Scientist Tests Husband’s DNA, Fidelity Scientist Tests DNA on Husband’s Underwear to Check for Signs of Cheating By KATHY BARKS The Associated Press

LANSING, Mich.

A state forensics scientist who said she tested DNA in her husband’s underwear to find out whether he was cheating could be disciplined if investigators determine she violated the use of state equipment.

Ann Chamberlain-Gordon of Okemos testified in a March 7 divorce hearing that she ran the test in September on the underwear of Charles Gordon Jr. Asked by his attorney what she found, she answered: “Another female. It wasn’t me.”

She also said during a May 25 hearing in Ingham County Family Court that she ran the test on her own time with chemicals that were set to be thrown away.

Michigan State Police, which oversees the Lansing forensics lab where Chamberlain-Gordon works, started to investigate her after her husband’s attorney wrote to authorities and media outlets questioning how many times DNA tests have been improperly run.

Investigators expect to decide by next week what they found. Her duties have not been restricted during the investigation, state police spokeswoman Shanon Akans said Tuesday.

“We don’t know exactly what was or wasn’t done,” Akans said.

State police policies on the care and use of property say “department supplies, materials or equipment shall not be used for any non-duty or non-department purpose.”

A request for comment was left Tuesday with Chamberlain-Gordon.

Charles Gordon’s attorney, Michael Maddaloni, said Tuesday that his client disputed his wife’s testimony that he acknowledged a sexual encounter with another woman after she found the female DNA on his underwear.

Gordon played with the Canadian Football League as a defensive back from the early 1990s through 1997.

Chamberlain-Gordon received the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Michigan State Police Biological Services in 2006 for her research and method development in embryonic and fetal DNA recovery, according to Forensic Science Consultants Inc., which lists her among its workers.

Chamberlain-Gordon has worked for the state police as a forensic scientist since 1999 and supervised the biology unit in 2005, according to the company’s Web site. She has given expert testimony in more than 50 cases, including at a widely publicized trial last year in the death of a boy slain by his adoptive parents.

IT IS Britain’s most maligned and derided town centre. Hated and condemned by residents and critics as a grim modernist monstrosity, Cumbernauld holds that least coveted of titles: “most dismal town in Britain”.

Not even its appearance as the backdrop for parts of Bill Forsyth’s much-loved Gregory’s Girl was enough to lend a nostalgic sheen to its maze of corridors, which have been described variously as “a rabbit warren on stilts”, “the Lego fantasy of an unhappy child” and the “Kabul of the North”.

But planners sought to bring an end to the Lanarkshire town’s woes yesterday, when they unveiled a 40 million shopping centre that they claim will transform its reputation.

However, residents begged to differ on the impact it is likely to have, claiming that the new mall was “too little, too late”.

It is hoped that the 350,000sq ft Antonine Centre will breathe new life into the beleaguered area.

High street names, including Woolworths and TK Maxx, have agreed to pour cash into the town by establishing stores in the flagship mall.

Town officials believe it will also boost employment levels and help restore confidence in the town.

They are confident it will encourage people living in the Central Belt to head to Cumbernauld rather than Stirling or Falkirk for their shopping.

The new development is the first phase in a long-term regeneration project for the town, which has taken a knock in recent years because of the poor state of the former shopping centre.

But locals claimed the new development would not solve Cumbernauld’s plight, and said that planners should have demolished the older shopping centre before building a new one.

Housewife Sandra Gribben, 40, said of the new centre: “I would not be surprised if the shops are all boarded up this time next year.

“So far the new building looks lovely, but I do not think it will be enough to change the town’s reputation - they should have pulled down the other shopping centre as well. I also think there are too many of the same old shoe shops, sports shops and pound shops in here.”

Hairdresser Katrina Murray, 30, who also lives in the town, said she was sceptical.

“I still think this is the worst town. I don’t think a new shopping centre is enough. There is no point building this and leaving the rest of the place as it is.

“It would be better if they also had a bowling alley or something like that.”

Mother-of-five Lisa McMillan, 33, said: “I definitely think the money could have been spent more wisely. It would have been better if they had done up the old shopping centre and spent the rest on better facilities for families.”

But Gerry McElroy, chairman of Cumbernauld Campsie Centre, which will oversee the regeneration of the area, claimed that the opening was a landmark moment.

He said: “I think this new shopping centre will go a long way to restoring confidence in the town centre area as a whole.

