News.

Morning News honored at Press Club of Dallas' Katie Awards

2008-11-16T07:54:00.002-08:00

Two years after nearly collapsing in scandal, the Press Club of Dallas resurrected its annual Katie Awards on Saturday night by recognizing the best journalism in Texas.
The club canceled the awards last year after the organization learned that a former president, Elizabeth Albanese, had rigged the previous year's judging. She had given herself four trophies in 2006, along with six others in 2004 and 2005.
At Saturday evening's award ceremony, press club leaders asked members to help restore the luster of the awards by volunteering their time to the organization, which uses the Katies to raise money for collegiate journalism scholarships.
Here are this year's winners:
DIVISION 1: NEWSPAPERS
LARGE MARKETS
Best Business Reporting
Jim Landers and Elizabeth Souder, The Dallas Morning News
Best Column Writing
Randall Patterson, Houston Press
Best Feature Story
Steve Thompson, The Dallas Morning News
Best Investigative Series or Story
Brooks Egerton and Reese Dunklin, The Dallas Morning News
Best Series
Doug J. Swanson, Steve McGonigle, Gregg Jones, Jennifer LaFleur, Emily Ramshaw, Holly Becka, The Dallas Morning News
Best Specialty Reporting
Robert T. Garrett, The Dallas Morning News
Best Sports Reporting
Barry Horn, The Dallas Morning News
Best Headline Writing
Linda Johnson, The Dallas Morning News
MEDIUM AND SMALL MARKETS
Best Business Reporting
Dan McGraw, Fort Worth Weekly
Best Column Writing
John Wright, Dallas Voice
Best Investigative Series or Story
Peter Gorman, Fort Worth Weekly
Best Specialty Reporting
Gayle Reaves, Fort Worth Weekly
Best Feature Writing
Jonathan Fox, Texas Lawyer
DIVISION 2: WIRE SERVICES
Best Business Reporting
Darrell Preston and David Dietz, Bloomberg News
DIVISION 3: MAGAZINES
General Excellence
CURE (Cancer Updates, Research & Education)
Best Story
Jenny B. Davis, Dallas Child
Writer of the Year
Amanda Tackett, Dallas Home & Garden
Best Cover
Karen Blessen, Advocate
DIVISION 4: PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographer of the Year
Mona Reeder, The Dallas Morning News
DIVISIONS 5 & 6: TV AND RADIO
Insufficient number of entries to determine a winner
DIVISION 7: ONLINE
Best Web Sites
Art & Seek Pegasus News, The Dallas Morning News

More Bad News: Employers Cut 401(k) Matches

2008-11-16T07:54:00.001-08:00

As if the market weren't doing enough damage to your 401(k) retirement plan, your employer might be hurting it, too.
Last month, General Motors announced that it would suspend its company matches to employee contributions to 401(k) plans. Frontier Airlines and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group have followed suit in recent weeks.
"It's a tough position for a company to be in," says David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America. "Companies sometimes have to choose between layoffs and getting rid of the match."
Some companies have to do both. In the wake of the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, some companies also stopped matching employee contributions. Eventually, those plans were reinstated, Mr. Wray says.
Here's what to do if your employer takes away your company match:
Keep saving in your plan. Companies that offer matches to 401(k) retirement plans do it as an incentive to get employees in the habit of saving. And you'll need that habit now more than ever.
So don't stop contributing because the company has stopped giving you free money. With compound interest, even seemingly small contributions can have a tremendous impact on your result.
Try Saving More. Although there's a lot of budget crunching going on, try to see if you can make up the difference in what your employer was contributing, says Mr. Wray. Check what the maximum contributions are with your human-resources department. Retirement planners suggest that savers put away 5% to 10% of their income toward retirement, if possible.
Consider an IRA. Although Individual Retirement Accounts are great investment vehicles, financial advisers suggest maxing out 401(k) contributions first, as they generally carry fewer fees and greater tax advantages. A 401(k) will allow a saver to contribute more tax free per year.
For example, in 2008 the 401(k) contribution limit was $15,500, compared with a $5,000 limit for traditional and Roth IRAs. When choosing an IRA, investors should decide whether they want a traditional IRA, which allows for tax deductions in the year that the account is contributed to, or a Roth IRA. The latter offers no tax deductions today, but money withdrawn from the account later isn't taxed.
Look Into an HSA. Health Savings Accounts "are a very underutilized product," says Michael Doshier, with Fidelity Investments' workplace investing group.
Although HSAs are not intended to replace 401(k) plans, they help you save for future qualified medical expenses. They are "triple tax-free," meaning that money put in, deferred and withdrawn from the plan comes tax-free.
And as for what the market is doing to your 401(k), Mr. Wray suggests that people take a healthy look at their risk tolerance and asset allocation. "But try not to check on your account too much."

