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AP - A Rice University freshman football player died Monday, a day after collapsing during a light workout.

By Patrick Rucker Mon Sep 25, 7:28 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of existing home sales in the United States fell for a fifth straight month in August and prices dropped from year-ago levels for the first time in 11 years, a U.S. realtors group said on Monday. Still, some economists said they saw signs the housing market was beginning to stabilize as the decline in sales showed some signs of leveling off. "I think the worst of the drops (in existing home sales) are probably behind us, but it is way too early to say that we are at the bottom," said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia bank. The National Association of Realtors said existing homes sales slipped to an annual rate of 6.30 million units from 6.33 million in July. But the 0.5 percent fall-off in volume was the smallest in the last five months of declines and was not as steep as expected on Wall Street, where economists had looked for the pace to slow to 6.18 million units. The report, however, did show prices also have begun to drop compared to the lofty levels of last year, when many parts of the country saw home prices appreciate at double-digit annual rates. The median price slipped to $225,000, off 1.7 percent from August 2005. It was the first year-on-year price decline for the U.S. existing home market since a 0.1 percent drop in April 1995. The price drop helped lift prices for U.S. government bonds as some analysts saw it as suggesting the Federal Reserve may have to lower benchmark interest rates in coming months. Stock prices, however, closed higher, bolstered by lower market interest rates and the better-than-expected reading on home sales. The value of the dollar also rose. BEGINNING TO STABILIZE The recent softening of home sales and prices are good signs that the housing market can avoid a "crash or hard landing," said Bill Hampel, chief economist for the Credit Union National Association. He added, however, that the housing market is unlikely to come out of the doldrums soon. "We are unlikely to get any real national price appreciation for the next several years," Hampel said. The realtors' report showed the stock of unsold homes on the market rose 1.5 percent to 3.92 million units last month. At August's sales pace that represented a 7.5 months' supply, the highest since April 1993. Kathy Lien, senior strategist at Forex Capital Markets in New York, said the most troubling aspect of the report was the drop in prices. "What was once the primary source of growth and expansion in the U.S. is now the source of concern and nervousness," she said. But NAR chief economist David Lereah said the August slip in existing home data could be the bottom of a slump for the sector. "This price drop, in my view, has stopped the bleeding in the sales marketplace," he said. Prices will continue to come down in the short-term, Lereah said, while sales will remain flat. He said the fact that sales had not slipped as badly in August as they had in previous months was "good news for housing." "The health of the housing sector is in transactions, is home sales, not home prices." Others agreed the August data could signal an end to the long downswing in the housing sector. "The conclusion that I'm drawing is that we're very close to the bottom of the housing market," said Bernard Baumohl, executive director of The Economic Outlook Group in Princeton Junction, New Jersey. "By the first quarter of next year, we'll start to see a rebound."

Mon Sep 25, 3:21 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - American tennis star Andre Agassi, who retired from center court earlier this month, has wasted no time in building a new career -- in real estate. A company set up by Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf, a former world No. 1 tennis player, said on Monday it had partnered with privately owned Exclusive Resorts LLC, a time-share company headed by AOL co-founder Steve Case to develop "luxury resort communities." "As I begin the next chapter of my life, I am looking for ways to pursue a career in business, specifically in real estate," Agassi, 36, said in a statement. Agassi ended his 21-year professional tennis career on September 3 after losing at the U.S. Open on September 3. During his career he won 60 career titles including eight grand slam crowns. Agassi said Agassi Graf Development LLC and Exclusive Resorts would co-develop luxury resort communities in the United States and overseas which would have Agassi/Graf tennis and fitness facilities as their central amenities. He will become a senior advisor to the company. Exclusive Resorts, which specializes in luxury destination clubs and has about 2,400 members, plans to develop homes in these new communities and make them available to members. Earlier this month Agassi and Graf unveiled plans to develop a luxury mountain project, Fairmont Tamarack, in Donnelly, Idaho, in conjunction with Miami-based Bayview Financial LP. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will manage this luxury hotel and residences which will have a classic resort and spa as well as a mid-mountain site. It is expected to be completed in 2009.

By MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 25, 2:57 PM ET MOGADISHU, Somalia - Fears of regional conflict soared as angry demonstrations against Somalia's radical Islamic militia grew Monday into deadly violence in a southern port city, and the militia for the first time acknowledged getting help from foreign Muslims. ADVERTISEMENT Ethiopian forces, meanwhile, arrived to support the internationally recognized government in its face-off with the radicals. Witnesses saw about 300 Ethiopians in a convoy of 50 armored trucks in Bardaale, 40 miles west of Baidoa, the only town held by the weak government. Islamic forces believe Ethiopian troops aim to cut off their route between Kismayo and Mogadishu. "The incursion of Ethiopian troops into Somali territories is a declaration of war on Somalia," Sheik Yusuf Indahaadde, national security chairman for the Islamic group, told The Associated Press by telephone from Mogadishu. "We call on the international community to urge Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia. If that doesn't happen, the consequences of insecurity created by Ethiopia will spread to neighboring countries and to East Africa as a whole." As it has established authority in the capital and across much of the south starting in June, the Islamic group's strict interpretation of Islam has sparked comparisons with Afghanistan's ousted Taliban. The United States has accused the Islamic group of sheltering suspects in the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden has portrayed Somalia as a battleground in his war on the U.S. Islamic militiamen wearing white headbands opened fire on several thousand people demonstrating against them in the port of Kismayo, 260 miles southwest of Mogadishu, killing a 13-year-old boy, said resident Abdiqadir Filibin. Two other children were injured, witnesses said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Sporadic gunfire could also be heard in other parts of the town. The militia had seized Kismayo, one of the last remaining ports outside their control and Somalia's third-largest city, on Sunday without a fight. "They are ... al-Qaida and we do not want them," said Halimo Mohamed, one of the protesters in Kismayo. "Theirs is not a religion. They are terrorists." But some Somalis have welcomed the order the Islamic group has brought to a country where the transitional government has struggled to assert authority since if was formed in 2004 and which has had no effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy. Hassan Turki, leader of the Islamic militia, told a demonstration in support of his group in Kismayo earlier Monday that foreign militants were helping his fighters. "They are your brothers in Islam," Turki said. Turki, who is rarely seen in public, is on U.S. and U.N. lists of suspected terrorists for having alleged ties to al-Qaida. In an interview with AP Monday, Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said "terrorists" dominate the Islamic group. Gedi, speaking in neighboring Kenya, called on the U.N. to partially lift an arms embargo to allow for the deployment of African peacekeepers, a move the radicals oppose. The African Union has endorsed a plan by eastern African states to deploy peacekeepers in Somalia to protect Gedi's weak, internationally recognized government. The U.N. Security Council was expected to meet Monday to discuss a partial lifting of the embargo. The Islamic group and Gedi's government have agreed to a cease-fire, but the Islamic fighters have continued to advance across the country. Gedi accused the Islamic group of violating the nonaggression agreement. Gedi would not comment on reports of Ethiopian troops entering Somalia, but did say he expected neighboring countries to protect his government. Witnesses had reported several deployments of Ethiopian troops in support of the government in recent months. U.N. officials have confirmed the presence of a small number of Ethiopian troops around the town of Baidoa, saying the force was intended to defend the government and Ethiopian interests in Somalia. But Ethiopian and Somali officials repeatedly have denied any Ethiopian troops have crossed into the country. "No Ethiopian troops have crossed the border into Somalia," Ethiopian foreign affairs spokesman Solomon Abebe reiterated Monday. The Islamic group "violated the peace agreement by occupying the port city of Kismayo. Anytime the (Islamic group) takes a wrong step, it is well known that they use Ethiopia to hide their mistakes." The Islamic group has been able to use Somalis' long-standing suspicions about Ethiopia to fan opposition to the government. Ethiopia and Somalia fought a war in 1977 to 1978 and view each other as enemies, but Yusuf is a longtime ally of Ethiopia.

Mon Sep 25, 5:25 PM ET LOS ANGELES - Mel Gibson criticized the war in Iraq while recently promoting his new film "Apocalypto" at a Texas film festival. ADVERTISEMENT Gibson, 50, drew parallels between the collapsing Mayan civilization depicted in the movie and the United States at a screening Friday at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, the Hollywood Reporter said Monday. "The precursors to a civilization that's going under are the same, time and time again," the actor-director said after a screening of an unfinished cut of "Apocalypto," his first directorial effort since "The Passion of the Christ." "What's human sacrifice if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?" he said at the festival, which is devoted to new science fiction, horror and fantasy films. The surprise appearance was one of the first times Gibson has spoken in public since being arrested for drunk driving in June. At a screening of "Apocalypto" last week in Oklahoma, Gibson ducked the press and entered wearing a mask and wig so he wouldn't be noticed. On Aug. 17, Gibson pleaded no contest to a charge of drunken driving in Malibu. He volunteered to do public-service announcements on the hazards of drinking and driving, and to immediately enter rehabilitation. During the arrest early in the morning of July 28, Gibson made anti-Semitic remarks to the arresting deputy and later apologized. "Apocalypto" is scheduled to be released Dec. 8.

