World Cup front-runners enter home straight

PARIS (AFP) – With 100 days to go until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the favourites begin their final preparations in a series of friendly matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pre-tournament form is a notoriously fickle indication of how a team will perform at the quadrennial football showpiece, but some of the sides bidding for glory are already beset by problems and controversies.
England's chances of a first World Cup success since 1966 were hyped to the hilt in the aftermath of their near-flawless qualifying campaign, but Fabio Capello's side has since become tainted by scandal.
John Terry was stripped of the captaincy following allegations of an extra-marital affair with the ex-girlfriend of international colleague Wayne Bridge, who turned his back on the England set-up as a consequence.
First-choice defenders Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole are all struggling for fitness, with Cole a doubt for the World Cup after breaking his ankle.
Capello, though, has sought to emphasise the importance of unity and has even stated his desire to include Bridge - the leading candidate to replace Cole at left-back - in his squad for the tournament.
"I respect Wayne Bridge's decision, but we have three months to change his decision. I open the door to all the players and now the door is open for the future of Wayne Bridge," said Capello, whose side host Africa Cup of Nations champions Egypt on Wednesday.
France's game with Spain at the Stade de France, meanwhile, opposes two teams with similarly high profiles but vastly different expectations.
After a distinctly under-par qualification campaign, France limped into the tournament in contentious fashion when Thierry Henry's now infamous handball put paid to the Republic of Ireland's World Cup dreams.
Coach Raymond Domenech has prevailed over four years of underachievement since defeat to Italy in the 2006 World Cup final but his successor will be named before the tournament, much to Domenech's discontent.
"Everything that comes from outside can disrupt, undermine and create weaknesses that could prove harmful during a long competition," he said.
"For one match, no, but for one month, with substitutes who won't play or who will only play a bit, it could be complicated and it could create tension."
European champions Spain, by contrast, approach the game in relative serenity.
The Euro 2008 winners won all 10 of their qualifying games and the principal task facing coach Vicente Del Bosque is one of dampening fervent expectations.
"We must be aware of who we are, not underestimate our opponents," he said.
"Thinking that we are the strongest is obviously stupid because we know that this competition demands concentration and humility if you are to win against any team."
Favourites Brazil, who tackle Ireland in London on Tuesday, must deal with the characteristic pressure that accompanies their participation in every major competition.
Coach Dunga has stamped his style on the team since he took over in 2007 and his counter-attacking system leaves no room for the flamboyant talents of Ronaldinho, who was once again overlooked for the game against Ireland.
"I guess it's normal (for Ronaldinho's absence to cause controversy) because the players who are absent are always the best and everyone wants to talk about who is not part of the national team," Dunga said.
Argentina coach Diego Maradona claims to have already informed "50 percent" of the players who will make up his 23-man squad for the World Cup, where Argentine hopes of a third trophy will rest heavily on the shoulders of European Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi.
The Albicelesti on Wednesday confront Germany, whose own preparations have been dogged by a dispute between coach Joachim Loew and the country's football federation over an extension to his contract.
Defending champions Italy face Cameroon in Monaco, with Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi having claimed last month that he already knows 17 of the 23 players he will take to South Africa.

