CHICAGO (AP) ― Some gravely ill alcoholics who need a liver transplant shouldn’t have to prove they can stay sober for six months to get one, doctors say in a study that could intensify the debate over whether those who destroy their organs by drinking deserve new ones.In the small French study, the vast majority of the patients who got a liver without the wait stopped drinking after their surgery and were sober years later. The study involved patients who were suffering from alcohol-related hep

More office workers use free time during their workdays for exerciseIf your hectic work schedule is stressing you out and you cannot squeeze in time for exercise, it might be time to consider taking advantage of your lunch break. More people are now investing their lunch time in exercise, from simply taking a walk to weight training. Kim Ji-hye, a 35-year-old office worker at a financial institution, started to take half hour walks after quickly grabbing lunch.“A sandwich and coffee is fine. My

STATE COLLEGE (AP) ― Joe Paterno was in tears, his players in shock.“All the clips you’ve ever seen of him, you never saw him break down and cry,” quarterback Paul Jones said. “And he was crying the whole time today.”Struggling to keep his emotions in check and old school as always in a sweater and tie, Paterno stood in front of his players and coaches Wednesday and said the words many already knew were coming but never thought they’d actually hear. After almost a half-century of head coaching a

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ― Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was abducted by gunmen Wednesday from his home in his native Venezuela.Ramos, 24, was taken away in an SUV by four armed men in Santa Ines in central Carabobo state, Kathe Vilera, spokeswoman for the catcher’s Venezuelan League team, said through her official Twitter account.“This is sad, worrisome and true that Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped,” she said. Ramos was playing winter ball with the Aragua Tigers.She said the rising M

BARCELONA (AP) ― Andres Iniesta’s first-half goal gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory at third-tier Hospitalet on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey series.Iniesta scored with a long-range shot that dipped out of the reach of goalkeeper Jose Moragon in the 42nd minute on the artificial turf at the Feixa Llarga stadium.Despite a lower-tier opponent, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola sent out a near full-strength lineup that included Cesc Fabregas, Xavi Hernandez, David Villa and Carles Puyol,

SINGAPORE (AFP) ― Asia’s only major-winner Yang Yong-eun said Wednesday he had stopped using a coach and is instead picking up tips from YouTube as he bids to recover his best form.The South Korean star said he had been trying to improve his swing by consulting the video-sharing site since splitting with his coach during last season.But he admitted the change in tack may be to blame for a barren spell with zero wins so far this year.“I’ve tried to put a lot of methodology into it,” Yang told jou

Korea could qualify after two away games in Middle EastSouth Korea’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup faces a crucial few days, with away matches against the United Arab Emirates on Friday and Lebanon on Tuesday. Korea, which aims to qualify for its eighth consecutive appearance in the World Cup, is grouped with Kuwait, Lebanon and the UAE in the third round of Asian qualifying.There are five groups of four teams in the third round with the top two from each group advancing to the final roun

Regulator moves to punish lenders for breaching rules on interest ratesA major disruption is expected to hit the private lending market dominated by Japanese firms as Korea’s financial regulators threaten to suspend leading players for violating rules.Amid growing public outcry over the high interest rates charged by private lenders, the initial salvo came on Nov. 6 from the Financial Supervisory Service, which confirmed it was considering suspending major lenders including No. 1 player A&P Fina

South Korea’s producer prices grew at the slowest clip in 10 months in October as crude oil prices posted more modest gains, which helped offset the local currency’s depreciation to the dollar, the central bank said Thursday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, rose 5.6 percent in October from a year earlier, down slightly from a 5.7 percent on-year gain in September, according to the Bank of Korea.Last month’s data marked the slowest growth since the 5.3 percent g