Public safety news in brief: Murder charge filed in DWI wreck

2008-11-15T06:37:00.000-08:00

A Belton man with two previous drunken-driving convictions was charged Friday with second-degree murder and DWI in a July 12 alcohol-related fatality.
Authorities say Jeffrey D. Brewer, 32, was driving a vehicle that left eastbound Interstate 470 near U.S. 71 in south Kansas City and struck a streetlight support. A passenger in the car, Katherine M. Anderson, died at the scene.
According to the complaint, Brewer, who was treated for minor injuries, tested over the legal limit for alcohol and also tested positive for marijuana.
The couple had attended a concert earlier that evening.
Court records show Brewer was convicted twice of DWI in 2002.
BELTON Reward climbs in Kopetsky case
The reward for finding a missing Belton girl has been boosted to $80,000 if she is safely returned by her birthday.
Kara Kopetsky’s 19th birthday would be Feb. 17. She was last seen May 4, 2007, at Belton High School. A reward of $30,000 has been collected by family and friends, and an anonymous donor has temporarily added $50,000 to encourage someone to come forward with information.
Call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (816-474-8477).
KANSAS CITY Charges in baseball bat attack
Jackson County prosecutors on Friday accused a 17-year-old boy of hitting a man in the head with a baseball bat after the man had kicked him out of a community gym.
Prosecutors charged Abdi S. Abdirahman with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection with the attack about 11:50 p.m. Nov. 7 in the parking lot of the Della Lamb Community Services gym at 500 Woodland Ave.
According to court records, Abdirahman was angry after he had been escorted out of the gym. He waited outside until the man who kicked him out walked to his car. He allegedly came up behind the victim and struck him on the back of the head with a wooden bat, fracturing his skull. The victim remained unconscious for two days. Police arrested Abdirahman on Thursday.
CASS COUNTY Wreck victim identified
Authorities have identified the victim of a one-vehicle wreck this week as Anne Curry, 16, of Pleasant Hill.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, the Jeep Cherokee that Curry was driving failed to make a curve Wednesday morning near Missouri 58 and Hickory Grove Road, west of Pleasant Hill. The SUV overturned several times. Curry was wearing a seat belt.
WYANDOTTE COUNTY Hard 50 term in KCK slaying
A Kansas City, Kan., man was sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison Friday for the murder of a Lenexa man and the attempted murder of another person.
Katreal Harris, 19, received a “hard 50” sentence in Wyandotte County District Court for the April 17, 2007, shooting death of 22-year-old Christopher Sloan. That means Harris will serve at least 50 years in prison before he’s eligible for parole.
A jury found Harris guilty last month of first-degree murder in Sloan’s death, as well as attempted first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm. The lesser crimes resulted in a consecutive sentence of more than 19 years and a concurrent sentence of 19 months.

Re “U.S. Bishops Urged to Challenge Obama”:

