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From left, members of Game Elite: John Carlos Reyes, Avery Patterson, Antonio Lang, Shawntrez DavisLAS VEGAS -- They strolled into the auxiliary gym at Rancho High School with backpacks on and the message clear on their shirts: I AM TRAYVON. Every player on Game Elite's 17U squad was donning the T-shirts during warm-ups and didn't remove them until it was time to tip. The AAU program based out of Atlanta first displayed the shirts Wednesday night, and per program co-director Ryan Falker, they'll wear the shirts before and after games for the duration of their stay for tournament play in...

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln took a hard blow to its academic reputation when it was kicked out of an organization of the nation’s top research universities this week. It was the first time ever that the now 62-member Association of American Universities had voted to remove a member.

Henry Wittenberg, an Olympic gold and silver medalist who became one of America’s greatest amateur wrestlers while he was a New York City police officer, died on Tuesday at his home in Somers, N.Y. He was 91.

> Those companies should be permitted to declare bankruptcy so that someone in the private sector can buy them at a discount, if they are worth purchasing. > Why not let them be bought by others in bankruptcy? There are those who say we are bailing out companies in order to prevent massive layoffs. In my view, those layoffs will come sooner or later anyhow because those companies are run by incompetents and no longer able to compete, while foreign companies like Toyota, manufacturing their cars in the U.S., are selling them and not seeking to be bailed out. >

GM capital injections likely very dilutive; suspending equity rating. What's changed: Following GM’s 3Q2008 $6.9 bn operating cash outflow, which left it with only $16.2 bn on its balance sheet, the need to secure government funding has significantly accelerated. We think GM needs an infusion of at least $22 bn in capital to bring operations back to positive FCF territory. We have suspended our investment rating and price target on GM because there is not currently a sufficient basis for determining an investment rating or price target for this company. Our previous investment rating and target are no longer in...

General Motors chairman Rick Wagoner says that his company is in such poor financial shape -- indeed, Deutsche Bank considers the company's stock worthless -- that it "needs" welfare assistance from American taxpayers before it runs out of cash. Well, Wagoner didn't put it exactly like that. He called it a "federal aid package." "This is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently," Wagoner told Automotive News, adding that now is the time to "overshoot, not undershoot" the level of assistance. GM is willing to offer the government preferred stock, speed the introduction of fuel-efficient vehicles and set limits...

DETROIT — Momentum is building in Washington for a rescue package for the auto industry to head off a possible bankruptcy filing by General Motors, which is rapidly running low on cash. But not everyone agrees that a Chapter 11 filing by G.M. would be the disaster that many fear. Some experts note that while bankruptcy would be painful, it may be preferable to a government bailout that may only delay, at considerable cost, the wrenching but necessary steps G.M. needs to take to become a stronger, leaner company. Although G.M.’s labor contracts would be at risk of termination in...