Cliff Lee was almost unhittable.

The four batters who did get hits off him did enough damage to overshadow Lee's 16 strikeouts, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 Friday night.

"It's neat, but we lost the game so who cares?" Lee said.

Lee's total was one off the franchise record and four from the big league mark of 20 for a nine-inning game.

Derek Lowe overshadowed Lee all night, anyway, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning before leaving due to a blister on his right foot, and the Braves won their sixth straight game.

"I knew it wouldn't be happening," Lowe said of a possible no-hitter. "I knew it would come to an abrupt end. I'm disappointed in my skin."

Philadelphia managed just two hits all night, both off Lowe (3-3).

The last Phillies pitcher to have 16 strikeouts in a game was Curt Schilling, who did it on Sept. 1, 1997, against the Yankees. Philadelphia's Chris Short struck out 18 on Oct. 2, 1965, against the Mets, though it was in 15 innings of an 18-inning game.

"I'm not too worried about the strikeouts, that's just another way to get the hitter out," Lee said. "It's a nice accomplishment, I guess, but we still lost he game."

The Braves scored three two-out runs in the third on four straight hard-hit balls off Lee (2-3). Alex Gonzalez doubled off the top of the wall in left and scored on Chipper Jones' line single to left that went off the glove of a leaping Jimmy Rollins at shortstop.

Asked if he thought Rollins could have caught the ball, Manuel said, "(Jones) hit it pretty good."

Jones scored on Brian McCann's double off the wall in left-center, and McCann came around on Dan Uggla's double down the left-field line.

"They were aggressive and I made some mistakes over the plate," Lee said. "It happened pretty quick. All it takes is one bad inning and you can lose a game, and that was the case."

Lee struck out 12 of the next 16 batters before being lifted for left-hander J.C. Romero at the start of the eighth.

Shane Victorino singled to start the seventh for the first hit off Lowe, and Placido Polanco followed with a double before Lowe left.

"That's about as mad as I've ever been for pitching good," Lowe said. "It's frustrating for not being able to stay in. But a 5-0 win in this ballpark against a talented team, we'll take it."

Lowe struck out four and walked one.

Left-hander Eric O'Flaherty came on in relief and struck out the side to end the threat. Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel each worked an inning to complete the two-hitter.

"O'Flaherty was unbelievable," Lowe said. "I figured it would be a 3-2 game. Our bullpen has been our strength all year."

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he expects Lowe will make his next start.

McCann had a pair of doubles and an RBI, and Gonzalez had three hits and an RBI for the Braves.

The Braves' 18 strikeouts tied a club record for a nine-inning game. The last time it happened was May 22, 2006, at San Diego.

Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez, who was 8 for 11 entering the game after snapping an 0 for 35 skid on Tuesday, went 0 for 3.

Phillies right-hander Roy Oswalt was placed on the disabled list retroactive to April 27 following Friday<s game due to a back injury.

Oswalt returned to the Phillies on Thursday after spending eight days with his family in tornado-ravaged Mississippi. RHP Kyle Kendrick will start for Philadelphia on Saturday in place of Oswalt. The Phillies recalled RHP Scott Mathieson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Oswalt's place on the roster.

NOTES: Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said before the game that 2B Chase Utley would begin an extended spring training assignment Saturday in Dunedin, Fla. Utley has been out all season with right knee tendinitis. ... Kendrick will be opposed by right-hander Julio Teheran, the top prospect in Atlanta's system, who will make his major league debut. Right-hander Jair Jurrjens, originally listed as Saturday's starter, is being pushed back to Sunday.

Security forces from China and two Central Asian neighbors practiced hunting down violent separatists Saturday in a counterterrorism drill along a border area where ethnic Muslim rebels have staged attacks against Beijing's rule.

Friday's one-day exercise involved forces from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as well as China and took place along their borders in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, the government and media reports said.

The scenario called on the three countries to coordinate a manhunt for anti-China separatists who had set up a training camp on the Chinese side of the border, the China News Service said. Flushed out, the rebels hijacked a tourist bus that television footage showed black-suited tactical units storming, shattering the windows to get inside.

Hardly far-fetched, the drill contained situations Chinese security forces have previously encountered in trying to quash the sporadically violent, decades-long rebellion by largely Muslim Uighurs seeking independence for Xinjiang, or what they call East Turkestan. Such tactical exercises, however, have often exacerbated resentment among more moderate Uighurs who see Xinjiang as their homeland.