By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 25, 5:27 PM ET SAN DIEGO - Three Marines from Camp Pendleton will face courts-martial on murder charges in the death of an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania, the Marine Corps said Monday. ADVERTISEMENT Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general in the case, said he would not seek the death penalty. The three were among seven Marines and one Navy corpsman charged with kidnapping and murdering 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad last April. The other five face preliminary hearings in coming weeks. Pfc. John J. Jodka, 20, Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda, 23, and Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate, 21, will also face charges including conspiracy, housebreaking and wrongfully seizing and holding a victim against his will. The Marines Corps dropped some charges against the three, including an assault charge against Magincalda and Shumate. Jodka had charges of making a false official statement, larceny and wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation dropped. Joseph Casas, an attorney for Jodka, said he was pleased. "(Jodka) is looking forward to getting a fair court martial and moving this forward as expeditiously as possible," Casas said. "Every day he sits in there in limbo is a day behind bars that he doesn't spend with his family." Attorneys for Magincalda and Shumate did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment. According to prosecutors, the Marines and sailor kidnapped Awad on April 26, bound his feet, dragged him from his home and shot him to death in a roadside hole. Jodka is accused of firing on Awad. Magincalda is suspected of binding Awad's feet and kidnapping him. Shumate is suspected of firing his M-16 at Awad, then lying to investigators about what had happened.

By John Crawley Mon Sep 25, 2:52 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States partly lifted on Monday its ban on liquids in carry-on bags on airline flights, a policy imposed last month after authorities in London said they foiled a plot to bomb U.S.-bound flights. ADVERTISEMENT Under the new plan, travelers may carry drinks and other items purchased in the secure areas of the airport. They also may bring travel-size lip gloss, hand lotion and other toiletries of 3 ounces (90 ml) or less that will be subject to screening and then placed in a small clear plastic bag. The measure takes effect on Tuesday and is the second time the ban, introduced on August 10, has been revised. Homeland security officials called the latest change a prudent step but said the main provisions will remain in place indefinitely because the threat of attacks on aircraft has not diminished. "After the initial, total ban, we have learned enough from the U.K. investigation to say with confidence that small, travel-size liquids are safe to bring through security checkpoints in limited numbers," said Kip Hawley, the Bush administration official overseeing U.S. transportation security. All liquids and gels were banned as carry-on items by U.S. officials last month after the British government arrested two dozen people and foiled what it said was a plot to simultaneously blow up several airliners using liquid explosives. The ban for U.S. airlines was eased a few days later to permit small amounts of nonprescription liquid medication, including pain relievers and cough medicines as well as gels and other medicines for diabetics. Canada also adopted the latest change, and U.S. officials said Britain and other European nations are expected to consider similar steps in the coming weeks. Michael Jackson, deputy homeland security secretary, said the threat posed by liquid explosives or other bombs remains a serious concern and the U.S. aviation system is still at its second-highest level of alert -- orange. "I don't expect this threat to go away or diminish," Jackson told reporters. STRAIN ON BAGGAGE SYSTEMS But government security planners believe that mixing multiple small containers of liquids into a large enough explosive on board an aircraft would be difficult. They said they have a "comfort level" with this week's change that they can balance security needs and passenger convenience. Jackson also said homeland security officials were mindful of traveler complaints and the sizable increase in checked luggage as passengers sought to avoid security headaches and handed over more bags at check-in counters to be stored during flight. "We thought we could relieve the pressure there," Jackson said of the heavier workload for airline employees. Airlines said the change on drinks and small liquids is welcome action. "It is clear that the TSA has performed deliberate and careful risk analysis to identify which items passengers can safely bring on board," said James May, chief executive of the trade group that represents major carriers. Jackson said he did not expect any additional measures to relax the liquid ban unless technological advances in bomb screening allowed for a new policy. U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (news, bio, voting record), a Massachusetts Democrat and a senior member of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the change seems to be driven by "commerce rather than common sense security concerns." He noted that progress has lagged on developing and funding advanced explosive detection technology.

