'King of the Hill' reclaims old time slot: Working-class comedy will again follow 'Simpsons'

LOS ANGELES - After years of moving around the Fox prime-timeschedule, the working-class comedy "King of the Hill" is back whereit started.

The Fox cartoon series about a small-town Texas family - stoicpatriarch Hank Hill, his Boggle champion wife, Peggy, and theirvaudeville-loving son, Bobby - is moving to 8:30 p.m. EST on Sundays -the slot after "The Simpsons" that it first occupied when it stronglydebuted in 1997. (Most recently the show has aired at 7:30 p.m. onSundays.)

Just as Hank Hill suppresses all emotion except his passion forselling propane and propane accessories, the makers of "King of theHill" are tight-lipped about the show's nomadic past.

"It's good to be back there. It's good for the morale of peoplewho work on the show," said Mike Judge, the voice of Hank and theshow's other co-creator, who was previously known for creating MTV's"Beavis & Butt-head."

"King of the Hill" has thrived in syndication, and Judge said themultiple showings each week may have helped rejuvenate its fan base.

"It's funnier when you get to know the characters and notice thesubtle things," he said, comparing the show to the low-key comedy ofBob Newhart.

While Homer Simpson is known for outrageous oafishness, Hank Hillis the soft-spoken opposite - funny because of his blandness.

Hank is a frustrated man's man. He loves football, beer, barbecueand trucks, but his feet are too chubby for cowboy boots, the wholeneighborhood knows about his bowel problems and other health woes -and he regards pop culture with a restrained disdain.

The family is surrounded by oddball neighbors like bugexterminator and conspiracy-theorist Dale Gribble (voice of JohnnyHardwick); Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root), an Army barber and sloppybachelor, and mushmouthed stud Boomhauer (Judge).

"King of the Hill" also isn't afraid to show its characters' uglysides.

Hank often displays bullheaded chauvinism, second-guessing hiswife even when he suspects she's right and giving the cold shoulderto live-in niece Luanne (Brittany Murphy).

Meanwhile, Bobby seems determined to take sloth to new levels. Inone episode, he develops gout from inactivity and poor eating habitsand is delighted to travel around on a Rascal, the kind of slow-moving scooter used by the elderly and infirm.

Make your pick! NHL All-Star Game gets makeover

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL All-Star Game will look like a schoolyard pickup game this year.

The league announced Wednesday that it is switching from the conference-vs.-conference format it has used for years to a player draft conducted by the All-Stars themselves, in which captains selected by the players will determine the teams.

The 2011 All-Star Weekend will be hosted by Carolina on the last weekend in January.

Under the new format, two captains per team will select the remaining All-Stars in any order they choose. Those teams will compete in the All-Star Game and SuperSkills competition.

NHL vice president Brendan Shanahan says the goal is to "make the game more fun for everyone" and to "inject more excitement and intrigue into all the events."

US says Palestinian UNESCO membership is premature

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says UNESCO's approval of full Palestinian membership is "premature" and undermines the international community's goal of a comprehensive Middle East peace plan.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Monday's vote is also a distraction from the goal of restarting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Delegates to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization approved Palestinian membership in a vote of 107-14 with 52 abstentions. U.S. lawmakers have threatened to halt $80 million in annual funding to UNESCO if Palestinian membership was approved.

The Palestinians are seeking full membership in the United Nations, an effort the U.S. has threatened to veto in the Security Council. Given that, the Palestinians separately sought membership at Paris-based UNESCO and other U.N. bodies.

Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather

by Paula L. Woods

W.W. Norton & Co., August 2001, $24.95

ISBN 0-393-02021-5

The motive is revenge. The victim is a high-profile black Hollywood film director. And Stormy Weather is the second novel in Paula L. Woods's mystery series featuring gritty, hardboiled, 39-year-old LAPD Detective Charlotte Justice. Ultimately, I enjoyed reading Stormy Weather though I didn't get completely pulled into the story until somewhere around the middle of the book. Excessive narrative, irrelevant details, and detours into flashbacks undermine Detective Justice's humorous first-person voice that is actually one of the book's strengths.

Readers don't see the crime in action, but learn about the suspicious death of the terminally ill, 77-year-old, film director Maynard Duncan as Detective Justice examines the crime report. When he was allegedly murdered, Duncan was in the last stages of illness after suffering from lung cancer for almost two years, and he was attached to a machine that gave out continuous drops of pain medication. Detective Justice's goal: to find out which one of the seven people listed at the scene had a motive to finish him off. Her investigation is slowed down -- and so is the story -- because the widow, Ivy Duncan, will not give permission to release her deceased husband's medical records so an autopsy can be performed. Detective Justice trudges along anyway interviewing everyone at the scene.

Another obstacle Detective Justice must overcome is sexual harassment on the job from her superior officer, Lieutenant Steve Firestone -- an all-around bad guy. After a shoot-out with suspects that Firestone has masterminded to ambush both women, Justice has been placed on administrative leave and her partner Detective Gina Cortez put on sick leave. Despite their off-duty status, the two detectives continue to investigate the Duncan case without Firestone's knowledge.

A minor romantic subplot between Detective Justice and her sometime love interest, Aubrey Scott, offers brief respites from the tedious investigation. Justice must deal with how to break down the barriers against love and commitment she constructed 14 years ago when her husband and child were killed. She buries her emotions and throws herself into solving the Duncan case 24-7. Not only does her love life suffer, but also a mother-daughter conflict arises when Justice cannot receive the unconditional approval she still craves from her image-conscious and pretentious mother.