Lidstrom lifts Red Wings over Avalanche, 3-2

DENVER – The Detroit Red Wings are healthy and ready to make a run at the playoffs.
That might bad news for the rest of the NHL.
Nicklas Lidstrom scored a power-play goal with 9:03 left in the third period and lifted the Red Wings past Colorado on Monday night and put themselves into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Tomas Holmstrom had a goal and two assists, Pavel Datsyuk had two assists and Jimmy Howard made 22 saves for Detroit, which won the first NHL game since Feb. 14 when the NHL took a two-week break for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The Red Wings, who came within a game last season of repeating as Stanley Cup champions, know they have to start winning to get a chance at another title.
"We've got to make a decision that we want to get in," coach Mike Babcock said. "We've got enough bodies now that we should be a good hockey club. We've got to decide to be a good hockey club."
The Red Wings have been hurt by injuries all year, but they've gotten key reinforcements back. Monday, Johan Franzen scored his fourth goal in just his seventh game and Andres Lilja returned after missing the whole season with a concussion.
"We know there's not much time left and we need to make a push," Howard said. "We feel like all we have to do is get into the playoffs and we'll be a dangerous team. No one's going to want to face us."
Detroit needs to make the playoffs first, and it had to grit out a win against Colorado.
The game was tied when Colorado defenseman Kyle Quincey drew a minor penalty for tripping with 10:01 remaining. Lidstrom's low shot 58 seconds later beat goalie Craig Anderson for the game-winner.
"When Pav got it back he had two guys lay in front of him so I just followed in behind him and he laid a pretty nice drop pass," Lidstrom said. "I didn't shoot it hard I just wanted to make sure it got through."
The Red Wings needed Lidstrom's heroics after Colorado wiped out a 2-0 deficit with second-period goals by Chris Stewart and T.J. Galiardi.
"I felt our energy level got better as the game went on," Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. "We played a team tonight that was very desperate for points."
The Red Wings scored twice in the first period before Colorado rallied in the second. Galiardi knocked a rebound through Howard's legs to make it 2-1 with his 10th goal of the season.
The Avalanche got even when Stewart's slapshot from the left circle beat Howard at 11:14 of the period, his 20th goal of the year.
"We showed good character to come back, especially against a team like Detroit," Galiardi said.
Both teams had chances to take the lead late in the second. Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart intercepted a pass on a Colorado two-on-one and Anderson stretched to make a right pad save on Franzen, who couldn't lift the puck into the open net.
Detroit looked in control at the start. Holmstrom scored his 17th goal when he took a pass from Datsyuk and beat Anderson with a quick shot in the top left corner to make it 1-0 6:06 into the game.
Franzen made it 2-0 on the power play when he beat Anderson in the same spot at 12:40 of the first period.
Detroit had a goal waved off when the officials ruled Holmstrom had incidental contact with Anderson with 13:32 left in the second period.
"Homer was in the paint and (referee) Kerry Fraser said he didn't allow the goalie to play," Babcock said. "That's the rule. You've got to be outside the paint."
Two minutes later, Galiardi scored to get Colorado on the board.
But the Red Wings prevailed, and now they're ready to make noise in the Western Conference playoff race.
"That's the best lineup we've dressed all year," Babcock said. "Wouldn't you love to draw us in the first round?"