The authoritarian government in Beijing has tried over the past decade to link its struggle against Xinjiang separatism to the wider U.S.-led campaign against militant Islamist terrorism.

Following Osama bin Laden's killing this week by U.S. commandos, Beijing renewed its appeals for international cooperation, though Chinese foreign policy experts have voiced concern that with the terrorist leader gone, the United States will devote more efforts to containing China's growing ambitions.

A New York man's conviction on child pornography charges has been overturned by an appeals panel on technical errors on a search warrant used to collect evidence.

John Gavazzi was arrested in 2009 in the Village of Greene after prosecutors say an investigation found he uploaded pornography. He was convicted in 2010 on two child pornography charges and sentenced to 90 days in jail and 10 years of probation.

The state Supreme Court's Appellate Division overturned the conviction because a search warrant was wrongly signed. It was signed "Local Criminal Court, Town of Broome, Broome County," which does not exist.

Gavazzi said he did not know the e-mail contained child pornography. He said he reported it and sent it back to the sender but the situation spiraled out of control.

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Information from: Press & Sun-Bulletin, http://www.pressconnects.com

Special education teacher Hal Krantz hasn't had a raise in two years, but he'll be among 650,000 public employees whose paychecks will be cut to help balance an annual state budget that also slashes spending by nearly $4 billion.

The $69.7 billion budget (SB 2000) passed the state Senate late Friday but a House vote was delayed past the annual session's scheduled midnight conclusion, as the two Republican-controlled chambers voted to extend the session into Saturday.

GOP leaders kept their pledge not to raise taxes but found other ways to balance the budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

It will save more than $1 billion for the state and local governments by requiring public employees such as Krantz to contribute 3 percent of their pay to the Florida Retirement System, now fully funded by taxpayers.

"Every expense I have has been going up, except my salary, so it's going to be a hardship for me and every other teacher out there," said Krantz, who teaches at Coral Springs Middle School in Broward County. "You're going to have a lot of teachers that are going to be looking for second jobs."

That's assuming they still have their first jobs.

The budget will eliminate nearly 4,500 state positions, about 2,000 of which are vacant, while 1,700 jobs are in prisons slated to be privatized. School districts also are anticipating layoffs and furloughs due to state spending cuts.

Some private sector employees who depend on state funding, such as road builders and nursing home workers, also may get the ax.

There's fiscal pain as well ahead for college and university students who will be paying higher tuition, and many will see their state-funded scholarships cut.

Public school classrooms will become more crowded.

Hospitals and nursing homes will take a reduction in Medicaid payments.

Everglades restoration spending will be cut and funding will be eliminated for the Florida Forever environmental land buying program.

"Although this has to be one of the most difficult budgets in the history of Florida, I think it's one that most of us can go home and feel like it's a workable budget," said Senate Budget Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales.

Yet lawmakers also found enough money to cut taxes by $308 million — mostly at the expense of water management districts — and pay for dozens of their pet projects. Those include college and university buildings, a rowing facility in Sarasota and a $400,000 study of House Speaker Dean Cannon's proposal to expand the Florida Supreme Court. The budget also maintains $2.28 billion in reserve funds.

The vote in the Senate was 31-8 with all Republicans in favor and most Democrats against.

Requiring teachers, state workers and many local government employees, including police and firefighters, to make retirement contributions was one of Gov. Rick Scott's top priorities although he had proposed bigger contributions of 5 percent. Scott said it's only fair for public employees to contribute because most workers in other states and the private sector must do so.

Public employee unions opposed that move. They said employees gave up pay raises decades ago in exchange for full public funding of the plan. Also, state workers now are going into a fifth straight year without an across-the-board pay raise. Democratic lawmakers derided the contribution requirement as an "income tax."

School employees make up the biggest segment of the retirement system.

"Either way you look at it, it's a pay cut," said Jennifer Smith, a French teacher at Hialeah High School near Miami. "That's going to impact not only us and our quality of life but the economy."

Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, said the state needed the employees' money to address a $3.75 billion shortfall.

"We can't look each other in the face and say it's OK to cut education and health care funding while fully funding pensions that we simply can't afford," Workman said.

