Settlement reached in Wade restaurant trial

The trial pitting Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade against two former business partners who wanted $25 million after a restaurant deal went sour came to a quick end Tuesday, with the sides announcing a confidential settlement.

Court was delayed for unexplained reasons for nearly three hours before all parties, including Wade, walked into the courtroom at 2:02 p.m., and the settlement was announced eight minutes later.

Judge Peter Adrien also said the sides worked out deals on other cases, which could include another trial that was scheduled in Miami brought by some of the ex-restaurant partners alleging Wade walked away from an …

Council chambers spruced up

DAILY MAIL STAFF

For more than 80 years, probably the biggest change to CharlestonCity Council chambers would be when its cork floor was swabbed withanother coat of shellac.

The sealed cork and a lack of proper window treatments seem tohave caused an acoustical problem in the cavernous room at City Hall,city officials say.

So the city is spending $35,356 to fix it.

When council convenes for its next meeting May 15, there shouldn'tbe any more echoes bouncing around like invisible jackrabbits whenMayor Danny Jones gets the parliamentary process rolling.

The room will have new carpet, padded window treatments and drapesall meant to absorb sound …

China launches drug recall system putting pressure on companies to withdraw faulty drugs

China launched a nationwide recall system Wednesday that shifts responsibility to companies to recall harmful drugs, a day after U.S. and Chinese officials signed an agreement on the safety of medicine and medical devices.

The recall plan will place Chinese-made drugs and imported drugs in three classes according to their possible danger to people's health, a State Food and Drug Administration official said at a news conference.

Each will have to be recalled within different timeframes, ranging from 24 hours for the most serious drugs, to 72 hours for those deemed less life-threatening.

The global pharmaceutical industry increasingly uses drugs …

Do smaller fingers give women a better sense of touch?

A new study shows people with smaller fingers tend to have a better sense of touch.

Reporting in the Journal of Neuroscience, experts say the finding explains why women tend to have better "tactile acuity" than men, because women on average have smaller fingers.

"Neuroscientists have long known that some people have a better sense of touch than others, but the reasons for this difference have been mysterious," said Daniel Goldreich of McMaster University in Ontario, …

MIDWEST CLASSIC WRESTLING INVITATIONAL Caravan 6th despite rugged field

Mount Carmel, which is ranked 22nd nationally, was short-handedwhen it traveled to the Midwest Classic Wrestling Invitational inColumbus, Ohio, on Saturday, but the Caravan still placed sixth outof 20 teams.

Mount Carmel finished with 257.5 points. Greensburg Salem (Pa.)won the tournament with 304.5 points.

The Caravan covered only 11 of the 14 weight classes because threestarters stayed home due to injuries and mandatory schoolcommitments. Seven of the 11 Mount Carmel wrestlers advanced and sixplaced, with the Caravan winning championships in the 130 and 275weight classes.

Kenny Jordan (119) faced the most difficult road to a championshipagainst three-time All-American Robert LaBrake of Mt. Anthony (Vt.),who had won 140 straight matches. Jordan scored an escape in thesecond period and held on to win 1-0.

This is one of the toughest tournaments in the nation, and he[LaBrake] is one of the best," Jordan said. To be honest, I didn'tknow he had won 140 matches; I just look at what a wrestlers does andwhat I have to do to win."

Mount Carmel's Jose Esparza also captured a championship at 275,winning 2-1 over A.J Salemon of Mentor (Ohio) with a third-periodtakedown.

This will boost my confidence," Esparza said. "I feel I havesomething to prove."

The Caravan picked up a second place from Khris Argue (145) andfifth places from Mario Morgan (125), Lawrence Henning (152) and TimLambert (189).

Basically, I knew it would be a tough match," Argue said. But as ateam, I knew that I could help out any way I could. We only had 11wrestlers here today, but they all wrestled like a full team."

Argue went 6-1 during the tournament while Morgan, competing inthe deepest bracket in the tournament with four All-Americans, was 6-2. Lambert and Henning also posted 6-1 records.

For who we had here, we did great," Mount Carmel coach Ben Gerdessaid. We have a young team; this provides tons of experience andhelps with the goals we have in place for the end of the year.

Kenny Jordan wrestled a good kid. He pushed Kenny to the limit andwill only help him get better. As a team, the goal is to haveeveryone place."

Series of battles kill 17 rebels, 1 soldier in volatile northern Sri Lanka

A series of battles between soldiers and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka left 17 guerrillas and one soldier dead, the military said Saturday.

Army troops attacked two rebel bunkers along the front line separating government-controlled areas from the rebels' mini-state in northern Vavuniya district Friday morning, killing six guerrillas, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.

