Amber

CHANNELVIEW, Texas -- This middle-class suburb of Houston is proud of its winners.Signs praise the high school basketball team. The principal brags about student scores on state achievement tests. Banners back U.S. troops in the Middle East.But one of its residents -- Wanda Holloway, a churchgoing, 36-year-old mother of two -- is accused of taking the competitive spirit to a deadly level that shocked this community of 25,000.Officials say that to boost her 13-year-old daughter Shanna's chances of becoming a cheerleader, Wanda Holloway tried to hire a man to kill 37-year-old Verna Heath, a former friend who is the mother of her daughter's chief rival, Amber Heath.

Amber Milnes Aberdeen In her first season with the Eagles, Milnes faced a couple of daunting tasks -- rebuilding after graduating three starters from last year's state championship team and then rebuilding again after 2011-12 All-Metro Player of the Year Brionna Jones tore an anterior cruciate ligament in January, which forced her to miss the rest of the season. With two freshman and two sophomore starters, she converted a team that had been centered on the 6-foot-3 Jones into an up-tempo team in which everyone had to contribute.

One often hears older generations bemoaning the current crop of teen-agers as undisciplined, self-centered and disrespectful, but we are more hopeful.After all, haven't adults always believed that the youth of their day are 10 times worse than when they were young? Now, as then, we have troubled kids and kids who cause trouble. But we also have kids who work hard in school, help at home and know the meaning of manners. And, once in a while, we find a young person who goes far and above what's expected of any good citizen, child or adult.

In addition to the Ravens on the field for Super Bowl XLVII, Baltimore viewers are going to see some familiar faces on the NFL Network's coverage leading up to the game. Starting Jan. 28 through gameday Feb. 3, the channel will offer 140 hours of game-related coverage, and such one-time Baltimore-based broadcasters as Melissa Stark, Amber Theoharis and Brian Billick will have significant roles. Here's the channel's release: For the 10th year, NFL Network is on-location providing comprehensive, wall-to-wall coverage of Super Bowl week.

Jewelry and talismans made of amber have been highly regarded ever since man and woolly mammoths roamed the earth together. Amber is not a stone, but the petrified resin of pine trees that flourished as many as 40 million years ago.Flora and fauna -- trapped in the sticky substance -- have been preserved in amber in detail, and it is these pieces that are prized by collectors and connoisseurs. The prospect of keeping in touch with ants, dragonflies and plants that date from the time of the dinosaurs is only part of the appeal of amber.

ON NOV. 20, Amber Schnaath of Ilchester Elementary School rode to school in high style.A firetruck from Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department picked her up at home and drove her to school, honking the horn to alert her fellow students to her arrival.Sparky the fire dog accompanied her, and Amber received a commemorative medal as a souvenir.Amber was the winner of a drawing at Cider Mill Farm in Elkridge and the unusual ride to school was the prize.Deep Run artistBev Riling, parent volunteer at Deep Run Elementary School, is planning for an artist in residence to be at the school in the winter.

In "Jurassic Park," some scientists found a chunk of amber, a hard, yellowish substance formed millions of years ago from pine tree resin. It was a fossil with a dead mosquito trapped inside.The mosquito had lived during the dinosaur age. It had bitten a dinosaur and drawn some blood. The blood contained dinosaur DNA, which the scientists used to create a real dino.Amber comes from northern Europe. The largest amber supply comes from the Baltic Sea, which borders Denmark, so the Yak went to visit.

Signs stipulating mandatory headlight use went up recently along Route 32, between Route 108 and Interstate 70. That generated many comments, and the Nov. 20 Traffic Talk discussed this new safety measure for that stretch of road. Lee Nelson wondered, however, how this affects vehicles with daytime running lights. "My question, which would apply to any of the locations you mention that display `mandatory headlight area.' How does the law define headlight use?" she wondered. She said that both of her vehicles have daytime running lights.

Amber Womack finished off her Eastern Tech soccer career with a sensational three-goal performance in the state Class 2A girls final. Unfortunately, she and her teammates had to settle for the runner-up trophy when River Hill won the title on penalty kicks. The senior forward, an All-State first-team selection, finished the season with 13 goals and is now looking forward to basketball season. She plans to play soccer in college and is considering Grambling, Tampa and Loyola, among others.

In a Sunday Arts article about amber artifacts at the Smithsonian, the time of the early Baltic amber trade was stated incorrectly. The initial flourishing was around 3100 B.C.The Sun regrets the error.WASHINGTON -- There's a very strange creature inside this chunk of amber. The tiny little body is curled a bit like a scorpion's tail. But wait, there's a round head, big eyes -- and a face, for crying out loud.It's an itty-bitty space alien.What's going on?Francis Hueber, curator of paleobiology for the National Museum of Natural History, has them going there for a minute.