The pension contributions will help make up for a $1.3 billion cut for schools that could drive down per-student spending by $542.03, or 8 percent, to $6,267.97. The pension contributions, along with local-option tax increases and federal jobs money that most districts are carrying over from the current year, are expected to drop the net reduction to about 1 percent.

School districts also will save some money from legislation loosening the state's class size limits.

Tuition is going up 8 percent at state and community colleges and public universities. Most if not all universities are expected to seek Board of Governors approval for another 7 percent increase to the legal limit of 15 percent. Lawmakers also are cutting the popular Bright Futures scholarships by 20 percent.

"It seems like tuition has gone up a little every year," said University of Central Florida junior Alex O'Donnell of Ormond Beach. "Bright Futures going down is what hurts the most for me."

O'Donnell said he's working part time and getting help from his parents "but it's a lot to make up."

The budget will cut Medicaid reimbursement rates by 12 percent for hospitals except rural and children's hospitals, which will be cut 3 percent. That's after hospitals were cut 7 percent by the current year's budget and 1.6 percent cut in 2009-10.

Hospital officials say those reductions will mean higher prices for private patients and their insurers.

Nursing homes will get a 6.5 percent cut but can offset some of that through a budget provision that also reduces minimum direct care for each patient from 3.9 to 3.6 hours daily.

The budget also "sweeps" $528 million from trust funds dedicated to specific uses to general state spending. That includes $150 million from the Transportation Trust Fund, supported by fuel taxes, which will cost 7,000 construction jobs, said Bob Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders Association. He's urging Scott to veto this "trust fund raid."

Scott had threatened to veto the entire budget if lawmakers failed to cut Florida's corporate income tax. Legislative leaders insisted the state couldn't afford the $458 million cut Scott wanted. He eventually agreed to a $30 million cut. Scott called it a first step toward phasing out the corporate tax in his drive to create jobs by making Florida friendlier to business.

"The best thing government can do to create jobs, as the governor has said, is stay out of the way," said Alexander, the Senate budget chief. "I don't believe government creates jobs. I think we kill jobs, and this budget I think goes a long way towards creating a bit better environment to grow jobs in our state and help folks get back to work."

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Associated Press Writers Christine Armario in Miami and Kyle Hightower in Orlando contributed to this report.

An Orange County school district has been accused of illegally discussing teacher salaries and furlough days behind closed doors.

The District Attorney's office released a report Friday that found Capistrano Unified School District officials violated California's open meetings laws when they discussed public matters behind closed doors. In two incidents, the board did not disclose key votes on reversing employee pay cuts. In a third meeting, they called a recess and continued deliberations out of earshot of the public.

Prosecutors say the district has a choice of admitting the violations and correcting them, or face legal action.

District Spokesman Marcus E. Walton says he can't comment on the action until attorneys review the legal documents.

The district serves 51,000 students in south Orange County.

Defenseman Mamadou Danso scored in the 72nd minute and the expansion Portland Timbers beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Friday night to remain perfect at soldout Jeld-Wen Field.

Goalkeeper Troy Perkins made three saves for his second straight shutout in MLS play to help Portland improve to 4-0 at home and 4-3-1 overall.

Danso, known as "Futty," scored on a header off a free kick from Jack Jewsbury, breaking open what had been a defensive match, with Philadelphia controlling the tempo with its methodical style.

The Union (4-2-1) allowed only their third goal of the season. They had four shutouts in their previous six games.

Defenseman Mamadou Danso scored in the 72nd minute and the expansion Portland Timbers beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Friday night to remain perfect at soldout Jeld-Wen Field.

Goalkeeper Troy Perkins made three saves for his second straight shutout in MLS play to help Portland improve to 4-0 at home and 4-3-1 overall.

Danso, known as "Futty," scored on a header off a free kick from Jack Jewsbury, breaking open what had been a defensive match, with Philadelphia controlling the tempo with its methodical style.

The Union (4-2-1) allowed only their third goal of the season. They had four shutouts in their previous six games.

Philadelphia had a chance to score in the 86th minute, but Perkins stopped consecutive shots. A shoving match broke out in the goalie box with the Timbers' Eric Brunner and Philadelphia's Sheanon Williams picking up yellow cards.

Philadelphia played its slow-down game for much of the match, keeping players behind the ball and frequently playing the ball back to goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon. Still, the Timbers stayed aggressive, getting some decent shots on goal through the scoreless first half. Portland missed a chance to score just before halftime when Brunner's header off Jewsbury's free kick sailed just over the net.

