National and State News-Wednesday, April 11th

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The lawyer for one of the three Duke lacrosse players charged with sexual assault says "it's likely" that the remaining charges will be dropped. The local prosecutor
had dropped rape charges before he was taken off the case because of alleged ethics violations. An announcement could come as soon as today.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - The coach of Rutgers' women's basketball team says all women athletes, and indeed, all women, were insulted by Don Imus' sexist and racist remarks. Still, players will meet privately with the radio personality next week. One player says she hopes something good will come out of the meeting.

GENEVA (AP) - A new report from the International Red Cross describes the situation for civilians in Iraq as "ever-worsening." The agency says there is a severe shortage of
medical professionals, and thousands of bodies are unclaimed in morgues. The situation is particularly grim in the Baghdad area.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain will appeal for patience in Iraq in a speech at the Virginia Military Institute today. In prepared remarks, McCain says the
troop buildup is "necessary and just" and that defeat in Iraq would make the world "a much more dangerous place."

GRAMBLING, La. (AP) - Legendary Grambling State University football coach Eddie Robinson will be laid to rest today. Robinson died last week at age 88. He was one of only a handful of people to have lain in repose in the Louisiana Capitol in Baton Rouge.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - An extradition hearing is expected today in Cleveland for a man suspected of abducting a woman from a Pittsburgh shopping mall's parking lot. A woman says 30-year-old Jimmy Lee Tayse of Johnstown got in the back seat of her car with a knife. She says he and forced her to drive to Akron, Ohio, with her toddler also in the vehicle.

NEW YORK (AP) - The Wall Street Journal reports that the Nasdaq Stock Market is in talks to acquire the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. The newspaper cites unidentified people familiar with the matter as saying the two exchanges have been in talks for months. The discussions reportedly have intensified in recent weeks after Nasdaq's failed bid to buy London Stock Exchange.

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - Widener University's dean of financial aid is on paid administrative leave. Walter Cathie was named in a probe of possible kickbacks to school officials for steering students to certain lenders. The university in Chester says Cathie will be on leave until the university gets results of an independent, external review.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Alcoa says its first-quarter profit rose nearly nine percent as favorable metal prices and strong sales boosted results. The Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer earned 662 (m) million dollars, or 75 cents per share, during the first three months of the year compared with 608 (m) million dollars, or 69 cents per share, during the same period last year.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A stop-the-violence rally in Southwest Philadelphia turned bad when someone fired gunshots into the crowd. Police Lieutenant John Walker says at least two shots were fired last night and a woman at the rally was shot in the back. She was in stable condition at a hospital later in the evening.