After almost a decade on Baltimore TV, Amber Theoharis signed off for the last time Thursday from a local sporting event. She starts Sept. 21 as a co-host on "NFL Total Access" on the NFL Network. She leaves next week for California. Theoharis took a break from covering the Baltimore Orioles in their showdown with the New York Yankees at Camden Yards Thursday night to talk about her feelings and say goodbye to viewers who have come to know her over the years at WBFF (2004-2006) and MASN (since 2006)

Pam and Larry Burton, of Darlington, and Bruce Sargable, of Aberdeen, announce the wedding of their daughter, Amber Lea Mundis, to Brandon Ray Sexton on June 11 at Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church in Whiteford. Sexton is the son of Donna Ashley and the late Bobby Sexton. The reception was held at Geneva Farm Golf Course. The maid of honor was childhood friend, Brittney Bowmen. Joshua Spies served as the best man. Other members of the bridal party included Michele Tanman, Marion Thomas, Megan Swinehart, Becky Sexton, Jennifer Sargable, Tommy King, Jason Thomas, Tommy Kirby, Bruce Sargable, and RJ Strong.

The 5-foot-9 guard led the No. 2 Gators to four wins last week, coming up especially big in a 66-59 win over River Mill (N.C.) for the championship of their bracket at the Boo Williams Tournament in Virginia Beach. Singletary, named the Most Valuable Player in the bracket, scored 22 points — including five 3-pointers — and had five steals and three assists. She hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the second quarter to help the Gators extend a 19-16 first-quarter lead.

Police have recovered a 2-year-old boy who they believed was abducted from a Washington, D.C. Metro station by his mother's ex-boyfriend, after Prince George's County law enforcement officials issued an Amber Alert Saturday morning about his disappearance. Aaron Gomez was returned to a family member's home in Hyattsville safe and unharmed around 2 p.m. Saturday, said to Cpl. Mike Rodriguez, of the Prince George's County Police Department. Rodriguez said the boy was dropped off by the mother's ex-boyfriend, who remains at large.

On Friday afternoon, Baltimore police said a man abducted his girlfriend's two daughters, ages 3 and 5. A few hours later, police in Elkton said a man took his estranged wife's 4-year-old daughter. Saturday night, Prince George's County authorities reported that an acquaintance had taken an 11-year-old girl. And on Monday, Howard County police said a teenager in foster care had run off with the 15-month-old girl she had been baby-sitting. In just two cases - the abductions from Prince George's and Cecil counties - did officials broadcast an Amber Alert, which flashes emergency information on highway billboards and breaks into television shows to enlist the help of viewers.

Two men have been arrested and two Maryland girls have been found safe after police issued Amber Alerts over the weekend seeking help in solving the girls' alleged kidnappings. The first alert was issued Friday night, after police in Cecil County received reports of the abduction of a 4-year-old Elkton girl. Police found the girl Saturday at a convenience store in Glasgow, Del., and arrested 32-year-old Peter Jyles Pelletier in connection with her disappearance. Pelletier's estranged wife is the girl's mother.

On a sunny Saturday morning, a dozen teen-agers are slapping together bologna sandwiches in the small Glen Burnie apartment Amber Coffman shares with her mother, Bobbi.Every so often, there's a knock on the door, Amber yells "come on in" and a new face joins the mix. Rap music booms from a radio in Amber's bedroom as the friends dissect their favorite topic: their social lives."How do people know that I went out with him?" Amber asks.They just know.The conversation shifts to the "The Lost World," which Amber saw the day after it hit the movie theaters.

An Amber Alert has been issued for a 4-year-old Elkton girl, said the Maryland State police on behalf of the Cecil County Sheriff's office on Friday night. Police say that 4-year-old Hannah Lynn Harrigan was last seen at about 5:30 p.m. Friday with 32-year-old Peter Jyles Pelletier of 5655 Telegraph Road in Elkton. He was operating a green 1995 Ford Mustang with Maryland registration tags 9EFL19. Anyone with information is asked to immediately call 911 or the Cecil County Sheriff's Office at 410-996-5511.

As visitors take to the cobblestone paths of this town, they are walking along the steps of history. When Vilnius was being built there was an entry fee of one stone per visitor. The collection was used to create the town's walls and roads. Today, entry to the town and many of its historic sites is free. This year Lithuania celebrates its millennium anniversary, and Vilnius styles itself as the European Capital of the World, with its vision to create a city that is open to new ideas and culture.