Damage Control

Carmelo Anthony has it all. Baltimore's most high-profile representative in the NBA has the riches and fame every kid on the streets of this or any city could hope for. All season his team, the Denver Nuggets, has been in a scratch-and-claw battle to get into the NBA playoffs, so you would think that Anthony would be pretty focused on the task at hand. Instead, early yesterday morning he was arrested for suspected DUI after driving dangerously and failing field sobriety tests.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Monday requested a meeting with Wal-Mart officials in response to allegations that the retailer covered up a bribery scheme to expand its business in Mexico. In a letter to Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke, the Baltimore Democrat says he is opening an investigation into allegations raised in a story over the weekend by The New York Times and asked the company to schedule a meeting with lawmakers to discuss the issue by Friday.

As the 100th anniversary the RMS Titanic disaster approaches, the Costa Concordia grounding is a stark reminder that going to sea remains dangerous. A modern cruise ship sailing a routine route capsized in a matter of minutes in beautiful weather, leaving at least 11 people dead. About 15 million people took a cruise last year, and they are asking tough questions. Are the massive passenger vessels stable enough to withstand grounding or collision? Are the international crews capable of coordinating a rapid evacuation of thousands of people?

BAGHDAD -The U.S. Army has quietly altered or abandoned some of its more experimental medical treatments for troops injured in combat, as advances it once hailed as groundbreaking are found largely ineffective or perhaps even dangerous. Advanced battle dressings, a blood-clotting drug, alternative procedures for emergency blood transfusions - each was introduced early in the Iraq war, often with little evidence to support them beyond anecdotes or tests on animals. A few were adopted widely by civilian hospitals, based almost exclusively on accolades from the military.

EVERY time there is a big story in Washington, the political participants blame the MEDIA. Words such as "press frenzy" and "yellow journalism" pop up all over the place. Those involved seem to believe that their problems would just disappear if only reporters would shut up.The question then arises:What branch of the MEDIA are we talking about?Who specifically is to blame for attacks on the integrity of all these public officials who chose to serve their country at great financial sacrifice?

* Navy Seaman Recruit Sean C. Hays, son of Nancy T. Hays of Sykesville, has completed recruit training at Recruit Training Command, Orlando, Fla.During his eight-week training cycle, he studied general military subjects designed to prepare him for further academic and on-the-job training in one of the Navy's 85 basic fields.His studies included seamanship, close order drill, Naval history and first aid. Personnel who complete this course of instruction are eligible for three hours of college credit in physical education and hygiene.

FORMER SEN. Bob Kerrey was a young Navy SEAL lieutenant when he commanded a raid against a Vietnam hamlet 32 years ago. The enemy was almost impossible to discern. Was that villager a Viet Cong spy or an innocent civilian who wanted nothing to do with war? The perilous conditions hardly justify Mr. Kerrey's action on that moonless night in Thanh Phong Feb. 25, 1969, when his forces killed at least 13 innocent women and children. They only help explain. Mr. Kerrey, a former senator from Nebraska and now president of New York's New School University, won the Medal of Honor and lost part of a leg in Vietnam.

FOR HUDSON Foods Inc., the recall of 25 million pounds of contaminated hamburger processed at its Columbus, Neb., plant has been a public relations nightmare. Faced with the defection of Burger King, its largest customer, Rogers, Ark.-based Hudson decided to punt. On Wednesday, Hudson, which is primarily a poultry processor, said it would sell the state-of-the-art plant to IBP Inc., even though U.S. Agriculture Department inspectors believe that the E. coli-tainted meat came from one or more raw-beef suppliers rather than the plant itself.

OLYMPIC scandals are nothing new. The International Olympic Committee has fought endlessly against cheating and drugs that make competition unfair and endanger athletes' health.But in the latest Olympic scandal, the IOC is left pointing at itself.Marc Hodler, an 80-year-old Swiss habitue of the IOC inner circle, charges that bribery and payoffs led to selection of host cities Atlanta, Nagano, Sydney and Salt Lake City. In recent days, allegations have focused on the Salt Lake City bid committee and actions it may have taken to secure the 2002 Winter Games -- including gifts, free medical care and scholarships for members of the IOC, their relatives and friends.

Lawyers for dozens of Baltimore County families suing Exxon Mobil Corp. closed a six-month trial Friday by arguing for punitive damages in a 2006 underground gasoline leak in Jacksonville, accusing the corporation of playing down the potential harm of the contamination and of committing "fraud. " Lawyer Charles G. Bernstein told the nine-member jury in Baltimore County Circuit Court that "this is fraud, pure and simple. … Their game was just plain damage control. " James F. Sanders, representing Exxon Mobil, wrapped up his case earlier Friday by arguing that the company acknowledged its responsibility in the spill of about 26,000 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline and continues the work of removing the liquid gasoline and vapor.