At Fashion Week in New York last month, Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovitch didn't so much unveil a collection as veil one. His aggressively modest looks included below-the-knee skirts, billowing silhouettes, and, most conspicuously, hats. Lots of elaborate, distinctly undainty hats, which bore a striking resemblance to, of all things, those worn by fashionable Orthodox Jewish women on holy days—making Herchcovitch's runway seem less like a Saturday at the Shows than Sabbath in certain synagogues. This followed on the heels of his summer 2007 men's collection show, in which models were draped in oversized Star of David necklaces, and more than a few others dressed in pants and belts that plainly recalled zizit, the ritual fringes worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

Herchcovitch's work has been startling, though it's not the first time Jewish life has been paraded down the couture runway.

Ottawa fires nuclear safety commission head

The federal government has fired the head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, days after she publicly accused Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn of interfering with the independence of the arm's-length watchdog. The former head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Linda Keen, says she will appear at a parliamentary committee about the reactor closure on Wednesday.(CBC)

Lunn and Keen have been at odds since the 50-year-old Chalk River nuclear reactor was shut down in November, prompting a worldwide shortage of medical isotopes.

Text-Message Warnings Broadcast During NIU Campus Danger

Immediate alerts became a priority after Virginia Tech was criticized for a slow response that some said might have given the gunman more time to kill. However, communication is only part of a wholesale rethinking about how to prepare for the worst, an effort that has swept campuses across the nation. Mental health professionals studied how to spot warning signs in students coping with mental illnesses.

Hearne: Cops and TV newsies to dodge balls for charity

Me neither, although I may be in the minority where the news media are concerned. Some radio and TV types have challenged the <strong>Kansas City Police Department </strong>to a dodge ball game. Proceeds from the so-called “News vs. Blues” charity throwdown will benefit the KCPD Care Team.</p><p>“Under any other circumstances, hitting a cop with anything is a felony,” says <strong>KCTV </strong>news anchor <strong>Dana Wright</strong>. “It will be a blast! Proceeds to the injured officer fund.”</p><p>Dodge ball is the game we once played before blatant violence between children fell out of fashion.</p><p><em>The clash goes down Saturday at the KCPD Regional Training Academy, and darn the luck the officers won't be in uniform, meaning the newsies won't be able to take aim at tempting targets like Tasers and ticket pads.</em></p><p><em>You want smack talk? Wright has it: “The officers, especially the tactical guys, might be bigger than we are, but they throw like a bunch of girls.

Reviews: Preschool to Grade 4

So once again Ollie begins bellowing out his tune and saves a cruise ship from hitting the rocks. The young hero is given a medal and a scholarship to a music school "that is so far from our town that nobody will be disturbed anymore." This title was originally published in 1950, and Yaccarino's new illustrations retain the look of that era. The colors are uniform and flat throughout, and Ollie wears a navy suit with short pants and a bow tie. The illustrator plays with size and perspective; the boy's horn is sometimes larger than buildings. The book is mildly amusing but not an essential purchase.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

Instant image preview

If you move your mouse over MilkyWay's image window, a small toolbar appears offering several options: You can close the window; zoom to fullscreen mode (double-clicking the window also accomplishes this); rotate the image; create a thumbnail for its Finder icon; or move the image file to the Trash. (Unfortunately, these buttons don't use tooltips to explain what they do; some are obvious, but others you simply have to learn by reading MilkyWay's documentation.) More options are hidden in the window's contextual menu: Right/control-click on the image preview and you can set the image as your Desktop picture or open it in its default application.

Helicopter crash kills three employees of Air Evac EMS

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- Three members of an Air Evac Lifeteam died in a helicopter crash in Alabama. The air medical company is based in West Plains.

The helicopter was helping in the search for a missing hunter when it went down. The cause of the crash was still unknown, and the victims' names hadn't been released on Sunday, but many were asking how this could have happened.

Trying to save one life, the three helicopter crew members lost theirs. Flags were at half staff at the company's headquaters on Sunday. The company operates 75 medical helicopter bases in 12 states.

Early Sunday morning, the helicopter crew from Muscle Shoals, Ala., was assisting in the search for a missing hunter. Good news came that the hunter had been found but, at nearly the same time, the bad news arrived about the crash.

Stars are fashionable - and safe - on red carpet

The best word to describe the red-carpet fashion at the Academy Awards: red.Katherine Heigl, Helen Mirren, Miley Cyrus, Ruby Dee, Anne Hathaway and Heidi Klum were among the stars in red gowns Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Shades of plum were worn by Cate Blanchett and Jessica Alba. .

Pairing wines with chocolates: Keep it sweet

I'm looking for a special wine for Valentine's Day, maybe something to go with chocolate. Can you recommend something that's not too expensive? -- Carrie, Old Bridge When I started out in the wine business 30 years ago, no one ever talked about drinking wine with chocolate. Wine went with beef; with chocolate, we drank coffee.

Today, pontificating about what kinds of wine -- red or white, still or sparkling -- go with what types of chocolate -- milk or dark, mousse or cake -- is a hot topic among foodies and wine geeks. (Don't get me wrong: Some of my best friends are wine geeks.)

The one wine-pairing rule you never want to forget is: If the food is sweet, the wine needs to be sweeter.

Mike Smith, lead singer for Dave Clark Five, dies

Although the Beatles were the most popular of the British Invasion bands of the 1960s, the Dave Clark Five claimed a string of U.S. chart-topping hits, many of them co-written by Smith and Clark, including "Because," "Glad All Over," "Any Way You Want It" and "I Like It Like That."

The band made 12 appearances on Ed Sullivan's variety show, the most for any British act.

The group was founded by Clark, who played drums, in 1958. Smith was not an original member. He joined in 1961 as keyboardist, lead singer and the band's most recognizable face.

Smith was born in London on Dec. 12, 1943. He began studying classical music at age 5 and was admitted to Trinity Music College in London at 13.

After the demise of the band in the early 1970s, Clark and Smith continued to release singles as Dave Clark & Friends until 1973.

SV chamber reviews efforts in past year, while charting its future ...

SIERRA VISTA — At their biggest meeting yet, members of the Greater Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce reviewed their activities from the past year and goals for the future.Susan Tegmeyer, president and CEO, presented a video highlighting chamber offerings for the annual membership meeting Tuesday at the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center. .