Notes: Anderson had 27 saves. ... The Avalanche activated C Matt Hendricks after missing 12 games with an ankle injury. ... Colorado D Ruslan Salei's assist on Stewart's goal was his first point of the season. He missed 54 games with a back injury. ... Detroit C Jason Williams played in his 400th NHL game.

Roy and Blazers rally past Grizzlies 103-93

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Brandon Roy scored 25 points and Nicolas Batum added 21 as Portland erased a 14-point first-half deficit with a strong third quarter and defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 103-93 on Monday night.
LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 13, and Andre Miller scored 12 points and handed out 11 assists as the Trail Blazers ended their five-game road trip with four victories. They also solidified their hold on the Western Conference's eighth playoff spot.
It was the seventh straight road win for Portland over the Grizzlies. Meanwhile, Memphis extended its current home losing streak to seven.
Zach Randolph led Memphis with 22 points, and Rudy Gay finished with 19. Marc Gasol added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Conley scored 13.
Portland overtook Memphis by outscoring the Grizzlies 41-21 in the third, the Trail Blazers' highest point total in a quarter this season.
The Trail Blazers held a 13-point lead early in the fourth, and still led by 11 with 6:43 remaining. But Memphis went on an 11-2 run to pull within 91-89 on Randolph's two free throws with 3:25 left. Later, Randolph's three-point play cut the lead to 93-92.
But Memphis could get no closer.
The game was the first step in a week where Memphis, entering the night in the 10th spot in the West, could make some strides in the playoff race. In addition to playing the Trail Blazers, the eighth seed, Memphis travels to New Orleans, which is just ahead of it in ninth place.
The seventh-seeded San Antonio Spurs close out the Grizzlies' week.
The first step started off well, but eventually got out of hand in the second half.
Portland dealt with some early ball handling problems and managed to stay close until Memphis extended it to eight points as the miscues continued, a half-dozen of them in the first period.
The Trail Blazers would settle down after the opening quarter taking better care of the basketball, and the Portland reserves brought more energy on both ends of the floor.
That still didn't prevent Memphis from getting out on the break and controlling the boards and the paint.
Memphis' lead reached 14 before the Grizzlies carried a 53-41 lead into the dressing room behind 13 from Gay and 12 more from Randolph.
No Trail Blazers were in double figures at the break.
Portland immediately erased the Memphis advantage in the second half as the Trail Blazers hit nine of their first 11 shots. Batum's 3-pointer completed the rally, giving Portland the lead.
That was part of Batum's 12 points in the quarter, while Roy had 15. Portland outscored Memphis 41-21 for an 82-74 lead entering the fourth.
Portland outhustled Memphis in the second half, forcing 16 turnovers. That allowed Portland to lead by as many as 13 early in the fourth period before Memphis started its rally.
NOTES: Memphis has not won a home game since Feb. 1, defeating the Lakers 95-93. ... The Trail Blazers have not lost at game at FedExForum since Dec. 21, 2005. ... Memphis G Jamaal Tinsley missed his third game with a sore left hamstring. Center Steven Hunter also sat out with a sore left knee. Hunter has not played in 10 straight games. ... One of Memphis' first-half turnovers may have had something to do with translation. Hamed Haddadi, the Grizzlies' reserve center and the first player from Iran, took the ball out on the baseline after a Portland turnover. With the Trail Blazers pressing, Haddadi tried to create some space, running the baseline. The traveling call was immediate, giving the ball back to Portland.