Mon Sep 25, 2:51 PM ET ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The CIA has paid Pakistan millions of dollars for catching al Qaeda fighters during the five years since the September 11 attacks on the United States, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf wrote in a memoir published on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT "We've captured 689 and handed over 369 to the United States. We've earned bounties totaling millions of dollars," wrote Musharraf, who elsewhere in his book titled "In the Line of Fire" described how the U.S. administration persuaded him with threats to join a global 'war on terrorism'. "Those who habitually accuse us of "not doing enough" in the war on terror should simply ask the CIA how much prize money it has paid to the government of Pakistan," Musharraf added, while ruing a failure to catch Osama bin Laden, who carries a $25 million reward. Hundreds of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters fled to Pakistan to escape U.S.-backed forces that overran Afghanistan in late 2001. Pakistan had hitherto supported the Taliban militia's rule in Afghanistan, partly out of fear that India, Iran and Russia were supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. The turnaround in Pakistani foreign policy resulted in Al Qaeda putting Musharraf on a hit list, but the Pakistani military has benefited from substantial U.S. military aid. Musharraf survived two al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempts in late 2003.

By Gina Serpe Mon Sep 25, 7:47 PM ET Looks like Aaron's next party won't be of the bachelor variety. ADVERTISEMENT Aaron Carter and his fiancee, model/aspiring actress Kari Ann Peniche, brought new meaning to the term fickle hearts over the weekend, confirming they had broken off their engagement, after a less than whopping six days. "It was a big blur," the 18-year-old singer said on Ryan Seacrest's Los Angeles radio show Monday. "It wasn't a big deal. I made a mistake, and she made a mistake, too." What a difference a week makes. Carter said he popped the question, after knowing Peniche for just five days, and that he "acted on impulse...Is that a good excuse?" "Don't get me wrong, I do want to be a married man one day, but just with the right person...I want a good girl, and it's really hard to find one." Carter also told Seacrest the proposal was not planned. "All of a sudden, somebody threw it out there as a joke, and I said, 'Alright, I'll do it.' " Carter popped the question to the 22-year-old former Playmate in front of 200 people Sept. 16, proposing onstage in Las Vegas during a performance of the Playboy's Hollywood Comedy Tour . Peniche, who also happens to have been involved Carter's brother, Nick, said after the betrothal that she was "very excited" about the impending vow swap, and they hoped to tie the knot within six months. On the bright side, at least wedding guests won't have to sit through a particularly awkward best man speech. "I don't like her," said Nick. The Backstreeter denied to Seacrest he "dated" Peniche but admitted he'd "hooked up with her." "I feel bad for my brother," the elder Carter said. "He was looking for love." For her part, Peniche confirmed the change of heart, though while Carter claims he called off the engagement, his ex-fiancee phoned in Monday to the Playboy Morning Show on Sirius Satellite Radio and said it was more of a mutual decision. "As romantic as it was and how surprising...reality set in," Peniche said. "Aaron is one of the most genuine people I know, and he has an amazing heart, but we realized that, at our age, we weren't quite ready for the commitment of marriage. "You know, he has a lot of emotional problems, and I just want him to get healthy and happy. I just want him to become stable," she continued, saying she and Aaron Carter hadn't ruled out getting back together in the future. The engagement was officially scuttled on Friday, said Peniche. The following day, Aaron rang up family patriarch, Bob Carter, seeking advice. "He said, 'Dad, what should I do? What do you think about this?' " the elder Carter told E! Online senior editor, Marc Malkin. "I said, 'Son, I know you're 18, and you think you're an adult, but you're still a kid. Don't make any rash decisions....I told him you don't go looking for love, you don't go asking for love. It will happen when you're not looking for it.' " In the meantime, Aaron and Nick--and sisters Angel, Bobbie Jean and Leslie--will star in the reality show House of Carters, premiering Oct. 2 on E! (E! and E! Online are divisions of E! Networks.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By JEFFREY McMURRAY, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 25, 6:45 PM ET LEXINGTON, Ky. - Doctors have amputated the left leg of a co-pilot whose plane crashed on takeoff after turning onto the wrong runway, and he does not remember the accident that killed 49 people, his family said Monday. ADVERTISEMENT James Polehinke, the lone survivor of the Aug. 27 crash at the Blue Grass Airport, faces several additional surgeries to repair fractures, one involving his spinal cord, the family said. Polehinke "does not remember anything," the family said in a statement. He is asking about his family and dogs and wants to go home. "He is more wakeful at times and more communicative, but is still not completely lucid and currently has no recollection of the accident," the statement said. Polehinke remains in serious condition at University of Kentucky Hospital. The family said he should be able to begin rehabilitation after the surgeries, but he is not expected to be released for several weeks, university spokesman Jay Blanton said. A police officer pulled Polehinke from the charred wreckage of ComAir Flight 5191 after the plane struggled to get airborne and crashed into a field. According to federal investigators, the flight's captain, Jeffrey Clay, taxied the jet onto the wrong runway, which was too short, before Polehinke took the controls for takeoff. The sole air traffic controller on duty had cleared the plane to takeoff from the longer runway, then turned away to perform other duties and did not see the crash. Also Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said toxicology testing on both pilots detected no traces of alcohol or illegal drugs. A low level of an over-the-counter decongestant was detected in Polehinke's blood, it said. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the substance was not on the agency's banned list. The NTSB also said a review of the wreckage turned up no evidence of engine failure before the commuter jet plowed through a perimeter fence. The flight data recorder indicates the plane stopped near the shorter runway for about 45 seconds before the flight was cleared for takeoff, the NTSB said. Brown said the information indicates the plane made a rolling takeoff, which means it did not stop once reaching the runway. It was unclear whether the pilots looked at the compass and other navigational instruments while on the runway or prior to takeoff. "Rolling takeoffs are not against the rules, but normally they're only done when there is a lot of traffic, using the same runway," Brown said. "Usually a pilot would want to line up on the runway and stop before taking off." Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said rolling takeoffs are "considered normal and are conducted on a regular basis." Flight 5191 was the third of three planes scheduled to takeoff from the Lexington airport in the early morning of Aug. 27, the NTSB said. The other two planes departed safely from the longer runway, which is 7,003 feet long. The shorter runway is half that length. Both runways use the same taxiway, which had been slightly altered a week before the crash because of a construction project.