Though the story starts slow, fans of the police procedural form of whodunit will enjoy going along for the ride. Interviewing suspects is one of this genre's calling cards. It takes skill for a mystery writer to keep the reader entertained amidst the constant dance of interviewing suspects, going over police records, studying the crime scene, and uncovering motives and looking for murder weapons. In spite of the narrator's too frequent digressions, it's interesting to follow Detective Justice as she weaves in and out of the Hollywood scene, investigating a maze of power hungry, suspects. Looking for the perpetrator, Detective Justice discovers the "soiled linens" hidden in many of her suspects' dusty family closets. At times the plot in Stormy Weather sags and dips, but true mystery fans will want to hang on until the ride is over.

Turkish report: Forest fire nears ancient theater

State-run media say a forest fire along Turkey's Mediterranean coast is approaching ruins of the ancient Greek city of Aspendos, a popular tourist attraction. No casualties are reported.

A first-response government agency based in Istanbul says firefighter aircraft were trying to get the blaze under control. It said it was not clear what caused the fire.

Anatolia news agency said the historic Aspendos theater in the southwestern Antalya province was safe from the fire on Friday, citing Cultural Ministry officials at the theater. It says local officials evacuated several villages in the area as a precaution.

Anatolia says fire fighters cannot tell how big the area destroyed by the fire is because of intense smoke, but estimate it is more than 2,400 acres (1,000 hectares).

Two wins needed to guarantee play-offs ; Football

"We're not panicking but these two latest defeats have madeeveryone sit up and realise that you can't be complacent and no sideis automatically guaranteed a play-off place once you've climbed tothird spot in the league.

"We've taken our foot off the pedal and the players have not beenworking as hard as they were and that has to change immediatelybecause a side like Romford will not need any BRENTWOOD Town'spromotion play-off dreams are hanging by a thread after twosuccessive shock defeats have left them needing two wins from theirlast four games to make the Ryman League Division One North play-offs. "We've taken our eye off the ball and become too complacentincluding myself," declared manager Steve Witherspoon yesterday(Tuesday).

"Most of the players have played in the last two matches as ifwe're home and dry for the play-offs, but we're not and it's been awake-up call for everyone this past week."

Town lost to play-off rivals Maldon & Tiptree FC 2-1 on Saturdaywhich follows their surprise 2-0 defeat against lowly Iford theprevious week and this Saturday they go to another promotioncontender, local rivals Romford.

"That's going to be the crunch game and another cup final make nomistake and one which we have to win," explained Witherspoon whowill have a fully fit squad available for the clash.

"We've four games left and we need at least two wins to secure aplay-off place.

"The following Saturday we're away to league leaders EastThurrock United. It doesn't get any harder than that.

Harder "We've this midweek clear of games to concentrate onhaving two good training sessions and getting back to what we aregood at and why we had such good run since the turn of the year toput us into the playoffs.

encouragement to come at us and try and take control of thegame."

Witherspoon was disappointed with his side's 2-1 home defat onSaturday saying: "We gave away an unfortunate freak goal in thefirst few seconds, did well to come back into the game and equaliseand we did quite well in the first half although they re-took thelead just before half time.

"But in the second half we didn't have that cutting edge and thatextra determination to put things right.

"Maldon then had two players sent off so they packed theirdefence with two rows of four and defended deep to keep their lead.

"We couldn't break them down and in reality we didn't deserve towin the game.

"So it's up to us to get our act together again and make sure webeat Romford on Saturday and get the points we need." BGA-EO1-S2

American Freight Systems files for bankruptcy; 700 here idled

American Freight Systems, a trucking company that operatedterminals in Chicago and Palatine, filed for bankruptcy Tuesday andclosed down operations, leaving about 700 Chicago area truckersunemployed.

American Freight is owned by American Carriers Inc. of OverlandPark, Kan. American Carriers put American Freight, which operates inthe Midwest, and another subsidiary, USA Western, which operates onthe West Coast, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after itsbank credit was canceled Monday, the company said in a statement.

Both companies were shut down Monday night, leaving 6,000workers unemployed nationwide. American Carriers said it has noplans to resume operations at the two companies. No executives wereavailable to comment beyond the statement released by the company.

American Freight operated facilities at 3000 W. 36th on thecity's Southwest Side and at 750 N. Hicks Rd. in Palatine.

The company's stock, which has traded as high as $10 in the lastyear, closed Tuesday at $1.67 1/2 per share. More than 1 million ofthe company's 7.5 million outstanding shares changed hands Wednesday.

American Carriers blamed heavy operating losses at AmericanFreight for the bankruptcy filing.

A man answering the phone at the Palatine terminal and aninvestor who tried to take over American Carriers, however, blamed afailed acquisition for draining the company's reserves. Late lastyear, American Carriers bought Smith Transfer, which operates on theEast Coast, for 1.5 million shares of newly issued stock. The dealresulted in "gigantic losses," said Christopher A. Jansen, presidentof Baytree Investors, a Chicago investment firm.

Baytree has been negotiating since February to take overAmerican Carriers in a $56 million leveraged buyout, Jansen said.Negotiations were unsuccessful because American Carriers "said theoffer wasn't high enough and they were doing so wonderfully. But youdon't file (Chapter) 11 when things are good," he said.

Baytree led the leveraged buyout of Wieboldt Stores in 1986 thatultimately led the retailer into bankruptcy and out of business.

The man who answered the phone at the Palatine terminal saidAmerican Freight was a victim of the Smith acquisition, computerproblems and industry competition. "We were very solvent up to themerger with Smith. We lost our butt then," he said.