Torii Hunter hit an RBI single in the 11th inning to give the Los Angeles Angels a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Hunter drove an 0-1 pitch from Justin Germano (0-1) into the left-field corner. Erick Aybar, Bobby Abreu and Maicer Izturis opened the inning with three consecutive singles.

Fernando Rodney (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning to get the win.

Brendan Ryan hit a game-ending RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to make a winner of Felix Hernandez, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Friday night.

Hernandez (4-2) gave up five hits, struck out six and walked two in his second complete game of the season.

Jack Cust started the ninth-inning rally with a one-out single off Matt Thornton (0-3) and Jack Wilson followed with another hit. Adam Kennedy came on as a pinch runner for Cust and Michael Saunders hit a flyball deep enough to move Kennedy to third.

Ryan then lined a 1-0 pitch past diving second baseman Gordon Beckham to score the winning run.

Hernandez was the first to get to Ryan, momentarily picking him up over his shoulder. Seattle has won eight of 10 and is back within a game of .500.

Chicago lost for the eighth time in nine games and wasted a performance by young right-hander Phil Humber that was nearly the equal of Hernandez.

Hernandez pitched nine brilliant innings, but it was left up to Seattle's offense to get him the deserved victory. Hernandez's only mistake came in the seventh when Carlos Quentin turned on a hanging slider for a solo homer that pulled the White Sox even at 2-all. It was Quentin's seventh homer of the season.

Beckham then led off the eighth with a double into the left-field corner and was at third with one out. Alexei Ramirez hit a two-hopper to Ryan at shortstop and Beckham was caught too far off third and eventually tagged out in a rundown.

Hernandez didn't make it easy walking Adam Dunn, but got Paul Konerko to tap back to the mound to end the inning. He retired the side in order in the ninth for the 15th complete game of his career.

Humber was equal to the reigning AL Cy Young winner. The White Sox's promising right-hander gave up just three hits — all doubles — and two runs in seven strong innings. In his last three starts, Humber has allowed only four earned runs, and seven hits, pitching exactly seven innings in all three outings.

He was done on Friday after 93 pitches, but with Ichiro Suzuki leading off the eighth, Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen went to Thornton out of the bullpen.

It worked against Suzuki, who hit a flyball to left. But Chone Figgins followed with a double just inside first base. Bradley struck out looking on a pitch over the outside corner as Figgins stole third.

Bradley was incensed by the call by home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski and was ejected, having to be pulled away by Seattle manager Eric Wedge after a heated few moments.

Miguel Olivo struck out to end the inning.

Bradley had an RBI double in the sixth and Justin Smoak continued with his hot streak adding another RBI double in the inning that gave Seattle a 2-1 lead.

NOTES: Chicago went 9-1 against Seattle last season. ... Olivo started his 11th straight game at catcher, his longest streak of consecutive starts behind the plate in six seasons. ... Seattle CF Franklin Gutierrez was supposed to play seven innings in center field on rehab at Triple-A Tacoma on Friday night but was moved to DH after rain delayed the start of the game.

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Tim Booth can be reached at http://twitter.com/tjbooth7

Defender Mamadou Danso scored a 72nd minute winner for the Portland Timbers on Friday to keep intact a perfect home record in its debut Major League Soccer season.

The 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union was the expansion team's fourth win at a soldout Jeld-Wen Field.

Danso headed home from a Jack Jewsbury free kick, breaking open what had been a defensive match, with Philadelphia controlling the tempo throughout.

It was just the third goal the Union have conceded this season, having kept cleansheets in four of their previous six games.

Goalkeeper Troy Perkins made three saves for his second consecutive cleansheet to help Portland move to third in the MLS Western Conference with 13 points.

The government of quake-prone Mexico City is planning to send earthquake alerts by text message and through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard says he hopes to have the system working by Sept. 19, the anniversary of the 8.1-magnitude earthquake in 1985 that killed as many as 10,000 people.

Mexico City currently has an early warning system that uses sirens to alert city residents about quakes that occur hundreds of miles away on Pacific coast fault lines. Some people complain the alarms in their neighborhoods can't be heard or don't go off.

Ebrard said Friday that his administration is talking to numerous service providers to put the new alert system in place.