SPACE.com / LiveScience.com - A dinosaur species long accused of cannibalism and infanticide is finally having the charges against it dropped and its reputation restored.

Mon Sep 25, 5:46 PM ET NEW YORK - Oprah Winfrey says her lawyers shouldn't have gone after the man who is trying to promote her as a candidate for president. Not because she's running, mind you. "I feel flattered by it," the 52-year-old talk-show host told The Associated Press on Monday. "My lawyers overreacted, I think, by sending him a cease-and-desist order because it really is a flattering thing." It should have been handled in a phone call, said Winfrey, who said she's thinking of calling Patrick Crowe of Kansas City, Mo., herself. Crowe has been campaigning to urge Winfrey to run for president for years, setting up a Web site that has its own campaign song. A month ago, Winfrey's lawyers sent Crowe a letter demanding that he remove her picture from his Web site. Winfrey's smiling face remained on http://www.oprah08.net Monday. Winfrey was in New York to promote Oprah and Friends, which launched Monday on XM Satellite Radio. In February, Winfrey signed a three-year, $55 million deal with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. to launch her new radio channel, which joins her nationally syndicated television show and her O, The Oprah Magazine. XM Satellite Radio boasts more than 7 million subscribers.

By Brad Dorfman Mon Sep 25, 5:10 PM ET CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge gave class-action status on Monday to a lawsuit filed by "light" cigarette smokers who accuse tobacco companies of defrauding smokers into thinking "light" cigarettes were safer than regular smokes, reaping as much as $200 billion in extra sales. The decision will delay Altria Group Inc.'s (NYSE:MO - news) plan to spin off its Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT - news) unit, an attorney for Altria said, and Altria shares posted their largest single-day percentage loss in more than two years. The Dow Jones U.S. Tobacco index (^DJUSTB - news) fell more than 5 percent. "It inevitably creates some delay," William Ohlemeyer, said of the 540-page ruling's impact on Altria's planned spinoff of Kraft, during a conference call with analysts and reporters. Altria, whose Philip Morris USA unit is a defendant in the case, has repeatedly said it was seeking clarity in the U.S. litigation environment before spinning of Kraft. Analysts note Altria wants to make sure that tobacco plaintiffs cannot come after Kraft's assets once it is an independent company. Kraft shares rose $1.05, or 3 percent, to $35.30 Monday as the decision also gives that company's new CEO time to prepare Kraft to be an independent company. The ruling caught some analysts and investors by surprise due to comments by U.S. Senior District Judge Jack Weinstein during a hearing in the case less than two weeks ago. "I think a lot of people weren't expecting this, because the judge a few weeks ago questioned whether the smokers could prove the damages," said Charles Norton, co-portfolio manager of the Vice Fund, which holds 36,000 Altria shares. The ruling certifies the largest class action in U.S. history, lawyers for the smokers said. The plaintiffs contend the industry's marketing intended to shift buyers to light cigarettes because of growing health concerns about smoking. Philip Morris USA and Reynolds American Inc.'s (NYSE:RAI - news) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. unit immediately said they would appeal the ruling. "Judge Weinstein has repeatedly entertained claims against the tobacco industry that have been rejected by all federal courts and his previous certification of classes against the tobacco industry have been reversed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals," said David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds. 'PANDEMIC' Weinstein, during a September 13 hearing, raised questions about whether there was a valid way to determine damages for such a large group of smokers if he certified the class. But Weinstein, who sits in the Eastern District of New York, said in his ruling that cigarettes are "the basis for a pandemic, causing premature deaths of tens of millions of Americans." "Where a cigarette smoker can demonstrate that he or a group of smokers has been damaged by the cigarette industry, the help of the court in resolving the claim and defenses is mandatory," Weinstein wrote. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that tobacco companies reaped between $120 billion to $200 billion in extra sales through the "light" cigarettes deception. The case was filed under federal racketeering law and if the companies are found to have violated that law, damages would be tripled. The judge conceded in his opinion that appellate courts have not ruled favorably for plaintiffs on large class action cases against the cigarette industry. Altria shares closed down $5.26, or 6.4 percent, on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Reynolds American was down $2.27, or 3.7 percent. Other defendants in the case include Loews Corp.'s (NYSE:LTR - news) Lorillard Tobacco unit, whose tracking stock, Carolina Group (NYSE:CG - news), fell 68 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $55.20. Shares of Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR - news), parent of defendant Liggett Group, were down 17 cents at $16.55. And the shares of British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L), parent of British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd, closed down about 1 percent in London.

AP - Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman was arrested early Monday on a drunken driving charge.

Mon Sep 25, 4:46 PM ET STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Furniture maker Ikea plans to hire tens of thousands of new workers as the company continues to expand with dozens of new stores opening around the world, the company's chief executive said in an interview published Monday. "We have to hire at least around 10,000 people a year to meet our ambition of continued growth," Anders Dahlvig, CEO of the Ikea Group, was quoted as saying in Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri. There are more than 230 Ikea stores in 33 countries, and sales have more than tripled in the last decade, to 17.3 billion euros ($22.1 billion) in the full-year ending Aug. 31. The company plans to open 24 new stores in the next 12 months in countries including Germany, the United States and Sweden. After a successful opening in Tokyo this year, Ikea is now setting its sights on India, although there are no concrete plans for store openings there yet, Dahlvig said. "We are clearly interested after India recently started opening up for foreign ownership," he told Dagens Industri. "We are in a stage of analysis and aim at making a decision during the fall." Ikea spokeswoman Charlotte Lindgren confirmed Dahlvig was correctly quoted. The company was founded by Swedish entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad in his home village in southern Sweden in 1943. Ikea is still privately held, which Dahlvig said "has contributed a lot to our success because we can act with a more long-term view than many listed companies." "For example," he said, "it would have been difficult to get stock market acceptance of our efforts in Russia and China. They are not very profitable now but can generate big value in the long term."

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer Mon Sep 25, 4:52 PM ET WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes fell for the fifth consecutive month in August as the once-booming housing market slowed further. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that existing home sales slipped by 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.30 million units. The slowdown in sales was weighing on home prices, with the median price of an existing home sold in August dropping to $225,000, 1.7 percent below August 2005. It marked the first year-over-year price decline in more than 11 years. The weakness in existing home sales followed a report last week that construction of new homes and apartments plunged by 6 percent in August, pushing building activity to the lowest level since early 2003. The housing sector, which had enjoyed five boom years of record sales, has been slowing sharply this year under the impact of rising mortgage rates and a slowing economy. David Lereah, the Realtors' chief economist, said the drop in prices had been expected, indicating that sellers are finally starting to lower their asking prices in the face of weaker sales and soaring inventories. The inventory of unsold homes rose 1.5 percent to an all-time high of 3.92 million units. At the August sales pace, it would take 7.5 months to sell the backlog of unsold homes, representing the longest period since April 1993.