In the neighboring Mannar district, five rebels died in artillery strikes, he said. Separate gunbattles in Vavuniya killed six rebels and one soldier on Friday.

Baylor Supports Ryan In Spat With McDowell

The fallout from the free-for-all between the White Sox and NolanRyan continues.

It seems a line has been drawn between those who think theRangers' 46-year-old Ryan is something special and those who believehe is just an aging pitcher who has always been a cheater and bully.

It all started when the Sox' Robin Ventura charged Ryan in Texasafter being hit by a pitch. Then came comments from Jack McDowellhinting that Ryan would be on the disabled list when the divisionrace was decided. Then came comments from Yankees coaches that Ryanhas thrown scuffed baseball for years, etc., etc., etc.

Now comes Don Baylor, outspoken manager of the Colorado Rockies,defending his former California teammate against "younger guys likeJack McDowell and their 4-something ERAs. (McDowell) wishes he was asgood as Nolan Ryan. He's had a couple of good years, Nolan's had 25.Ryan's ERA is lower than his career best."

As for the other criticism, Baylor says:

"He's meant too much to this game. He's an icon. I'm notsaying I wouldn't have charged him. But now guys are saying allthese things when they know they don't have to face him again.

"His credibility has never been questioned. Why now? Whydidn't all these guys speak up when they knew he was going to be inthe game? The guy's done more for the game than all of those peoplecombined. The guy's just not a quality pitcher, he's a qualityperson.

"Year after year he sits there and signs stacks of stuff forother teams. They get everything they want signed by him, then theytake their shots."

RYAN II: Meanwhile, Ryan thinks he will start pitching againTuesday, although some doubt that his strained rib cage will havehealed by then.

There are also some who doubt he should still be pitchingbecause he is over the hill.

"I don't believe that's happened," he said. "It's been adisappointing year for health reasons. I don't think it's from alack of ability.

"I also know, and I'll be the first to tell you, I don't havethe velocity I used to. My curve has not been very good this year, either in my command or its shaprness. When youlook at my strikeout totals, it's a direct reflection on my curvemore than anything else."

Ryan has struck out 38 batters in only 53 2/3 innings this year,but says he will overcome this third injury of the season. "It'sannoying to deal with discomfort and the work to come back, but thatdoesn't bother me," he said. "That's part of the job."

GIANT WOES: The beat-up Giants took a beating from the Braveslast week and go into Atlanta for a three-game series starting tomorrow.

Directly on the spot is Barry Bonds, who was 3-for-11 with oneRBI in last week's series.

It brings back memories of the last two playoff failuresagainst the Braves for Bonds.

"I think he might have been pressing," Atlanta pitcher SteveAvery said. "He knows first-hand what we can do when our backs areagainst the wall."

Bonds knows first-hand what the Atlanta pitchers can do.

"We don't have the depth they do," Bonds said. "Our offense anddefense can play with them but their starters are dominating now.

"We've been fighting the odds all year. It was bound to catchup with us. I'm just glad we had a 7 1/2-game lead when they did."

BIG MAC: For the second time this season, Royals manager HalMcRae went into a clubhouse tirade, the one last Monday aimed atreliever Jeff Montgomery. Montgomery reportedly complained about nothaving enough time to warm up before entering the game, an eventualloss.

No one talked directly about what happened but McRae later didaddress the subject of players making 10 times the salaries ofmanagers.

"But that doesn't mean you can disregard authority," McRae said."A cop may make only $28,000 a year, but it doesn't mean some richguy can go around driving drunk."

McRae was calm the rest of the week, prompting questions aboutwhen to get mad and when not to.

"Every night can't be the end of the world. You'll die," hesaid.

"Some nights you're outraged, some nights you just take it."

David Cone's reaction to McRae's outburst? "I like it. It makes me feel at home," the former Met said.

NOTES: The Marlins have started contract negotiations with thirdbaseman Gary Sheffield, hoping to keep him away from the arbitrationtable with a long-term contract. Bobby Bonilla made eight errors in his first 36 games back at thirdbase for the Mets. It probably doesn't matter. He is expected to bethe first baseman in place of Eddie Murray next season. How much have the Padres changed? Of the 25 players on theirroster, 10 do not appear in the press guide. Mike Moore and John Doherty pitched the first back-to-back completegames for the Tigers since July 30-31, 1988. The Angels have used 22 pitchers this season, including positionplayers Rene Gonzalez and Chili Davis. The Rockies have used 25 pitchers, tying the 1969 Seattle Pilots formost ever by an expansion team.