2008-11-15T06:35:00.000-08:00

What moved very many American bishops to silence or to moderation during the recent election cycle was no doubt prudence and good judgment. Certain other statements, particularly those concerning abortion, amounted to de facto endorsements of Senator John McCain. Some of these clearly crossed the line separating church and state and under normal circumstances could have imperiled the tax-free status of the archdiocese in question.
Let us hope that if “Faithful Citizenship,” the guide for Catholic voters, is indeed revised, it will reflect the intellectual diversity and the range of theological opinion that now characterize the Conference of Catholic Bishops.
John C. HirshWashington, Nov. 11, 2008
•
To the Editor:
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver says the recent United States bishops’ voter guide “didn’t work” and is in need of an overhaul. This is an interesting and possibly revelatory comment.
The guide, “Faithful Citizenship,” counsels Catholics to examine many issues with a special emphasis on abortion, and to make “prudential judgments” based on well-formed consciences.
On what evidence is the archbishop relying to determine that the guide “didn’t work” and that Catholics did not, in fact, follow the guidance of the bishops?
A majority of Catholics supported President-elect Barack Obama. When he says the voter guide “didn’t work,” I have to conclude that the archbishop thinks the only prudential judgment a well-formed Catholic conscience could have made was to vote for John McCain.
If the overhaul the archbishop wants goes through, I’d like to suggest a simple guide with none of the extraneous words like conscience and judgment. Just come out and say it — Catholics must vote Republican.
Jack MarthBronx, Nov. 11, 2008
•
To the Editor:
As a Catholic American, I continue to be outraged by the silence from the pulpit with regard to the pope’s determination that the war in Iraq is unjust, while weekly I’m assaulted with the mantra that it is my duty to support politicians who vote against a woman’s right to choose abortion.
If the bishops want to establish some credibility, they need to speak about defending the lives of innocents born and unborn — those who suffer and die from an American war as well as those who die in utero. Then, the choice pushed by the church between Republican and Democrat wouldn’t be so clear, and Catholics would be trusted to deliberate, exercise free will and vote their consciences.
Anna DombrowskiPrinceton, N.J., Nov. 11, 2008
•
To the Editor:
Re “Catholics and Choice (in the Voting Booth),” by Peter Steinfels (Beliefs column, Nov. 8):
As a practicing Catholic, I am proud that American Catholics resisted bishops’ efforts to bully them into voting as single-issue voters endorsing a conservative Republican agenda.
Bishops must realize that there are many ways to achieve the laudable goal of reducing incidents of abortion. Legislation is probably the most divisive and least effective.

Cable News Takes Cues From Obama to Keep Viewers After Election

2008-11-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Cable news channels, aiming to hold on to the ratings spoils of a lengthy presidential campaign, are taking cues from the victor, President-elect Barack Obama.
Just as Obama used the Internet and mobile devices to get out the vote, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC are using online tie-ins to promote their programs. The moves are part of a broader strategy to maintain interest with new shows and personalities after ratings soared in the months leading up to the election.
``There's a new atmosphere, a new flavor that this new administration brings,'' Jonathan Klein, CNN's U.S. president, said in an interview. ``Likewise, we are going to take the next- generation approach in covering this administration.''
CNN averaged 2.14 million viewers in October during prime time, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., compared with 711,000 a year earlier, according to Nielsen Co. Fox News more than doubled to 3.36 million, and MSNBC more than tripled to 1.58 million.
History suggests those viewers won't stay long. In 2004, CNN's prime-time audience had dropped 38 percent by December from its October peak, according to Nielsen. Fox slumped 31 percent from levels in October, and MSNBC fell 42 percent.
``Despite their efforts, it's going to be hard to sustain those type of viewing levels,'' said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media, which plans media buying for clients. ``There are going to be people who are casually interested in politics. These news stations are not going to be a destination stop for them.''
That doesn't mean they won't try after cable networks drove profits for media companies last quarter.
Cable Networks
News Corp.'s cable networks, led by Fox News, increased profit 31 percent, buoyed by advertising and subscription gains, even as the parent reported a drop in net income. Time Warner Inc.'s cable networks boosted profit by 21 percent, countering lower earnings from AOL, films studios and publishing.
The networks used interest in the election to introduce new shows, new personalities and technical wizardry, such as the life-sized holographic images of remote reporters CNN beamed into the studio. The executives say they're trying to present the news in the way Obama presented his candidacy, as a dialogue across many platforms.
``There's a younger set that understands this new modern media,'' Phil Griffin, president of MSNBC, said in an interview. General Electric Co. owns a majority of the network. ``We fit in the way they try to understand today.''
`Rachel Maddow'
MSNBC's ``Rachel Maddow Show,'' which began airing on Sept. 8, reflects that approach. Over two months, the program averaged 586,000 viewers ages 18 to 49, the demographic group advertisers seek, in the 9 p.m. time slot, according to Nielsen. That exceeded the 557,000 who tuned in for CNN's ``Larry King Live.''
Griffin credits Maddow's daily podcasts on iTunes, as well as her correspondence with viewers through Twitter, a free messaging site the talk-show host uses to announce upcoming guests, share cocktail recipes and muse about politics and life.
``The addition of Rachel was a game changer,'' Griffin said.
MSNBC recently added the slogan ``The Power of Change'' to its marketing, echoing Obama's theme in a TV spot that features both presidential candidates.
Twitter
CNN introduced a Twitter-based show in September, featuring reporter Rick Sanchez, and after noticing the popularity of an internal daily memo on politics, the network decided to publish it online, calling it the Political Ticker.
The network also began airing ``D.L. Hughley Breaks the News'' on Oct. 25, a Saturday night show featuring the comedian mixing humor with news of the week.
CNN's black prime-time viewership has increased to more than 300,000 nightly in 2008 to date from about 115,000 a year earlier, according to spokeswoman Barbara Levin, citing Nielsen data. The Obama campaign, as well as documentaries such as CNN's ``Black in America,'' have boosted the audience, Klein said.
Fox News Channel also has beefed up its online presence and programming. During the election, Fox started a separate online channel, called Strategy Room, which continues to broadcast only on the Internet on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fox has also hired Glenn Beck from CNN Headline News for a show that begins in January, and on Sept. 27 started a new Saturday program with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, the one-time Republican presidential candidate.
``One thing that broadband and cell phones will do for these networks is bring them a younger audience'' said Horizon Media's Adgate.
Web Campaign
The Obama campaign used the Web and mobile phones as campaign tools, sending news via text messages and updating the candidate's whereabouts on Twitter. Obama also placed ads in video games.
``One can argue that our television success is based on our digital success,'' said Greg D'Alba, chief operating officer for CNN sales and marketing. ``New newsies found our brand online and followed our brand to television.''
The best post-election hope for the networks may be that events such as the credit crisis, two wars and the first black U.S. president keep viewers from drifting away.
Still, the networks promise more technological changes, such as the meter CNN used to track the instant reaction of voters during presidential debates.
``You're going to continue to see these technological innovations'' after the election, Klein said. ``But no, we're not going to create the hologram newscast.''