Syracuse No. 1 for first time in 20 years

Syracuse took quite a route to its first No. 1 ranking in 20 years.
The Orange weren't in the preseason Top 25 and, just days after it was released with them in "Others Receiving Votes," they were beaten by Division II LeMoyne in an exhibition game.
But they were back in the poll — at No. 10, in fact — just two weeks into the season after impressive wins over California and North Carolina in the 2K Sports Classic.
The Orange haven't been out of the top 10 since and on Monday moved from fourth into the No. 1 spot, taking advantage of a weekend that saw the top three teams lose.
"It's a great honor, a great testament for these players, these kids, to be number one," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We all know it doesn't matter that much in the big picture, it's where you are at the end of the year. These kids have worked hard, been unselfish. They deserve it. They really do."
This is the third time the Hall of Fame coach has had the Orange at No. 1. There was the preseason poll in 1987-88 and a six-week stint in 1989-90.
"It's been a long time and we're happy to be there," said Boeheim, who has 826 wins in his 34th season at his alma mater.
Syracuse (27-2), which received 59 first-place votes from the national media panel, moved to the top off its 95-77 victory over then-No. 7 Villanova in front of an on-campus record crowd at the Carrier Dome.
As always, it's Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense, which it didn't use in the loss to LeMoyne, that is drawing all the attention in the rise up the polls.
"The biggest thing is that we've been the biggest we've been inside in a long time and we just cover better. These guys have worked a little harder at it," Boeheim said. "We're also still leading the nation in field goal percentage (52.2) so we've also been a very good offensive team. They really move the ball and pass the ball extremely well. We've been good on both ends of the court. It's not one thing really."
Syracuse is the sixth team to go from unranked in the opening poll to No. 1. Kansas was the last, reaching No. 1 on Jan. 9, 1990.
"We made an unbelievable move this year and we have really played pretty consistently all year. Based on the whole year we deserve it," Boeheim said. "We may not be the best team in the country but I'm not sure who else is."
Kansas, which had been No. 1 for the last four weeks and 13 polls overall this season, had the other six first-place votes and dropped to second. The Jayhawks (27-2) lost at Oklahoma State on Saturday, the same day Kentucky (27-2) lost at Tennessee.
The Wildcats, who were No. 1 for one week in January, fell one spot to third.
Texas, the fourth team to hold the No. 1 position this season, fell out of the rankings from 21st. The Longhorns became No. 1 for the first time in school history in January, but have dropped seven of 12 after their 17-0 start.
They are the fifth team to hold the No. 1 ranking and drop out of the poll in the same season — Alabama was the last to do it in 2002-03.
Duke and Kansas State each moved up one place each to fourth and fifth, while Ohio State jumped three spots to sixth. Purdue dropped from No. 3 to seventh following Sunday's 53-44 loss to Michigan State, the Boilermakers' first game since losing second-leading scorer and rebounder Robbie Hummel to a knee injury.
New Mexico was eighth, followed by Villanova and West Virginia.
Michigan State led the second 10, followed by Butler, Vanderbilt, BYU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, Georgetown and Temple. The last five ranked teams were Baylor, Maryland, Texas A&M, UTEP and Xavier.
Maryland (21-7), which is second to Duke in the ACC, was ranked for the first two weeks of the regular season. UTEP (22-5), which has won 12 straight, is ranked for the first time since February 1992. Xavier (21-7), co-leaders of the Atlantic 10, moved in for the first time this season, knocking out Richmond (22-7) with a double overtime win over the Spiders on Sunday.
Northern Iowa (25-4) dropped out from 25th after losing to Evansville, the last-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference.

