Zoom

NEW WINDSOR Middle School pupils' wetlands project is not only great for the environment, but will zoom them into the spotlight. Maryland Public Television will air a segment on the project on ZOOM, a popular children's show. "I found their wetlands project story on their Web site, and it's a perfect example of `zooming' into action," said producer Frank Batavick, who attended New Windsor Middle School in the late 1970s. "These one-minute stories on ZOOM showcase children volunteering and having a positive effect on their communities."

Duke Energy Corp. said yesterday that its third-quarter profit plunged 71 percent because of weakness in the U.S. economy, forcing it to cut 1,500 regular positions and 400 contract workers. Richard Priory, chairman and chief executive officer, said the move will save Duke about $100 million a year. The company, based in Charlotte, N.C., said net income in the third quarter was $230 million, or 27 cents a share, down from $796 million, or $1.01 a share, in the third quarter last year.

PHILADELPHIA - Comcast Corp., the cable-television operator that plans to buy AT&T Corp.'s cable unit, posted an $88.9 million first-quarter loss on investments and the costs of buying and upgrading systems for digital TV and Internet service. The first-quarter loss of 9 cents a share compared with net income of $1 billion, or $1.04, a year ago. Analysts had expected Comcast to earn 10 cents a share on $2.57 billion in sales. Sales rose 20 percent, to $2.67 billion, more than analysts expected.

Prestige devices make wireless usage work well in home Wireless Internet sounds like a great concept, but there are so many options and products out there that it's hard to narrow them down. Plus, wireless devices are not always the easiest to set up. The Prestige 316 Wireless Router and Access Point ($250)is one of the better options out there for getting rid of wireless head-aches. It will send Internet rays through your home with a wireless phenomenon called "Wi-Fi." Just plug your high-speed cable or DSL modem into the Prestige, and an antenna will relay your high-speed connection to any other computer in the house with a Wi-Fi-ready adaptor (such as a $150 PC card that slides into a slot on your laptop)

Yesterday was a mixed day on Wall Street for defense contractors. Some military suppliers posted big gains, and others were hit hard from investors. United Technologies Corp. was one of the big losers. Its stock fell more than 28 percent to close at $47.50. On the flip side, Raytheon Co., a maker of the Patriot missile and a variety of other products for the military, posted a gain of nearly 27 percent. "United Technologies got clobbered," said Nicholas P. Heymann, a defense analyst at Prudential Securities.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Bernard Williams "shut down" at the 90-meter mark of his quarterfinal race at the VIII World Championships of Track and Field yesterday, but still got to the finish line in 9.95 seconds, his fastest 100 ever. "I'm focused and confident - I'm quite confident. I think I can run with the best," said Williams, the 1997 Carver graduate who qualified for today's semifinals at Commonwealth Stadium. Also impressive were Williams' U.S. teammates, Maurice Greene, the Olympic champion and world-record holder, and Tim Montgomery.

Allegheny Energy Inc. said yesterday that its second-quarter net income jumped 70 percent to $121.3 million, from $71.5 million in last year's second quarter. On a per-share basis, earnings were a record $1.01 vs. 65 cents a year earlier, handily beating analysts' estimates of 76 cents a share. Earnings per share were reduced by 8 cents because of the sale of 14.26 million common shares in May. The Hagerstown-based energy company attributed the increase in earnings mainly to added revenue from its energy-trading business, Allegheny Energy Global Markets, which it acquired from Merrill Lynch in March.

The youth-trash conquest of summer moviegoing became complete in 1981. That's when it was decided that comic-book movies, coming-of-age comedies and shoot-'em-ups would constitute the daily bread of film fans from May to mid-September. Think back to the dark spring of 1981. One highly touted film after another, pushed out of its studio nest, swiftly flops. Paul Newman can't save "Fort Apache, the Bronx." Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt go down with "Eyewitness." The Jack Nicholson / Jessica Lange "Postman Always Rings Twice" fails to ring a bell at the box office.

Ever wonder what it would be like to ride the doomsday asteroid as it screamed in from outer space and put a quick end to civilization as we know it? Me neither. But thanks to NASA and a gazillion of your tax dollars, you can do just that. And it's pretty cool. It's called "Great Zooms From Space," and it comes to you courtesy of the folks at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. Using 30 years of photo imagery - most from NASA's Terra and Landsat satellites - and the commercial Ikonos satellite, all stitched together by some very powerful computers, NASA has assembled a collection of virtual thrill rides and made them available on the Web at www.gsfc.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The sight of Tiger Woods jogging near the 17th green at the Pebble Beach Golf Club late yesterday morning drew stares from startled spectators surprised to see the leader of the 100th U.S. Open out of uniform, so to speak. Woods had a few hours to kill between finishing the last six holes of his darkness-suspended second round earlier in the day and starting his third round. Considering the record six-shot lead Woods held at the time, maybe he was just practicing his victory lap around the rest of the field.