Obituaries in the news

2008-11-13T08:32:00.001-08:00

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Catherine Baker Knoll, the first woman to be elected as Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, died Wednesday. She was 78.
Knoll died at National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she was recovering from treatment for cancer, Gov. Ed Rendell said in a statement.
Knoll was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in July and began radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She returned for the start of the fall Senate schedule in September, but showed signs of fatigue and later that month said she would taking more time off.
A former schoolteacher and Democratic veteran, Knoll served two terms as state treasurer beginning in 1988. When she won re-election in 1992, she received one of the largest vote totals ever for a statewide Democratic candidate.
As lieutenant governor, she presided over the state Senate and chaired the state Board of Pardons and a local government advisory committee. Rendell also asked her to serve as chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council.
Under state Constitution, Knoll will be replaced by the Senate President Pro Tempore, Joseph B. Scarnati III, R-Jefferson.
___
Maria Elena Marques
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Maria Elena Marques, who starred in the 1947 movie "The Pearl," has died Tuesday. She was 83
Her two surviving children said in a press statement that Marques died of heart failure just before midnight. They did not give the location where she died.
Marques played the long-suffering wife of a fisherman who finds a beautiful but ill-fated pearl in the film based on a book by John Steinbeck.
The film won a Golden Globe award for the luminous cinematography of Gabriel Figueroa.
Marques also appeared in the 1943 movie "Dona Barbara" alongside actress Maria Felix, and later played American Indian roles in a pair of U.S. films.
___
Mitch Mitchell
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience of the 1960s and the group's last surviving member, was found dead in his hotel room early Wednesday. He was 61.
An employee at Portland's Benson Hotel called police after discovering Mitchell's body.
Erin Patrick, a deputy medical examiner, said Mitchell apparently died of natural causes. An autopsy was planned.
Mitchell was a powerful force on the Hendrix band's 1967 debut album "Are You Experienced?" as well as the trio's albums "Electric Ladyland" and "Axis: Bold As Love." He had an explosive drumming style that can be heard in hard-charging songs such as "Fire" and "Manic Depression."
The Englishman had been drumming for the Experience Hendrix Tour, which performed Friday in Portland. It was the last stop on the West Coast part of the tour.
Hendrix died in 1970. Bass player Noel Redding died in 2003.

