What we like about Yoo

Film rocks out with new kind of screen teen

Aaron Yoo is a pretty lucky guy. In the past 16 months alone, he's scammed casino bigwigs in Vegas with a gang of collegiate card sharks ("21"), played amateur suburban sleuth alongside cute "it-boy" ShiaLaBeouf ("Disturbia") and, in his latest cinematic romp, Yoo gets to jam with his best pals in a queercore band on Manhattan's �ber-hip Lower East Side, then rage around the Big Apple all night in pursuit of drunken friends and indie rockers, all in the name of true love. It's not a bad way to spend a year, eh?

OK, maybe Yoo's high-profile hijinks are all Hollywood make-believe, but the LA.based Yoo is definitely on a roll. And his …

EasyJet, Ryanair airlines threaten to withhold portion of airport fees

Low-cost airlines easyJet and Ryanair threatened Tuesday to withhold part of the landing charges they pay airport owner BAA while they challenge the latest fee increases in court.

EasyJet chief executive Andy Harrison said his airline will hold back paying some of the 21 percent increase in charges at London's Gatwick airport until a court reviews fee increases that took effect on April 1.

"We are determined to address a regulatory decision which we consider to be unlawful and damaging for the airlines, our passengers and the industry as a whole," Harrison wrote in a letter to BAA.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said his …

Never a cross word from ralph

I Had great difficulty solving last week's Chronicle 'QuickCrossword', which still usually managed to complete, with the help ofsome 'thesaurus', in around an hour or two.

This evening, I managed to complete the crossword in just over aquarter of an hour, with just one word causing me consternation. The word was, 'testimony', which turned into, 'evidence'.

Obviously, your normal crossword puzzle setter was on holiday lastweek, much to my chagrin and …

U.S., Pakistan resume non-proliferation talks

Reviving non-proliferation talks dormant since February 1999, Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar visited Washington June 15 to meet with Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and other high-level U.S. officials. Initiated after the May 1998 Indian-Pakistani nuclear tests, the talks, which have also been undertaken with India, have produced little concrete progress to date. Instability on the subcontinent-including the April 1999 fall of the Indian government, ongoing Indian-Pakistani fighting in Kashmir, and the October 1999 coup that ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-contributed to the long lapse since the last meeting.

The latest round of talks covered a wide …

Garrett still thrilled about '94 Thanksgiving win

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Knocking off the reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints for his third straight win since taking over the Dallas Cowboys would be one heck of a Thanksgiving feat for Jason Garrett.

It just wouldn't be his best.

That distinction will always belong to Nov. 24, 1994, when Garrett filled in for injured starter Troy Aikman and ailing backup Rodney Peete to rally the two-time Super Bowl champion Cowboys to a 42-31 victory over Brett Favre, Reggie White and the Green Bay Packers.

"I'll never forget just how much they rallied around this guy who probably wasn't good enough, to be honest with you," Garrett said. "It was a fun day."

In his …

Hurricane propels Jackson's justice quest at EPA

More than four years after Hurricane Katrina, the single-story brick rancher in Pontchartrain Park where Lisa Perez Jackson grew up stands empty.

Floodwaters long ago ate away the walls of her corner bedroom, where the current head of the Environmental Protection Agency once hung Michael Jackson and Prince posters and studied her way to the top of her high school class.

Faded spray paint, left by search teams to indicate that no bodies were found, serves as a reminder of the day Jackson evacuated her mother, Marie, to Bossier City ahead of the approaching storm.

Katrina was the closest that an environmental disaster had hit home for someone who has …

Hinsdale South OL Pape to shun early commitment

You don't want to miss this matchup.

On one side is Tony Pape, Hinsdale South's 6-7, 290-poundoffensive tackle. He is the top-rated football prospect in theChicago area for 1998.

On the other side is Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. When the Mayevaluation period begins next weekend, he plans to offer Pape ascholarship. It's an offer he doesn't think Pape can refuse.But Pape insists he won't make an early commitment. He wants toenjoy his senior season, then select five colleges to visit beforemaking a decision in time for the February signing period.So when Carr calls next week, Pape will tell him that he isinterested in visiting Michigan - and UCLA, Ohio State and …