A bill rolling back unemployment compensation benefits is going to Gov. Rick Scott.

The House and Senate passed the compromise measure (HB 7005) just before the legislative session's end Friday night.

It would cut maximum state benefits from 26 to 23 weeks when the jobless rate is 10.5 percent or higher.

If lower, the maximum would decline on a sliding scale until bottoming at 12 weeks if the jobless rate is 5 percent or less.

Both chambers were agreeable to a sliding scale, but the House wanted to cut the maximum to 20 weeks while the Senate wanted to keep it at 26.

The benefit reduction is expected to cut unemployment taxes paid by employers by about $18 per worker but not until next year.

Kyle Busch finally broke through to win a Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway after near misses the past two years.

Busch moved past Elliott Sadler 23 laps from the end and stayed in front of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to win the Royal Purple 200 on Friday night, his fifth Nationwide victory this season and 48th overall — one behind Mark Martin's series record.

But for all the success Busch has had in the series, he had been snakebit by "The Lady in Black."

He led for 143 laps in 2009 before cutting a tire and finishing 16th, than was edged out by Hamlin a year ago with what he thought was the faster car.

This time, Busch waited for his time as fellow Sprint Cup regulars Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards took their turns at the top before falling back.

Sadler was third, series points leader Justin Algaier fourth and Steve Wallace fifth.

Rory McIlroy's return to the PGA Tour after his final-round Masters meltdown didn't last long, guaranteeing the Wells Fargo Championship will have a new winner.

The defending champion shot an even-par 72 on Friday at Quail Hollow and missed the even-par cut by three strokes.

"Disappointed that after all that happened last year, not to be here for the weekend. But that's golf," said McIlroy, who shot a course-record 62 in the final round a year ago to win by four shots. "I'll go home and do some hard practice over the next few days and try to get ready for the next event."

McIlroy, who turned 22 Wednesday, shot an 80 on the last day at Augusta to lose a four-shot lead. He struggled with his ball striking on Thursday, and a day later his putter let him down.

"I gave myself a lot of opportunities," McIlroy said, "I just wasn't able to take them."

There were moments late in the round when it appeared McIlroy might pull off a similar feat as a year ago, when he was two shots over the cut line with three holes to go. An eagle on No. 7 allowed him to make the cut on the number. Then came weekend rounds of 66 and 62.

"I know better than most people that you just have to be around on the weekend and be able to make something happen," he said. "I was just trying to get in there, trying to get to the weekend."

McIlroy got within one of the cut line with a birdie on 15 and then lipped out a 40-foot birdie putt on 16. After three-putting the 17th for bogey, he knew he had to make eagle on the final hole.

"I basically needed to hole by second shot on the last to have any chance," McIlroy said. "I went for the pin and just came up a bit short and in the creek. Obviously, not what I wanted."

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MICKELSON'S PRAISE: While Phil Mickelson created a stir a year ago when he criticized the greens at Quail Hollow, he's a big fan of the course layout.

He's also in his familiar spot near the top of the leaderboard.

Mickelson shot a 6-under 66 on Friday to move within three shots of leader Pat Perez.

"I love the way the course is set up," Mickelson said. "I love the way there's a first cut. There's a lot of opportunity for recovery. When you do miss the fairway, even though you're in trees and you have a tough shot, you still have an opportunity with a decent lie."

In seven previous appearances, Mickelson has five top-10 finishes. He finished second behind Rory McIlroy last year and is again in contention for his first win in Charlotte.

"It's going to be a fun weekend," Mickelson said.

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HAAS AT HOME: Bill Haas knows he's biased about the Wells Fargo Championship, but it hasn't stopped him from repeating the line all week.

"It's just probably our best event outside the majors," Haas said.

Growing up two hours away in Greenville, S.C., Haas played Quail Hollow multiple times with his father, Champions Tour star and club member Jay Haas.

Haas continued to make trips to Charlotte while a student at nearby Wake Forest.

The institutional knowledge seems to be paying off after rounds of 64 and 70 left him two shots off the lead.

"I've got a lot of good friends here, a lot of Deacon fans here," Haas said. "I'm hearing 'Go Deacs' out there a lot, which is nice."

The only thing to make it better for Haas would be to get his third career win Sunday.

"Outside of the majors, this would be my No. 1 tournament to win," he said. "Just because of the people involved with the tournament. When I walk in the clubhouse, everybody I see I know."