$US586b Chinese stimulus package good news for NZ

2008-11-10T01:06:00.000-08:00

Exporters should be welcoming Beijing's announced $US586 billion spend up on national infrastructure and social welfare projects.
National trade spokesman Tim Groser is upbeat about the stimulus package’s implications for New Zealand.
“If this crisis, this meltdown in the developed world’s financial system had happened 25 years ago, it would have had much worse implications for the real economy than is the case today because of [the effect now of] China and the size of the developing world economy. We now have a more balanced world economy than we did quarter of a century ago, no longer being so completely reliant on the US market.
“So it seems to me that if you look at it from that bigger perspective, a Chinese stimulus of a half a trillion US dollars is very significant, and will be hugely helpful in terms of propping up internal demand around the world.”
China is already Australia’s largest export market and New Zealand's fourth largest export market – and will become New Zealand's largest export market within 10 year’s time, Mr Groser predicts.
The New York Times reports the package is the largest economic stimulus project ever undertaken by Beijing, and will total roughly 7% of China’s GDP for each of the next two years.
The IMF has welcomed the move.
Credit will also be loosened and lending encouraged as part of a more “pro-active fiscal policy.”
“Over the past two months, the global financial crisis has been intensifying daily. In expanding investment, we must be fast and heavy-handed,” the State Council said in its statement.
At the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Sao Paulo over the weekend, China’s central bank head, Zhou Xiaochuan, said China can help stabilise international markets by encouraging consumption at home.
New Zealanders likely to directly benefit from the stimulus are largely in the provincial areas, the primary sector, and include farmers, the dairy industry, timber exporters and the Port of Tauranga (the main exit point for the timber trade), coal and oil exporters.
Many Chinese economists are now projecting fourth quarter growth this year as low as 5.8%, which is ominous news for a country that politically needs a much higher rate of growth than the likes of New Zealand just to absorb their labour forces, NBR analyst Michael Coote says.
“That’s the major political risk for the Chinese government – that it fails to generate sufficient employment, because that’s directly linked to a lot of social unrest. It puts a lot of pressure on the government.
“But given the fact there is a stimulus package, given the fact that New Zealand has written up an FTA with China, one of the first off the block, you’d assume we will benefit there.”
Forsyth Barr analyst Guy Hallwright says 5.8% growth is a worry for China.
"Anything below about 7% as I understand it effectively means that China is going backward really.”
Mr Hallwright suspects that as with most other stimulus packages around, the Chinese are trying to fill a hole rather than build a better growth picture, but anything that improves Chinese demand is going to be positive for exporters to China, “which is mainly food companies.”

Sporting News Top 10

2008-11-10T01:03:00.001-08:00

1. Jimmie Johnson. Now, it is over -- for sure. 2. Carl Edwards. A valiant effort, but it wasn't meant to be.3. Greg Biffle. Just misses his seventh top 10 of the Chase with an 11th-place finish.4. Jeff Burton. Steady Jeff gets his 18th top 10, tying last year's effort. 5. Kyle Busch. Another top 10 for Busch. Remember when it was, "Another win for Busch?"6. Jamie McMurray. What got into Jamie? He gets his second straight third-place finish and third top five in five races -- his only top fives of the season.7. David Ragan. Gets his fifth top 10 in the past seven races. His other finishes are 13th and 11th. 8. Kevin Harvick. Harvick finishes seventh for the third time in four weeks. It's also his sixth top 10 of the Chase.9. Clint Bowyer. Remember when Bowyer was racking up 12th-place finishes left and right? Well, he got another one Sunday to give him five in the past 10 races.10. Denny Hamlin. Hamlin's third top five in four weeks ties his career high for top fives (12) and top 10s (18) with one race to go.

