Saturated

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Men who eat the equivalent of three cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes each day triple their risk of prostate cancer, Stanford University researchers reported today.Asian men may increase their risk even more -- by four to eight times -- if they eat lots of food high in saturated fat, such as red meat, butter and cheese.But researchers also gave men some good news: Their study found vasectomy does not increase the risk of prostate cancer, as some previous research had found.

Blaming a market saturated with new stock offerings, Black & Decker Corp. postponed yesterday the initial public offering for PRC Advanced Systems Inc., its computer systems subsidiary.It was the second unsuccessful effort by the Towson-based maker of power tools and appliances to sell the subsidiary since it was acquired as part of the purchase of Emhart Corp. in 1989.The company's announcement came after Black & Decker made a series of presentations that failed to draw the desired number of institutional investors.

TOKYO -- It's tough here, too.The home market of the country that has dominated the global auto industry is mired in one of its worst slumps, with sales down 2.1 percent this year.Although Japanese carmakers almost never resort to significant price cuts or rebates, there is practically no limit to what Japanese salesmen will do to win and keep a customer.This year, they're trying to increase sales by pushing a four-poster contraption that allows one car to be parked on top of another.Prices range from $1,200 to nearly $6,000, depending on the sizes of the two cars and the sophistication of the rack's access system, which can be as simple as two removable tire ramps or as fancy as a hydraulic lift.

BEIJING -- Before a television audience of millions, retired Communist Party member Liu Shuwen confessed her sins against the state this week as thousands have done before her.A middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper hair, she told how she had helped Li Hongzhi, head of the now-banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, direct more than 10,000 members to surround the capital's Zhongnanhai leadership compound in April."

The next best thing to being in Barcelona this summer might be NBC's "Triplecast," a programming package that offers cable customers three channels of non-stop sports for the entire 15 days of the Summer Olympics.According to NBC, which has U.S. distribution rights for the games, more than 90 percent of the nation's major cable operators -- including those in Maryland -- have already signed up to offer the programming package. The Olympics pay-per-view Triplecast, a joint venture of NBC and Cablevision Systems Corp.

It's not enough that our home-improvement stars know how to improve homes. Now they have to have their own line of paints and tools (Bob Vila). They have to sing and dance on Broadway (Paige Davis of Trading Spaces). They have to design lines of furniture and window coverings (Christopher Lowell). They have to be sexy pinup boys and hunky pitchmen (Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition). Or they settle for nothing short of world domination (Martha). The emergence of the home-decorating superstar is a natural outgrowth of the home-improvement show phenomenon.

NEW ORLEANS -- Even in an age of negative politics, there's never been anything like this.An all-out attack campaign against former Klansman and neo-Nazi David Duke is clogging the TV and radio airwaves over Louisiana in the closing days of the governor's race.Virtually around the clock, anti-Duke ads spell out the frightening economic and social consequences of a Duke victory in tomorrow's runoff against Democratic former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards.Among the dire predictions: tens of thousands of jobs lost, a halt to educational improvements for an entire generation of children and an image problem to rival, well, Nazi Germany's.

The owner of a string of McDonald's restaurants in Baltimore won an early round yesterday in his legal fight against the hamburger giant, setting the stage for a key showdown in federal court next week.Osborne A. Payne is suing McDonald's Corp., claiming the firm is driving down the worth of his stores by allowing a series of other golden arches to rise in the city, some of them just blocks away from Payne's.McDonald's fought back, asking Senior U.S. District Judge Alexander Harvey II yesterday to issue a temporary restraining order, forcing Payne to close the restaurants he runs in the city because he has fallen behind on his rent payments and service fees.

Living with diabetes A diabetes educator will lead a discussion and offer suggestions on how to make simple nutrition and exercise changes to help achieve weight loss, lower blood pressure and cholesterol to prevent diabetes. Sponsored by the Baltimore Washington Medical Center, the discussion will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. May 1 and from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. May 9, in the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center, Suite 119, 300 Hospital Drive, Glen Burnie. Cost: $25. Registration and information 410-787-4940.

Menu Roasted Fish With Guacamole, couscous scented with saffron, pan-fried zucchini with garlic, plum sundaes My husband, a college professor who loves to entertain, is always suggesting we invite people over for dinner. "Just keep it simple," he advises. Recently, he unexpectedly proposed that we ask two students for a meal. I was hesitant, but then it came to me: I could anchor the meal with an easy fish dish I had made several times before. It takes only a few minutes to assemble and needs a short time in a hot oven.