MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
7A
ealthy
smart," have no sugar. ing an
hard
ar and
Jones of her ch she worst
was astard, wn as gener- state-
Rap funksters highlight award show
American Music Awards gives Usher, OutKast top male, group honors
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — R&B sensation Usher won all his showleading four nominations at the American Music Awards yesterday, and rap funksters OutKast went three-for-three during a performance-studded, occasionally censored broadcast ceremony.
Usher won for favorite male soul-R&B artist, best pop-rock artist, best pop-rock album and best soul-R&B album for Confessions, which sold more than 1 million copies in its debut week.
"Thank you for this moment. Thank you for this year." Usher said as he picked up his last award of the night. "It's been amazing."
OutKast, the Grammy winners whose album Speakerboxxx-The Love Below spawned the mega-hit Hey Yal took home awards for favorite pop-rock band, favorite rap-hiphop album and best rap-hip-hop group.
In his acceptance remarks, OutKast's Big Boi paid tribute to founding Wu-Tang Clan member O.D.B., who collapsed and died inside a New York recording studio Saturday. The rapper's cause of death was not immediately clear.
"Rest in peace Ol' Dirty Bastard," Big Boi said. "We love you."
Soul diva Alicia Keys won favorite female artist in the soul-R&B category, edging out Janet Jackson and Beyoncé.
Brooks & Dunn earned their fourth award for favorite country band. Toby Keith won awards for favorite country male artist and best country album.
"A lot of work went into this project." Keith said of his album Shock'n YAll. "This is cool."
Sheryl Crow beat out Avril Lavigne and Jessica Simpson for
the favorite female pop-rock artist award and received the prize for favorite adult contemporary artist. Rockers Linkin Park scored the favorite alternative music artist for the second year in a row.
Country singer Kenny Chesney said he was surprised to win a publicly voted award for favorite performer.
"I really didn't think anybody was going to beat Usher tonight." Chesney said.
Shortly before the start of the telecast, producer Dick Clark announced rapper Jay-Z won favorite male artist in the rap-hop category.
Singer Marc Anthony won favorite Latin music artist, and the group MercyMe won best contemporary inspirational artist.
The show was heavy on performances, some of them censored with words cut out, although a few presenters got away with racy material.
Gwen Stefani, stepping out without No Doubt, opened the show wearing a short, ruffled dress and white stockings and flanked by dancers singing to What You Waiting For? Lenny Kravitz, clad in a black trenchcoat and tie, hair cropped short, followed performing Lady.
Country singer Gretchen Wilson won the best new artist, beating out innovative rap newcomer Kanye West and the band Maroon 5. Wilson lost to Reba McEntire in the category for top female country artist.
Backstage, West vented his disappointment over being shut out in all of his three nominations. "I feel I was definitely robbed ... I was the best new artist this year," West said. "I don't know if I'll be back at this award show next year."
Nominees were chosen on the basis of record sales, with winners selected by a survey of about 20,000 listeners.
Iran to suspend uranium enrichment
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VIENNA, Austria — Iran notified the U.N. nuclear watchdog in writing yesterday that it would suspend uranium enrichment and related activities to dispel suspicions that it was trying to build nuclear arms.
With its move, Iran appeared to have dropped demands to modify a tentative deal worked out on Nov. 7 with European negotiators, agreeing instead to continue freezing enrichment — the process to make either nuclear fuel or the core for nuclear weapons — and also to suspend related activities, diploats told The Associated Press.
"Basically it's a full suspension," said one of the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's what the Europeans were looking for."
Shortly after diplomats revealed the Iranian move, Tehran's top nuclear negotiator, Hossein Mousavian, confirmed that his country was giving its "basic agreement" to a temporary suspension.
"We accept suspension as a voluntary measure on the basis of agreement with the European Union," Mousavian said on Iranian state television, emphasizing that his country viewed the move as a concession for "confidence building"
and not a "legal obligation."
As part of the agreement, "Europe will support Iran's joining the international group of states possessing the ability to manufacture nuclear fuel" once the suspension ends, Mousavian said, signaling yet again that Iran viewed the freeze as temporary.
State Department spokeswoman Darla Jordan said yesterday: "We are awaiting a briefing by the EU three on Monday. We continue to believe that Iran has to abide by the IAEA Board of Governors' resolution."
treaty obligations and part of a nuclear arms program. The United States has called for the indefinite suspension if not an outright scrapping of Iran's domestic enrichment program. Iran says it wants to master the technology only to generate power.
The diplomat said Iran had also fulfilled a key part of the deal by formally informing the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency — the International Atomic Energy Agency — of its decision.
Washington has argued that Iran's enrichment activities are in violation of its international
That cleared the way for inclusion of Iranian intentions in a report prepared by IAEA head MohamedElBaradei.
Cheney feeling OK after hospital visit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart trouble, went to a hospital Saturday after experiencing shortness of breath. Tests found no abnormalities, an aide said, and Cheney left after three hours.
"I feel fine," the 63-year-old vice president said as he walked out with his wife, Lynne.
Cheney smiled and waved people gathered outside the hospital entrance.
A pacemaker implanted in Cheney's chest three years ago indicated no irregularities during the past 90 days, said Mary Matalin, a spokeswoman for the vice president. The device gives doctors a three-month readout. She said an electrocardiogram, which measures the heart's electrical activity, showed no change.
His cardiologist, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, said he suspects the vice president has a respiratory infection.
"The vice president, complaining of a productive cough and shortness of breath, was evaluated at George Washington Medical Center today," Reiner said in a statement issued by the White House. "Tests ruled out any cardiac cause of the vice president's symptoms. Tests also ruled out pneumonia and other pulmonary causes."
The vice president, who joined President Bush on Friday for meetings with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, felt fine otherwise, but his cardiologist recommended that he go to the hospital for tests.
Cheney, who has had four heart attacks, although none as vice president, returned Thursday night from a pheasant hunting trip in South Dakota with a cold that left him short of breath. Matalin said.
"Everything looks great," Matalin said before Cheney was released. "He's walking around from room to room in his street clothes just waiting for the blood work."
She said Cheney was driven in a motorcade from his residence a few miles from the hospital and walked in under his own power.
The president was notified by his chief of staff, Andy Card, shortly after Bush returned from a bike ride Saturday at a Secret Service training facility outside Washington, White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said.
Ahead of the fall presidential campaign, Cheney dismissed speculation that his health might keep him from running again with Bush. He said his health had been good and he could not think of any circumstances that would prompt him to decline the role.
His first heart attack occurred in 1978, when he was 37. He had a second in 1984, and after suffering his third heart attack, in 1988, Cheney had quadruple bypass surgery to clear clogged arteries.
On Nov. 22, 2000, Cheney suffered who doctors called a "very slight" heart attack and had an angioplasty to open a clogged artery.
Cheney was back in the hospital on March 5,2001, after complaining of chest pains. Doctors performed another angioplasty to reopen the same artery.
After his fourth heart attack, Cheney quit smoking, began regular daily exercises for 30 minutes on a treadmill and said he began watching his diet.
1