over the items.

A Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington says the "Secrets of the Silk Road" exhibit was approved only for museums in California and Texas.

Chinese officials are not allowing the artifacts to be displayed at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Instead, the long-planned exhibit opened Saturday with fake mummies and life-size photos of the artifacts.

Spokesman Wang Baodong tells The Philadelphia Inquirer that the city "was not a planned stop." He says officials in Beijing are discussing the issue.

Museum director Richard Hodges declined comment.