Nakajima

A bright, yellow boat that looks more like an oversized bathtub toy than an oceangoing vessel pulled into the Annapolis City Marina yesterday, carrying Seiko Nakajima and his tales of a trans-Atlantic voyage."

A Columbia banker accused in June of killing his two young daughters before trying to hang himself has been found competent to stand trial. The murder case against Robert Emmett Filippi had been in a legal limbo since state psychiatrists, who evaluated him after his arrest in the strangulation deaths of 4-year-old Nicole Filippi and her 2-year-old sister, Lindsey, determined that he was incompetent. But his status recently changed, Howard Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure told lawyers yesterday during a brief hearing to discuss Filippi's pending divorce from the girls' mother, Naoko Nakajima.

As their marriage dissolved, Robert Emmett Filippi tried to lock Naoko Nakajima out of the couple's Columbia home, their marital assets and even their children's lives, her lawyer said. Now Nakajima and her lawyer want to prevent Filippi from using those marital assets to defend himself against charges that he strangled their two young daughters last week. "Clearly, assets accumulated during a marriage should not be used in the criminal defense of someone accused of killing the children from that marriage," Nakajima's attorney, William G. Salmond, said yesterday in an interview.

Attorneys for a Columbia banker accused of killing his two preschool-age daughters and for his estranged wife agreed yesterday to freeze the couple's assets and to delay proceedings in their divorce case temporarily. The agreement between lawyers for Robert Emmett Filippi and Naoko Nakajima also calls for the sale of the couple's Harmel Drive house, which is valued at $325,700 and is mortgaged. The proceeds, which will be placed in an escrow account, and other "marital assets" will be frozen until the two sides can agree on how to divide them, the lawyers said.

The United States and its European allies are mounting a spirited campaign to prevent the re-election of the head of the World Health Organization, the agency that leads the worldwide battle against acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other threats to public health.The official, Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima, a Japanese citizen who has headed the agency for five years, is being strongly defended by the Japanese government. The election is scheduled for Jan. 20.The United States opposes Dr. Nakajima's re-election with the argument that he is an incompetent administrator and a poor leader and communicator, whose frequent travels leave WHO headquarters in Geneva in disarray.

Four-year-old Nicole Filippi and her 2-year-old sister Lindsey chased fireflies with their father and some friends until 9:30 Sunday night in the family's picturesque Columbia yard, neighbors said. Two hours later, Howard County police discovered the girls' bodies and arrested their father, Robert Emmett Filippi, 43, accusing him of strangling his daughters in an upstairs bedroom of his Harmel Drive home, police said yesterday. The two most serious charges, of first-degree murder, make him eligible for the death penalty.

Attorneys for a Columbia banker accused of killing his two preschool-age daughters and for his estranged wife agreed yesterday to freeze the couple's assets and to delay proceedings in their divorce case temporarily. The agreement between lawyers for Robert Emmett Filippi and Naoko Nakajima also calls for the sale of the couple's Harmel Drive house, which is valued at $325,700 and is mortgaged. The proceeds, which will be placed in an escrow account, and other "marital assets" will be frozen until the two sides can agree on how to divide them, the lawyers said.

NEW YORK -- Forget Holland vs. Argentina or Germany vs. Croatia in the World Cup. Today, the biggest showdown will be America vs. Japan on the boardwalk at Coney Island.It's a clash of epicurean proportions. Cue the theme from "Rocky" and loosen your belt: When the dust finally settles here, only one man will stagger away with Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating crown.Will it be Ed "the Animal" Krachie, a 350-pound ex-champ from Queens who lost the title last year? Or will Hirofumi "Magic" Nakajima, a 130-pound furniture mover from Tokyo, confound the experts and repeat his 1997 triumph?

A Columbia banker accused in June of killing his two young daughters before trying to hang himself has been found competent to stand trial. The murder case against Robert Emmett Filippi had been in a legal limbo since state psychiatrists, who evaluated him after his arrest in the strangulation deaths of 4-year-old Nicole Filippi and her 2-year-old sister, Lindsey, determined that he was incompetent. But his status recently changed, Howard Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure told lawyers yesterday during a brief hearing to discuss Filippi's pending divorce from the girls' mother, Naoko Nakajima.

Neighbors have characterized the Columbia man accused of strangling his young daughters Sunday as "the picture of suburbia" - always outside gardening and playing with the children. "He seemed like a perfectly normal fellow," said John Jefferson, who lives near the family's Harmel Drive home. But behind closed doors, Robert Emmett Filippi could be controlling, unpredictable and even abusive, his former wife, Karen York, said in an interview this week with The Sun. Both his former wife and estranged wife have accused Filippi of physical assault and intimidation.

