CLAYTON, N.C. - The forecast called for heavy snow on the route home, so the three pilots who had just flown a covert CIA-sponsored so-called ``extraordinary rendition'' flight were forced to stay an extra night at the Gran Melia Victoria, a luxury hotel on the Spanish island of Majorca.

In Room 552, the pilot who called himself Capt. James Fairing picked up the phone at 2:28 in the afternoon and dialed his tree-shaded home in a subdivision carved out of rolling pine forests here in Clayton, south of Raleigh.

Fairing's co-pilot, who registered as Eric Matthew Fain, reached for the phone in his 10th-floor room and called a woman back home with whom he owns a 22-foot speedboat and who also flies missions for the CIA. The third pilot from the stranded flight carried a U.S. passport issued to Kirk James Bird.

Sorry, soccer moms: Minivans are at road's end

I have never owned a minivan, though I think they have a place in our society. A number of manufacturers apparently don't. So many minivans have bitten the dust that it represents a major sea change in the automotive world, and I'm not talking about some of the obscure ones -- anybody else remember the Mitsubishi minivan from 1988? Big, square, tipsy? Didn't think so.

Some of the models that either are gone or will be soon: Ford Freestar, Mercury Monterey, Mazda MPV, Chevrolet Uplander, Saturn Relay, Pontiac Montana, Buick Terraza. Reportedly Nissan is unhappy with sales of the Quest: It sold only 31,905 last year, down from a not-much-better 40,357 in 2005.

One of the problems with minivans, for a manufacturer such as Nissan, is that a lot of the company's profit comes from how many vehicles you can build and sell from a minimum of platforms, with a minimum of changes.

Toyota puts first incentives on the Prius

Though not many noticed, Toyota employed the use of incentives to increase sales of its Prius hybrid for the first time ever in January. The incentives varied around the country and included low lease payments, cheap financing and cash back to dealers for each unit sold. Automotive News reports that in New York state, customers could order up a Prius lease for just $249 per month. In Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky, shoppers could finance the little guy for 3.9% for 36 months. Toyota's goal is to reach 150,000 Prius sales in 2007, which is a large jump by any measure considering that only 106,971 units were sold in 2006, down from 107,897 in 2005. We remember a time when the line for a Prius was out the door and interested parties waited months for delivery of one of those shiny, new Priuses. It's interesting that in just the first month of 2007, Toyota has already resorted to incentives to ensure that its goal of 150,000 sold remains in sight.

Drug and Alcohol Arrests by MSP in St. Mary's County

Does large number of drug and alcohol-related arrests stemming from routine traffic stops suggest that the user's habit has adversely affected their brain, or did their condition pre-date their drug use?

LEONARDTOWN, Md. - The Leonardtown Barrack of the Maryland State Police (MSP) today released the following drug and alcohol-related incident and arrest reports.

On Wednesday, February 7, 2007 at 9:52 am, TFC Grimes & Tpr Evans observed a red Pontiac Grand Am exceeding the posted speed limit on Rt. 235 in the area of Pegg Rd. in Lexington Park. A traffic stop was initiated for the violation. Contact was made with the driver, Shawn Michael Merchant, 19, of Callaway. Tpr. Evans detected an odor of burnt marijuana emitting from the vehicle. A MVA check revealed Mr.

Nissan Altima Climbs to Top of Consumer Reports' Ratings for ...

Yonkers, N.Y. - Consumer Reports - infoZine - The redesigned Nissan Altima accelerated to the top of Consumer Reports' ratings of family sedans in tests for the March 2007 issue. Rated "Excellent" overall the Altima now ranks alongside CR's top-rated Volkswagen Passat, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry. The Altima 3.5SE virtually ties with the Honda Accord V6, Consumer Reports' top-rated family sedan. Among four-cylinder sedans tested by CR, the Altima 2.5S ranks just behind the Volkswagen Passat 2.0T. "The redesigned Altima is a well-rounded family sedan in both 2.5S and 3.5SE trim levels," said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center in East Haddam, Connecticut. "Both the 2.5-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter V6 engines deliver very good performance while getting good fuel economy." For the March issue, Consumer Reports tested basic and uplevel versions of five family sedans-the Altima, Kia Optima, Saturn Aura, Pontiac G6, and Chrysler Sebring.