St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page A001

THE NO. 1 ST. LOUIS WEBSITE AND NEWSPAPER READ BY 1.3 MILLION ADULTS EACH WEEK ST.LDUIS POST-DISPATCH A Hollywood beginning? Bernie Miklasz As the Cardinals and Dodgers kick off the NLDS in Los Angeles, Game 2 starter Adam Wainwright still draws intensity from his inner rookie, and his success as a closer in 2006. A-B sells its theme parks to equity firm SPORTS PAGE CI $2.3 billion in cash will help cut debt, get brewer back to concentrating on beer, CEO Brito says. BY JIM GALLAGHER 314-340-8390 its investment.

Along with roller coasters and wildlife, A-B InBev has been selling off other pieces of itself as it strives to reduce the debt taken on when the Belgian brewer InBev bought Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion last year. So far this year, the company shed part of its American packaging operation and sold beer operations in Korea, China, Scotland and Ireland. Those, combined with the Busch Entertainment sale, will have raised about $6.4 billion, nearing its announced target of $7 billion for debt reduction. Shedding Busch Entertainment See A-B PageAl3 Shamu now swims with a big fish on Wall Street. Anheuser-Busch InBev on Wednesday said the Belgian brewer will sell its theme park division Busch Entertainment to the Blackstone Group, one of the world's biggest private -equity firms, for up to $2.7 billion.

Busch Entertainment, the country's second largest theme -park operator, has 10 attractions, including two Busch Gardens theme parks and three SeaWorld parks, which ballyhoo themselves as the home of Shamu the killer whale. A-B InBev will receive $2.3 billion of the purchase price in cash, along with up to $400 million in Blackstone 's initial profits from BUSCH ENTERTAINMENT THEME PARKS In 2007, it ranked as second-largest theme park operator in the U.S. OO OO-" CHRIS LEE Cardinals Game 1 starter Chris Carpenter walks back to the mound Wednesday night after giving up a two-run home run in the first inning to the Dodgers' Matt Kemp. 9. Discovery Cove Orlando, Fla.

10. Aquatica Orlando, Fla. The parks Busch Gardens 1. Tampa, Fla. 2.

Williamsburg, Va. SeaWorld 3. Orlando, Fla. 4. San Antonio 5.

San Diego 6. Adventure Island Tampa, Fla. 7. Water Country U.S. A.

Williamsburg, Va. 8. Sesame Place tanghorne, Pa. NLDS GAME 2 Cardinals at Dodgers 5:07 p.m. today TBS Post-Dispatch Cardinals online Get full coverage of Wednesday's Game 1 Play Game 2 of our Cardinals OverUnder game See an interactive scouting report on the Dodgers Chat with our Cardinals reporters Check at 10 a.m.

today for an update from Derrick Goold. STLTODAY.COMCARDINALS Airport drops fees to attract flights Lambert officials hope to recoup some lost service. BY KEN LEISER 314-340-8215 Focus may shift to Pakistan Health bill gets boost from budget office Measure would cut deficit by $81 billion, insure 94 percent of eligible Americans, report says. 1 "WE ARE CLOSER THAN EVER BEFORE TO DELIVERING AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE IN A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. TRAVELING HERE Travelers will be able to reach just under 60 cities by nonstop flight from Lambert-St.

Louis International Airport next summer, after American Airlines dramatically reduces the number of cities with nonstop service from St. Louis. Here were the top 10 metropolitan markets feeding St. Louis' airport in the year ending March 2009, according to research by the Brookings Institution: BY DAVID LIGHTMAN McClatchy Newspapers St. Louis hopes to woo new flights to Lambert-St.

Louis International Airport by temporarily suspending landing fees and rental costs to airlines that start service to new cities. By setting aside nearly $1.7 million for the airline incentive program, Lambert officials plan to recoup some nonstop service the airport will lose in April, when American Airlines significantly slashes its St. Louis schedule. "It's going to be provided to the airlines on a first-come, first-served basis," said Airport Director Richard Hrabko. "Frankly, I wish we were in a position to offer more.

We are talking to a lot of different carriers about coming in here and taking up some of the void that American's going to be leaving." The St. Louis Airport Authority endorsed continuation of the incentive program on Wednesday, which will be open to airlines new to St. Louis and those that already are here. The incentive program, which would be funded through the end of June 2010, also must win approval from the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and the city Estimate Board.

See LAMBERT Page A7 BY PETER BAKER AND ERIC SCHMITT New York Times WASHINGTON President Barack Obama's national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against al-Qaida in Pakistan while arguing that the Taliban in Afghanistan does not pose a direct threat to the United States, officials said Wednesday. As Obama met with advisers for three hours to discuss Pakistan, the White House said he has not decided whether to approve a troop buildup in Afghanistan proposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commanding officer in the region. But shifting strategies may not be simple. While there continues to be debate in Obama's war council over which path to take, expanding operations against al-Qaida in Pakistan could meet resistance from that country's military.

See TERROR PageA16 new insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, in which they could comparison -shop for coverage, the CBO said, and about 14 million more would enroll in Medicaid, the state -federal program for lower-income people, and the Children's Health Insurance Program, as benefits and in some cases eligibility increased under the measure. About 25 million nonelderly people, about a third of them illegal immigrants, probably would remain uninsured by 2019, the CBO estimated. "The report, I think, is quite promising," said See HEALTH PageA8 WASHINGTON The Senate Finance Committee's health care overhaul effort got a boost Wednesday when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would cost $829 billion and reduce the federal deficit by $81 billion over the next 10 years. That's good news for the committee and President Barack Obama, since the CBO reported not only that the measure meets their cost and deficit goals but also that 94 percent of eligible Americans could be expected to obtain coverage under it, up from the current 83 percent. About 23 million people would buy policies through Metropolitan Rank area Passengers 1.

Chicago 1.65 million 2. Dallas- 1.27 million Fort Worth 3. Atlanta 776,651 4. Denver 632,282 5. Phoenix 531,799 6.

New York 500,725 7. Orlando 456,772 8. Los Angeles 442,309 9. Detroit 442,174 10. Houston 409,174 Lambert Field of dreams EDITORS NOTE Efforts to get complete coverage of tonight's Mizzou game might result in later-than-normal delivery of Friday's paper.

WEATHER TODAY 62 TONIGHT 55 TOMORROW 59 FORECAST A22 STLtoday.combirdsnest post-dispatch weatherbird Vol. 131, NO. 281 2009 1 You're the last BLUES HOME OPENER Tonight vs. Atlanta FREE Team Calendar courtesy of Peoples National Bank Be a part of the pre-game Al Maclnnis statue dedication and rally starting at 5PM presented by FSMidwest and KMOX. stlouisblues.com 31U.622.BLUE25B3).