The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 1

r0 i 1 i I 3 i i -J KELLIE PICKLER MAKES THE GRADE LOCALS STATE Small is the new big I style -r' FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24 2006 I Price varies by county I 504 wwwcharlottecom Ml I TIIIL SCHOOLS i iuir fvyss The schools The fans 2 pages of special coverage inside 6 7A US figure skater Sasha Cohen gets up after falling during the women's long program at the Winter Olympics on Thursday Falls put dreams of gold on ice Japan's Shizuka Arakawa soars past Cohen Slutskaya to capture figure skating title LESSONS LEARNED Parties reunions and yes hoops The CIAA finally got it right After holding its basketball tournament in towns such as Richmond Va Raleigh and Winston-Salem they moved it to a city The basketball begins next week at Charlotte Bobcats Arena Some of you sec the CIAA tournament as a reunion some as a party and a few as a basketball competition I see it as adult education covered the tournament in each of the towns I mentioned and learned something every year I learned that if a basketball player you better play Lose at the CIAA and people will talk behind you behind you behind a Johnson Smith player in the mid-1990s told me the fans had told him you lose and like are want to be talked about? Win I learned new words and phrases written this before SEE SORENSEN I 7A By JemeleHiil Orlando Sentinel TURIN Italy It really was the last woman standing Certainly Shizuka Arakawa skated flawlessly to win the gold medal in figure skating Thursday night giving Japan its first medal of the Winter Olympics It was also the first gold for an Asian country in figure skating The surprise however was that her competitors stand upright long enough to give Arakawa a challenge American champion Sasha Cohen stumbled twice and won the silver Russian Irina Slutskaya won the bronze after falling flat during her routine Both Cohen and mistakes only succeeded in making victory more certain She finished with 19134 points almost eight points ahead of Cohen face lit up when she finished When she saw the marks that moved her into first place she pumped her fists in a rare display of exuber- SEE OLYMPICS I 8A INSIDE 1C I Silver medal was gift ID I Pineville firm gives bobsledder a push 5C I Joey Cheek plans a mission MORE COVERAGE AT CHARL0nECOM MOHAMMED ADNAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO A poster of Shiite Muslim leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani towers Thursday over a rally in Baghdad to condemn a Wednesday attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra Iraq The attack was suspected to be the work of Sunni militants Sectarian Violence Across Iraq Sunni mosques have been attacked imams have been killed and abducted and civilians have died 129 dead daylight curfew set as escalation feared at prayers today Keep up with blogs on charlottecomsports by reporter Celeste Smith and columnist Tonya Jameson Discover Johnson Smith University with our audiovisual presentations on leadership and student voices Goto charlottecomsports for more coverage including event listings Today's section highlights CIAA entertainment including Patti performance that destroyed the golden dome of one of Shiite most important shrines Most of the 129 dead were Sunni police said The US military said seven American soldiers had been killed in two roadside bombings north of Baghdad on Wednesday Late Thursday state television announced a curfew banning foot and vehicle traffic until 4 pm today in four central provinces including predominantly Sunni areas The measure is intended to SEE IRAQ I 4A By Nancy A Youssf and Tom Lassfter Knight Ridder HACiiiOAD Iraq Sectarian killings spread through Iraq on Thursday leaving more than 120 dead as gunmen patrolled neighborhoods across the country and fears rose that the nation was careening toward open civil war Police reported that at least 129 Iraqis had been killed in the 36 hours since a group of men in Samarra widely presumed to be from minority Sunni Muslim population detonated two bombs Observer Exclusive Black ups ante for taxpayers to fund legal bills By Mark Johnson miohnson a charlotteobservur com RAI I KH House Speaker Jim Black has asked for up to in taxpayer money to pay legal bills from complying with a federal grand subpoenas to his office In a separate request the office has approved up to $20000 to pay for two lawyers to represent 33 current and former members of staff plus career legislative staffers The lawyers ill help respond to the subpoenas or to the ongoing federal and state investigations tied to Black's office Black already was authorized by the office to spend up to $30000 in taxpav er funds to deal ith the subpoenas His legal counsel Dianna Jessup asked to raise the cap on the fees to SEE REQUESTS I 8A INSIDE Also in the News Prince Charles tries to keep diary private I 18A Average family income drops to $70700 I ID Nations World I 13A Bush tries to calm storm over ports The White 1 louse may slow down a deal with an Arab company to run six US ports to give Congress time to review it Also former Sen Bob Dole says his new job ill not include lobbying Congress for Dubai Ports World Local State I IB 3 women dead links investigated Police are trying to determine if a body found last cek is tied to earlier Union County killings Coming Saturday Stunningly small Tips for turning 700 square feet into boldly stylish space Sunny and mild Low: 34 High: 62 Cooler morning Sunny afternoon Clear and cool evening Forecast 6B Ask Amy 7E Horoscope 7E Business ID Movies in Classified IF Obituaries 3B Comics 6E Sports 1C Editorial 10A TV 5E Delivery Assistance (800)532-5350 This newspaper is printed in part on recycled paper and is recyclable I 1 8 7 2006 The Charlotte Observer Vol 137 No 55 4 III I nil l83520H5 1321.