(All times a.m.; a-amateur) Thurs. Fri. Group 2:00 6:56 Peter Baker, Des Smyth, James Kingston 2:11 7:07 Peter Lonard, Patrik Sjoland, Sandy Lyle 2:22 7:18 Kiyoshi Miyazato, Tom Watson, Steve Elkington 2:33 7:29 Ian Stanley, Ian Woosnam, Jeff Maggert 2:44 7:40 Frank Lickliter, Thomas Levet, Niclas Fasth 2:55 7:51 Peter O'Malley, Stewart Cink, Ricardo Gonzalez 3:06 8:02 Toru Taniguchi, Paul McGinley, Dudley Hart 3:17 8:13 Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Brad...

As their marriage dissolved, Robert Emmett Filippi tried to lock Naoko Nakajima out of the couple's Columbia home, their marital assets and even their children's lives, her lawyer said. Now Nakajima and her lawyer want to prevent Filippi from using those marital assets to defend himself against charges that he strangled their two young daughters last week. "Clearly, assets accumulated during a marriage should not be used in the criminal defense of someone accused of killing the children from that marriage," Nakajima's attorney, William G. Salmond, said yesterday in an interview.

Neighbors have characterized the Columbia man accused of strangling his young daughters Sunday as "the picture of suburbia" - always outside gardening and playing with the children. "He seemed like a perfectly normal fellow," said John Jefferson, who lives near the family's Harmel Drive home. But behind closed doors, Robert Emmett Filippi could be controlling, unpredictable and even abusive, his former wife, Karen York, said in an interview this week with The Sun. Both his former wife and estranged wife have accused Filippi of physical assault and intimidation.

Two-year-old Lindsey Filippi was forever at the heels of her energetic big sister, Nicole, who, at 4, was a hero in her adoring younger sister's eyes, neighbors said. "The little girl would always push the baby on the swing," said neighbor Luther Williamson. "They learned from each other. They were together all the time." Howard County police and prosecutors believe they died together, too, in an upstairs bed at the hands of their 43-year-old father, Robert Emmett Filippi, who is charged with strangling them Sunday night.

Four-year-old Nicole Filippi and her 2-year-old sister Lindsey chased fireflies with their father and some friends until 9:30 Sunday night in the family's picturesque Columbia yard, neighbors said. Two hours later, Howard County police discovered the girls' bodies and arrested their father, Robert Emmett Filippi, 43, accusing him of strangling his daughters in an upstairs bedroom of his Harmel Drive home, police said yesterday. The two most serious charges, of first-degree murder, make him eligible for the death penalty.

NEW YORK -- Forget Holland vs. Argentina or Germany vs. Croatia in the World Cup. Today, the biggest showdown will be America vs. Japan on the boardwalk at Coney Island.It's a clash of epicurean proportions. Cue the theme from "Rocky" and loosen your belt: When the dust finally settles here, only one man will stagger away with Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating crown.Will it be Ed "the Animal" Krachie, a 350-pound ex-champ from Queens who lost the title last year? Or will Hirofumi "Magic" Nakajima, a 130-pound furniture mover from Tokyo, confound the experts and repeat his 1997 triumph?

Two-year-old Lindsey Filippi was forever at the heels of her energetic big sister, Nicole, who, at 4, was a hero in her adoring younger sister's eyes, neighbors said. "The little girl would always push the baby on the swing," said neighbor Luther Williamson. "They learned from each other. They were together all the time." Howard County police and prosecutors believe they died together, too, in an upstairs bed at the hands of their 43-year-old father, Robert Emmett Filippi, who is charged with strangling them Sunday night.

(All times a.m.; a-amateur) Thurs. Fri. Group 2:00 6:56 Peter Baker, Des Smyth, James Kingston 2:11 7:07 Peter Lonard, Patrik Sjoland, Sandy Lyle 2:22 7:18 Kiyoshi Miyazato, Tom Watson, Steve Elkington 2:33 7:29 Ian Stanley, Ian Woosnam, Jeff Maggert 2:44 7:40 Frank Lickliter, Thomas Levet, Niclas Fasth 2:55 7:51 Peter O'Malley, Stewart Cink, Ricardo Gonzalez 3:06 8:02 Toru Taniguchi, Paul McGinley, Dudley Hart 3:17 8:13 Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Brad...

A bright, yellow boat that looks more like an oversized bathtub toy than an oceangoing vessel pulled into the Annapolis City Marina yesterday, carrying Seiko Nakajima and his tales of a trans-Atlantic voyage."

TOKYO -- Terrible weather and a changing political climate have finally forced Japan to do something unthinkable and possibly unpardonable.They're going to import rice.Today the Agriculture Ministry will release data widely expected to show that this year's crop of the country's most fundamental staple was the worst since World War II. According to reports in the Japanese news media last night, the government will announce that, as a result of the wretched harvest, laws prohibiting rice imports will be relaxed for the first time since 1984 when a small, emergency, reciprocal purchase agreement was arranged with Korea.