“It is a quality development, a quality building. It provides quality shopping facilities and it brings employment prospects into the area.”

North Lanarkshire provost Thomas Curley, who opened the building, said the town’s future looked bright.

He said: “This is the first phase in the redevelopment of Cumbernauld. There will be other things provided as the years go by. I am sure when people see the new shopping centre they will want to develop further.”

Almost 7,000 people attended the grand opening, which featured a pipe band and a troop of Roman soldiers. LONG AWAITED

THE road to the refurbishment of Cumbernauld’s centre has been long and winding. Plans were first unveiled in 1995, but ran into legal difficulties. The Antonine Centre itself was delayed in 2003 when the owners of the existing shopping centre objected to the closure of a pedestrian path during construction.

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http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1396

(07-04) 05:26 PDT BEIJING, China (AP) —

Chrysler Group signed a deal Wednesday with China’s biggest automaker, Chery, to produce cars for export to the United States and elsewhere in the first attempt by a U.S. automaker to use China as a manufacturing base for world markets.

The first cars will be exported within a year to Latin America or Eastern Europe, and models should reach the United States and Western Europe within 2 1/2 years, said Chrysler Chairman and CEO Tom LaSorda.

“As of today, we’re committed to building vehicles here for export,” LaSorda said at a signing ceremony held at a Chinese government guesthouse. “We will combine Chrysler’s research and technology and global reach with Chery’s lean manufacturing.”

The deal is part of money-losing Chrysler’s strategy of trying to cut costs and respond more quickly to market demands through production deals with local partners around the world. In May, DaimlerChrysler AG, maker of Mercedes luxury cars, agreed to sell 80.1 percent of Chrysler to U.S.-based Cerberus Capital Management for $7.4 billion.

The vehicles made by Chrysler and Chery could become the first cars produced in China to be sold in the United States.

The first vehicle exported will be based on Chery’s A1 compact sedan and sold under the Dodge brand, LaSorda said. The companies would jointly develop future models, probably with Chrysler styling on a Chery platform, he and Chery CEO and Chairman Yin Tongyao said.

The 1.3-liter Chery A1 retails at between $7,100 and $7,900 in China, although export prices have not been set.

Another Chinese automaker, Changfeng Motor Co., said in January it hoped to sell sport-utility vehicles in the United States within two years but has given no details of its plans. Chery had an earlier deal with American entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin to sell cars in the United States but that fell through.

LaSorda said he had “no concerns at all” about convincing American consumers that Chinese-made cars are safe at a time of warnings about seafood, tires and other goods imported from China. Chrysler would work closely with Chery to ensure the cars meet U.S. and European safety and emissions standards, he said.

Major automakers all have set up factories in China, which overtook Japan last year to become the world’s No. 2 vehicle market after the United States. But until now, production has focused on meeting booming local demand.

China’s own small but ambitious automakers are eager to break into the U.S. and other major markets, but analysts say they cannot meet safety and pollution-control standards on their own.

Chinese automakers sold 325,000 vehicles abroad last year, mostly low-priced trucks and buses exported to African, Asian and other developing markets.

Chery Automobile Co., founded in 1997 and based in the eastern city of Wuhu, is China’s biggest and fastest-growing automaker. It reported sales of 270,000 units last year in China, with about 40,000 more exported.

The Chrysler deal will help Chery improve its skills as it tries to expand foreign sales of its own models, Chery’s Yin said.

“Chery is still young, so we should learn from Chrysler and improve our own competitive edge in the near future,” he said.

China’s red-hot market has been a bright spot for U.S. automakers amid lackluster sales at home. General Motors Corp. was the market leader last year.

Total passenger car sales rose 37 percent last year to 3.8 million, while total vehicle sales rose 25.1 percent to 7.2 million, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Chrysler and Chery declined to release financial details but LaSorda the venture’s sales in some foreign markets were expected to reach several hundred thousand vehicles a year.

LaSorda said Chrysler picked Chery after looking at potential partners in Europe and Asia.

“We researched the world and found they were the best,” he said, referring to Chery.

Asked whether Chrysler was worried that the alliance might help Chery develop into a competitor that might threaten its U.S. partner, LaSorda told The Associated Press, “No, we’re not. With us or without us, they’re going to grow. So the question is, ‘Are you going to go with a winner?’”

___

On the Net:

Chery Automobile Co. (in Chinese):

Chrysler Group:

«www.chery.com.cn»

«www.chrysler.com»