Yesterday's Top 5 Most Viewed Stories at suntimes.com

1. Heated arguments in Blago jury room

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2. Man, 93, fires at firefighter

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3. Angry husband drives SUV into …

Public opposition to Moscow Pride drops

A new poll has found that 61 percent of Russians agree with the Moscow city government's annual ban on the gay pride parade, down from 82 percent support for the ban a year ago.

The poll also found that 53 percent of Russians have heard about the efforts to stage the parade, up from 33 percent in a similar poll at the end of April.

The FOM poll, conducted nationwide June 4-5, found that 9 percent of Russians oppose the pride ban and 30 percent don't have an opinion on the matter.

"These results ... show that over the last years, 30 of us managed to make our voices heard by 75 million in a …

Sony develops green flat-panel TV to woo ecological consumers

Sony's new flat-panel TV consumes less energy than comparable regular models without compromising image quality _ the latest in Japanese manufacturers' efforts to woo buyers with green products.

The 150,000 yen (US$1,400; euro900) Bravia KDL-32JE1 goes on sale in Japan on July 30, and is planned later for overseas markets although dates and other details aren't decided, Sony Corp.'s Emi Nagahara said Tuesday.

In a demonstration at Tokyo headquarters, a watt-counter attached to the new 32-inch Bravia consumed 82 watts of energy to show a Blu-ray disc image of a Spanish city on its liquid crystal display.

A comparable regular model that cost about …

Hales' Foreman always sounded like a great hitter

Hales Franciscan baseball coach James Thornton is never going toforget his first encounter with senior Devin Foreman. It was thesound that stays fixed in his memory.

"The way he hit the ball just stopped traffic," Thornton said."The sound of the ball coming off his bat was just unbelievable. Youcould see right away that he could really rake the ball. He knew howto hit.

"I couldn't believe that he was just 13, 14 years old."

Foreman has carried through on his promise. The solidly built 6-foot, 225-pound first baseman is one of the city's most fearedhitters. A four-year varsity starter at Hales, Foreman has producednumbers that are virtually …

Red Sox Blast Past Orioles

John Valentin had two of Boston's four home runs and Jose Cansecowent 3-for-3 with a homer Thursday night to lead the Red Sox to theireighth consecutive victory, 11-1 over the Baltimore Orioles in FenwayPark.

Valentin hit his 19th home run in the sixth inning, a three-runshot that made it 8-1. After Mike Macfarlane led off the seventhwith his 13th homer, Valentin hit a two-run shot to extend Boston'slead to 11-1.

The Red Sox had 17 hits, including Canseco's three that ended a1-for-17 slump.

Indians 10, Yankees 9: Mike Stanley became the first New YorkYankee to hit three homers in a game since Reggie Jackson in the 1977World Series, but not even his …

Polish parliament condemns Belarusian regime

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish lawmakers approved a resolution Friday condemning Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's regime for its repression of opponents following the December presidential election.

Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament demanded the immediate release of political prisoners and urged a halt to political repression in the country.

Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also said Poland will maintain its policy of sanctions against Belarus' leaders, while showing "solidarity with the nation" as long as the repression continues.

"If prisoners are released, if conditions are created for the functioning of civic society, then an opportunity will …

Merkel tours Turkey's famed Haghia Sophia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has toured the 1,500-year-old Haghia Sophia, a former Byzantine church, as part of her visit to Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim EU-candidate country.

The domed complex was for centuries a majestic center of Christianity before Constantinople _ now Istanbul _ was conquered by Muslim armies in 1453. The site was a mosque until 1935, when it was converted to a museum …