9 Dems who voted no on health bill may reconsider

WASHINGTON – Nine House Democrats indicated in an Associated Press survey Monday they have not ruled out switching their "no" votes to "yes" on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, brightening the party's hopes in the face of unyielding Republican opposition.
The White House tried to smooth the way for them, showing its own openness to changes in the landmark legislation and making a point of saying the administration is not using parliamentary tricks or loopholes to find the needed support.
Democratic leaders have strongly signaled they will use a process known as "budget reconciliation" to try to push part of the package through the Senate without allowing Republicans to talk it to death with filibusters. The road could be even more difficult in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi is struggling to secure enough Democratic votes for approval, thus the effort to attract former foes.
The White House said Obama will outline his final "way forward" in a Washington speech Wednesday, and he is expected to embrace a handful of Republican ideas for making health care more efficient.
Few in Washington think those gestures will be enough to persuade a single House or Senate Republican to embrace the legislation. But they could give wavering Democrats political cover by showing the party has been willing to compromise, ammunition against campaign accusations this fall that they rammed the bill through Congress with no regard for other views.
The proposal would impose new restrictions on insurance companies and order health insurance coverage for as many as 30 million Americans who now lack it, among many other changes.
Persuading lawmakers to change their votes is a tough sell. Elected officials are loath to vote two ways on a controversial issue, feeling such a switch draws more resentment than support overall. Democratic leaders stress that the legislative package soon to reach the House will be less expensive than the one that passed in November and will contain no government-run insurance program to compete with private insurers.
They hope those changes will give additional cover to party moderates thinking of switching from no to yes.
The House version of health care passed 220-215 in November, with 39 Democrats voting against it. Since then, defections, resignations and a death have taken away yes votes.
With four House seats now vacant, Pelosi would need 216 votes to approve the Senate-passed version, which replaces the jettisoned House bill. That's exactly the number she has now if no other members switch their votes.
In interviews with the AP, at least nine of the 39 Democrats — or their spokesmen — either declined to state their positions or said they were undecided about the revised legislation, making them likely targets for intense wooing by Pelosi and Obama. Three of them — Brian Baird of Washington, Bart Gordon of Tennessee and John Tanner of Tennessee — are not seeking re-election this fall.
The others are Rick Boucher of Virginia, Suzanne Kosmas of Florida, Frank Kratovil of Maryland, Michael McMahon of New York, Scott Murphy of New York and Glenn Nye of Virginia. Several lawmakers' offices did not reply to the AP queries.
Rep. Walt Minnick of Idaho will not change his vote from no, his spokesman, Dean Ferguson, said Monday night. Minnick had declined to state a position when contacted earlier by the AP.
Both parties have used the "reconciliation" strategy to pass big bills before, but Republicans call the health care push an unwarranted departure from standard practices.
Top Democrats are reminding colleagues and voters at home that the Senate already has passed its version of the health care bill on Christmas Eve with a super-majority of 60 votes, which squelched a GOP filibuster without resorting to reconciliation rules. The new plan calls for the House to pass that same bill and send it to Obama for his signature.
But that is contingent on a Senate promise to make several subsequent changes. Those would have to be approved under the special budget reconciliation rules, because Democrats now control only 59 of the Senate's 100 votes — one shy of the number needed to stop a bill-killing filibuster.
Democratic leaders have asked colleagues not to use the term "reconciliation" but instead to refer to the process as "majority vote," said Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa. They also are frequently using the term "up or down vote."
The political math in the House is daunting. Many lawmakers expect further defections, especially members who oppose legalized abortion and feel the Senate language is too permissive in regulating federal funds for those operations.
For every yes vote that switches to no, Pelosi and the White House must persuade one of the 39 Democrats who voted "nay" in November to switch to yes.
Obama's announcement on Wednesday is expected to be a freshened blueprint of what he wants to see in a final health care bill, updated with ideas that at least have the fingerprints of Republicans.
The plan will replace the one Obama posted one week ago, but will not be written in legislative language.
Obama's move underscores his ever-growing role in shaping what he hopes will be a far-reaching revision to the nation's health care system, a goal that has eluded other presidents dating to Theodore Roosevelt.
Politically, it would also allow him to say that he was listening to Republicans at his ballyhooed bipartisan summit last week and that he has since responded by including more areas of common ground.
But Republicans have shown no sign of backing his proposal no matter how it is changed.
Obama also will outline how he wants the process to unfold in Congress. Officials signaled it will involve Senate reconciliation rules unless there's a stunning last-minute overture from Republicans.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs would not confirm that plan Monday. But he repeated that health care deserves an up-or-down vote and that Republicans have used reconciliation on major legislation.
When asked if the public cares about legislative process, Gibbs said: "I think the American people care about what's in the bill."
Since Thursday's summit, Obama has been involved in a series of meetings in which the new White House proposal is being shaped.
Gibbs said Obama has worked to get votes in every round of the health care debate. "I don't doubt that he will ... do the same thing this time to get the votes necessary to pass health care," Gibbs said.
Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House's second-ranking Republican, made it clear that Republicans see a Democrats-only bill as an election-year issue.
"If Speaker Pelosi rams through this bill," he said this weekend, Democrats "will lose their majority in Congress in November."
Meanwhile Monday, Obama's argument that private insurance plans serving one-fourth of Medicare recipients are significantly overpaid got support from a report to Congress by nonpartisan technical advisers. Democrats have targeted Medicare Advantage plans for a big chunk of the cuts that would free funds to cover the uninsured.
The report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission found that last year Medicare spent about $14 billion more for seniors enrolled in private plans than would have been the case if those beneficiaries had stayed in the traditional program. One consequence was that all Medicare recipients _whether in private plans or the traditional program_ ended up paying an additional $3.35 a month in premiums to cover the costs.
The Senate health care bill that Obama supports would replace the current payment formula for the private plans with an approach based on competitive bidding.
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Associated Press writers Ben Feller, Erica Werner, Alan Fram and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar in Washington; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md.; Valerie Bauman in Albany, N.Y.; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Meghan Barr in Cleveland; Melissa Nelson in Pensacola, Fla.; Robert Lewis in Richmond, Va., Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn.; Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth, Texas; Dirk Lammers in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, La., contributed to this report.

