Pujols, Cardinals whip Mariners 9-3

Albert Pujols took one off the noggin for his team on a perfect day at the plate and stand-in cleanup hitter Ryan Ludwick homered to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Seattle Mariners 9-3 on Monday night.

Pujols singled three times and walked twice as the Cardinals bounced back after totaling 19 runs during a 1-5 West Coast swing that dropped them out of the NL Central lead. Plus, he stayed in the game after a throw to the plate glanced off his helmet ear flap in the fifth.

Ludwick finished with four RBIs and Adam Wainwright (9-4) pitched into the eighth after a shaky start. Matt Holliday also was a success batting second for the first time in his career, …

Wooing Young Workers

Joseph P. Nolt thinks the insurance industry has struggled to recruit young workers because the field hasn't communicated its job opportunities well and because many people view the trade negatively.

"You see how many TV programs (there are) involving lawyers and doctors? Do you ever see a program glamorizing insurance?" asked Nolt, chairman of the board at Murray Risk Management and Insurance. "...If you want to be a selfstarter, if you like meeting people, if you enjoy helping people, if you want to make your own hours, if you want to be an entrepreneur - all of those opportunities are available in insurance."

Lancaster-based Murray traditionally has not recruited many …

Court gives sole custody of Britney Spears' sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline

Britney Spears was derailed yet again in her struggle to get her life back on track, losing custody of her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline after being hauled off to a hospital for observation by paramedics and police.

A court commissioner Friday gave sole physical and legal custody of the former couple's two little boys to Federline and suspended the troubled pop star's visitation rights.

Spears was hauled away from her home to a hospital by paramedics a day before, after police had to intervene when she refused to return the children to Federline after a court-monitored visit.

Commissioner Scott Gordon ordered another hearing to be held …

Listen up, NYC cabbies! Phone use might be out

New Yorkers and tourists who have ever been frustrated by taxi drivers talking on the phone might get their full attention soon.

The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission plans Friday to propose prohibiting cab drivers from using an array of new communications technologies. That includes hands-free Bluetooth devices and smart phones.

A …

3 deputies lead police chief list

Mayor Washington soon will launch a nationwide search for asuccessor to Police Supt. Fred Rice, but insiders say the choice willcome down to three present top officials.

The three are First Deputy Supt. John J. Jemilo and DeputySuperintendents Rudolph E. Nimocks and Matt L. Rodriguez.

Such a lineup offers the mayor experienced police executives butalso hands him a touchy political decision: Jemilo is white, Nimocksis black and Rodriguez is Hispanic.

Four years ago, Rice became Chicago's first black policesuperintendent.

Rice, 60, whose retirement plans were revealed in this columnApril 12, has not yet announced a firm quitting date. Last …

Army to Rebid Halliburton Unit's Contract

WASHINGTON - The Army will rebid the multibillion-dollar contract under which a Halliburton Co. subsidiary has been providing services to troops around the world after years of complaints over how the deal has worked in Iraq.

Critics of the contract said the move was overdue and that hundreds of millions of dollars had probably been wasted.

Halliburton subsidiary KBR, also known as Kellogg Brown & Root, provides food, water, shelter, laundry service and other logistical support for troops under a 2001 contract that has been extended several times.

Halliburton is a Texas-based oil services conglomerate once led by Vice President Dick Cheney. Bush …

Turkey military denies involvement in alleged plot

Turkey's military has rejected a newspaper report of a military conspiracy against the Islamic-oriented government.

Turkish newspaper Taraf last week printed a document, allegedly drafted by a military colonel, outlining a plan to besmirch Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party and discredit supporters of an …