News boxes need to be restricted, Minneapolis official says

2008-11-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

Arguing that self-regulation hasn't worked, Council Member Ralph Remington wants Minneapolis to catch up with St. Paul on limiting the spread of sidewalk news boxes. St. Paul passed restrictions in 2000 on the spacing and appearance of news racks, but Minneapolis chose to wait and see.
Remington said issues of accessibility and appearance prompt a need for Minneapolis to act now. He's proposing a $39 annual fee on the boxes, estimated to number 5,000 to 6,000 in 2000. A public hearing on the proposal is expected on Dec. 2.
The fee, which isn't a part of the St. Paul rules, is intended to cover the cost of inspector time spent assuring that box owners follow the new rules.
Remington said long rows of news boxes make it difficult for older people and people with disabilities to exit cars and use sidewalks.
He would limit boxes to not more than four in a row, with a mandatory three feet between each cluster.
Some boxes are covered with graffiti that attracts more, he said. He would require that each box be registered, with a contact name and phone number posted in case a box is defaced or in poor repair. Exterior advertising would be limited.
Remington said St. Paul's restrictions prompted the number of boxes to shrink by about a third, even without a fee. "If you're accountable for your boxes and you're putting money toward them, you're going to put those boxes where you ... get the most bang for your buck," he said.
After St. Paul's rules took effect, Remington said, publishers with boxes in Minneapolis "all tried to work something out and agreed to self-regulation. But that hasn't worked."

Obama to Hold News Conference Friday Updated 4:25 p.m.

2008-11-07T11:03:00.001-08:00

CHICAGO -- Barack Obama will make his debut as president-elect at a news conference tomorrow.

The event is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, and will follow a meeting between Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and their economic advisers, including billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons, former Clinton treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

On Monday, Obama will travel to Washington for his first White House session with President Bush. His wife, Michelle, will come along to meet with first lady Laura Bush.

"Michelle and I look forward to meeting with President Bush and the First Lady on Monday to begin the process of a smooth, effective transition," Obama said in a statement. "I thank him for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation."

U.S. News Media Group and NCQA Release 2008 Rankings for America's Best Health Plans Nearly 700 Health Plans Evaluated Based on Quality of Care, Servi

2008-11-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON, Nov 07, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- U.S. News Media Group and The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today released the fourth annual edition of America's Best Health Plans on USNews.com. Launched at the start of open-enrollment season, when millions of Americans prepare to select their healthcare coverage, the 2008 Best Health Plans guide provides comprehensive rankings and important consumer information for nearly 700 commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid health plans.

The full rankings of America's Best Health Plans are online today at www.usnews.com/healthplans, and the top 50 commercial, top 25 Medicare, top 25 Medicaid, and "Honor Roll" health plans will be featured in the November 17-24 issue of U.S. News, available on newsstands on Monday, November 10.

The 2008 America's Best Health Plans rankings are based on more than 100 aspects of prevention, treatment, and consumer experience, such as how quickly members receive needed care or how well a plan controls blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes. The Best Health Plans guide also identifies 126 plans that chose to report no data.

"America's Best Health Plans places health plans nationwide on a level playing field and provides crucial information when consumers need it most," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "These rankings recognize the best health plans and identify those that are committed to improving their quality of care through measurement and reporting."

"Health consumers today are overwhelmed with data and not all of it is clear, let alone trustworthy," said Avery Comarow, U.S. News editor of America's Best Health Plans. "The health plan rankings are part of the U.S. News mission to bring consumers data that is reliable, understandable, and timely."

The complete 2008 Best Health Plans rankings are available at www.usnews.com/healthplans. Highlights of this year's rankings are featured below:

Top 10 Commercial Plans
1. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (Maine, Mass.)
2. Tufts Associated Health Maintenance Organization (Mass., N.H.,
R.I.)
3. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England (N.H.)
4. Grand Valley Health Plan (Mich.)
5. Geisinger Health Plan (Pa.)
6. Health New England (Conn., Mass.)
7. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield - Connecticut
8. Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin
9. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts
10. CIGNA HealthCare of New Hampshire
Top 5 Medicare Plans
1. Preferred Care (N.Y.)
2. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Southern California
3. Geisinger Health Plan (Pa.)
4. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts
5. Security Health Plan of Wisconsin
Top 5 Medicaid Plans
1. Fallon Community Health Plan (Mass.)
2. Neighborhood Health Plan (Mass.)
3. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (N.Y.)
4. Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island
5. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Hawaii

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS(R)) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care.NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

About the U.S. News Media Group

The U.S. News Media Group is a multiplatform digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes U.S.News & World Report magazine, http://www.usnews.com/, and http://www.rankingsandreviews.com/. Focusing on Health, Money & Business, Education, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group's signature franchises include its News You Can Use(R) brand of journalism and its "America's Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans, and more.