Calif. parents recount ordeal of missing daughter

SAN DIEGO – Brent and Kelly King knew something was wrong when they discovered their 17-year-old daughter Chelsea wasn't home.
They called her cell phone, then her friends. They tried an AT&T Web site, which led them to her phone, left inside her 1994 BMW in Rancho Bernardo Community Park, a giant, wooded area on the northern edge of San Diego.
"Because it was so out of character for Chelsea not to tell us or call us and say I'm going to be late ... we just had that feeling," Brent King recalled Monday in an interview with The Associated Press, four days after his daughter disappeared.
Kelly King called 911 as her husband drove to the park. Brent found his daughter's belongings inside her car then spotted a running trail into the woods. Chelsea is an avid runner.
"I took off and ran down the trail as far as I could run, calling out for my daughter at the top of my voice in every direction," he said.
A massive search was under way for Chelsea King as authorities questioned a registered sex offender arrested Sunday for investigation of her murder and rape.
John Gardner III, 30, remained in custody without bail after his arrest outside a Mexican restaurant in suburban Escondido. Steve Walker, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said a decision would be made by Wednesday about filing charges against Gardner.
Sheriff Bill Gore said physical evidence recovered during the search linked Gardner to the disappearance, but he declined to elaborate.
Gore said on ABC's "Good Morning that the interrogation of Gardner had not been productive.
"We questioned Mr. Gardner into the evening and so far we still don't know where Chelsea is," Gore said. "We're confident that we have the right man in custody. Now we've just got to find Chelsea."
About 100 agents searched a rugged, four-square-mile area of the park Monday. The FBI's Los Angeles office also brought sonar equipment to search Lake Hodges and 14 miles of shoreline.
"The terrain is tricky out there," said Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. "They're going slowly for the safety but also slowly to make sure they cover every single square inch."
Authorities also searched Gardner's home in Lake Elsinore and his mother's home in San Diego, Caldwell said. She declined to comment on what, if any evidence, the searches produced.
King's parents said they last saw Chelsea when she went to bed about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday after playing French horn in a school concert. On the way home, they mailed an application for financial aid at Boston University, one of 11 colleges where she applied.
The parents heard Chelsea leave the house at 6:15 a.m. Thursday for a peer counseling commitment. But she wasn't home at 5:30 p.m., when Brent King returned from the gym and his wife got home with groceries.
They described their daughter as a straight-A student and avid runner who plays French horn for the San Diego Youth Symphony. At suburban Poway High School, Chelsea runs on the cross-country team.
"That was her outlet when she was stressed about a test or needed to just clear her head," Kelly King said.
Chelsea was born in Poway, a well-to-do suburb of homes and office parks northeast of San Diego. Her family, including her 13-year-old brother, followed Brent King to various mortgage banking jobs in the San Francisco Bay area and suburban Chicago before returning to the San Diego area.
Their home was badly damaged in 2007 wildfires that ravaged Southern California. Brent, 47, is now between jobs. Kelly, 48, works as a medical assistant in dermatologist's office.
Chelsea researched 90 colleges, with an eye toward a career that would combine her interests in writing and environmental protection. She has been accepted by the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia.
"She is one of the most driven, personable, caring people that you could ever meet," Brent King said. "Her goal in life is to brighten everyone's day. That's what she does, and when she walks into the room, you know she's there."
She often stays up studying past midnight, working so hard that her parents urge her to ease off and spend more time with friends. Long-distance running was her escape.
"That was her outlet when she was stressed about a test or needed to just clear her head," Kelly King said.
Investigators also suspect Gardner could be tied to a Dec. 27 assault on a female jogger from Colorado who fended off her attacker in the same park.
Gardner, a resident of Lake Elsinore, about 75 miles north of Poway, was required to register as a sex offender because of a conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, the Megan's Law Web site said.
He was convicted in May 2000 of molesting a 13-year-old female neighbor and sentenced to six years in prison. A psychiatrist who interviewed Gardner said he showed no remorse for his actions. according to the court records obtained by the newspaper.
"There is no known treatment for an individual that sexually assaults girls and does not admit to it in any way," Dr. Matthew Carroll said in the documents.
At Poway High School, students and staff members wore blue shirts to represent the color of the teen's eyes and tied blue ribbons around campus light poles. Signs posted at the school said Chelsea was 5-foot-5, 115 pounds, with strawberry blonde hair.
Principal Scott Fisher thanked students for their search efforts, echoing King's parents, who said the massive effort by law enforcement and volunteers was sustaining their spirits.

Tsunami sweeps away entire towns on Chilean coast

TALCAHUANO, Chile – When the shaking stopped, Marioli Gatica and her extended family huddled in a circle on the floor of their seaside wooden home in this gritty port town, listening to the radio by a lantern's light.
They heard firefighters urging Talcahuano's citizens to stay calm and stay inside. They heard nothing of a tsunami — until it slammed into their house with an unearthly roar about an hour after Saturday's magnitude 8.8 quake.
Gatica's house exploded with water. She and her family were swept below the surface, swirling amid loose ship containers and other massive debris that smashed buildings into oblivion all around them.
"We were sitting there one moment and the next I looked up into the water and saw cables and furniture floating," Gatica said.
She clung to her 11-year-old daughter, Ninoska Elgueta, but the rush of water ripped the girl from her hands. Then the wave retreated as suddenly as it came.
Two of the giant containers crushed Gatica's home. A third landed seaward of where she floated, preventing the retreating tsunami from dragging her and other relatives away.
Soon Ninoska was back in her mother's arms — she had grabbed a tree branch to avoid being swept away and climbed down as soon as the sea receded.
Gatica's son, husband and 76-year-old father were OK as well, as were her sister and her family. The only relative missing was her 76-year-old mother, Nery Valdebenito, Gatica said as she waited in a hundreds-long line outside a school to report her losses.
"I think my mother is trapped beneath" the house, Gatica said.
As she spoke, firefighters with search dogs were examining the ruins of her home blocks away. Minutes later, the group leader drew his finger across his neck: No one alive under the house.
Such horrors abound along the devastated beach communities of Chile's south-central coast, which suffered the double tragedy Saturday of the earthquake and the tsunami it caused. Of the quake's 723 victims, most were in the wine-growing Maule region that includes Talcahuano, now a mud-caked, ravaged town of 180,000 just north of Concepcion.
Close to 80 percent of Talcahuano's residents are homeless, with 10,000 homes uninhabitable and hundreds more destroyed, said Mayor Gaston Saavedra.
"The port is destroyed. The streets, collapsed. City buildings, destroyed," Saavedra said.
In Concepcion, the biggest city near the epicenter, rescuers heard the knocking of victims trapped inside a toppled 70-unit apartment building Monday and were drilling through thick concrete to reach them, said fire Commander Juan Carlos Subercaseux. By late Monday, firefighters had pulled 25 survivors and nine bodies from the structure.
Chile's defense minister has said the navy made a mistake by not immediately activating a tsunami warning. He said port captains who did call warnings in several coastal towns saved hundreds of lives.
The waves came too quickly for a group of 40 retirees vacationing at a seaside campground in the village of Pelluhue. They had piled into a bus that was swept out to sea, along with trucks and houses, when the tsunami surged 200 meters (yards) into the summer resort town.
As of Monday, firefighters said, five of the retirees' bodies had been recovered. At least 30 remained missing.
Most residents in Pelluhue, where 300 homes were destroyed, were aware of the tsunami threat. Street signs point to the nearest tsunami evacuation route.
"We ran through the highest part of town, yelling, 'Get out of your homes!'" said Claudio Escalona, 43, who fled his home near the campground with his wife and daughters, ages 4 and 6. "About 20 minutes later came three waves, two of them huge, about 6 meters (18 feet) each, and a third even bigger. That one went into everything."
"You could hear the screams of children, women, everyone," Escalona said. "There were the screams, and then a tremendous silence."
In the village of Dichato, teenagers drinking on the beach were the first to shout the warning when they saw a horseshoe-shaped bay empty about an hour after the quake. They ran through the streets, screaming. Police joined them, using megaphones.
The water rose steadily, surging above the second floors of homes and lifting them off their foundations. Cars were stacked three high in the streets. Miles inland along a river valley, cows munched Monday next to marooned boats, refrigerators, sofas and other debris.
"The maritime radio said there wouldn't be a tsunami," said survivor Rogilio Reyes, who was tipped off by the teenagers.
Dichato Mayor Eduardo Aguilera said 49 people were missing and 800 homes were destroyed. Some people fled to high ground, only to return too early and get caught by the tsunami, he said. Fourteen bodies were found by Monday. The only aid: A fire department water truck.
The World Health Organization said it expected the death toll to rise as communications improve. For survivors, it said access to health services will be a major challenge and noted that indigenous people living in adobe homes were most at risk.
In Geneva, U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said Chile was seeking temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electric generators, damage assessment teams, water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis centers.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was bringing 20 satellite phones as a first piece of a much larger U.S. aid package. Argentina said it was sending six aircraft loaded with a field hospital, 55 doctors and water treatment plants, and Brazil said it was sending a field hospital and rescue teams. Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, visited the capital of Santiago to express his solidarity.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said authorities were flying 320 tons of food, water and other basics into the quake zone.
Assessments of damage to Chile's economy were in the early stage. The copper industry was spared, while Concha y Toro, Chile's biggest winemaker, said Monday that the quake has forced it to halt production for at least a week while it assesses damage.
Security was a major concern in Concepcion and other hard-hit towns. Most markets in Concepcion were ransacked by looters and people desperate for food, water, toilet paper, gasoline and other essentials Sunday, prompting authorities to send troops and impose an overnight curfew in the city. The interior ministry extended the Concepcion curfew to run from 8 p.m. Monday to noon Tuesday.
When a small convoy of armored vehicles drove along a downtown street, bystanders applauded, shouting: "Finally! Finally!"
Throughout Talcahuano, stick-wielding residents barricaded streets with tires and rubble to protect their homes in the absence of law enforcement.
Downtown, eight suspected looters kneeled outside a pharmacy, their hands on their heads, as a police officer taunted them.