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DIVOTS: Vijay Singh, the 2005 winner, fired a 68 Friday to move within four shots of the lead. "It's been a while since I struck the ball this good," said Singh, winless since 2008. "I'm really excited." ... Davis Love III's 69 left him seven shots back and ended a streak of three straight missed cuts on the tour. "I'm just happy being on the other side of it, looking at the leaderboard rather than driving home," he said. ... Bryan Bigley, a groundskeeper at a nearby club who qualified for the event Monday, shot 78-76 to miss the cut in his PGA Tour debut. ... Storms moved through the area late in the morning, causing a delay of nearly 90 minutes, but Bigley and his last group still completed the round before darkness set in shortly before 8:30 p.m.

Military officials in Alaska say a soldier has been found dead at Join Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.

Officials say the soldier's name will not be released until the family notification process is complete.

According to officials, the soldier was found dead in his family quarters at the base early Friday. He was found a supervisor who went to check on him when he failed to report to work.

The soldier was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

Officials say the cause of death is unknown. Richardson's criminal investigation detachment is investigating the death.

Gov. John Kitzhaber says Oregon's human service budget is "very vulnerable" and should receive priority funding if there is money to spend.

Kitzhaber said Friday there are "some real problems" with services to the elderly and disabled. He said the Department of Human Services budget is tight and that legislative leaders are trying to find out where the holes are.

The governor says the social safety net is thin and needs to be strengthened where possible.

Kitzhaber made the comments as he toured local businesses in a traditionally African-American neighborhood in Portland.

The governor is meeting Monday with legislative leaders and budget writers. Lawmakers will get an updated estimate of how much money they have to spend on Thursday, when state economists release the quarterly revenue forecast.

A judge has denied a request for a new trial for a man convicted of first-degree murder in the 1999 killing of a 73-year-old woman.

Kent County Circuit Judge Paul M. Bowman last week denied a request by 35-year-old David Starkey of Millington for post-conviction relief.

Starkey was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for the December 1999 killing of Germaine Clarkston. Starkey fired two deer slugs from a 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun into a car she was riding in. Two other women were injured.

Starkey's brother, Danny Starkey, who was driving the car, was convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in the slaying.

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Information from: The Star Democrat of Easton, Md., http://www.stardem.com

A bill changing how funds raised by "Choose Life" license plates are distributed is going to Gov. Rick Scott.

The Legislature passed the bill (HB 501) shortly before the 2011 session ended Friday after final revisions.

The 83-33 roll call in the House and 28-10 vote in the Senate, both dominated by Republicans, were largely along party lines.

All proceeds now must be used to facilitate adoptions.

The bill would let the group Choose Life Inc. spend 15 percent for administration and promotion.

It was 20 percent in the original bill, which also would have lifted geographic limits on spending.

The final version would continue to direct funds back to counties where they were raised but allow unused money to be spent within 100 miles.

Regulators have hit two more Wisconsin banks with orders to reduce delinquent loans and take other steps to improve.

The Business Bank, of Appleton, and Bancroft State Bank, of Bancroft, have been issued consent orders by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/lhlprJ ) the regulators accused the banks of "unsafe or unsound banking practices."

Jim Wilson, The Business Bank's chief executive, tells the newspaper that losses tied to two large borrowers last year were a problem, but the issue has been addressed.

Both banks consented to orders without admitting or denying the accusations of unsound practices.

Since 2008, more than 50 banks in Wisconsin have received special orders from regulators demanding improvements.

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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com

The Vancouver Canucks learned a valuable lesson in a scary first-round survival against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

When you have a team way down, make sure you put them out as quickly as you can. Because if you let a club hang around, things can turn around in a hurry.

The Presidents' Trophy-winning Canucks lead the Nashville Predators 3-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series and can advance to the NHL's final four with a home win on Saturday. If they don't end it then, the series will shift back to Nashville for Game 6 and become a whole lot more interesting.

Vancouver blew a 3-0 series lead in the first round against the Blackhawks, and didn't knock out the champs until overtime of Game 7. Some of the Canucks admitted that they eased up, and were soundly beaten in Games 4 and 5 — outscored a combined 12-2.

The Canucks vow not to let that happen again.

"You go into most playoff games wanting to win the next one," Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. "We realized last series how things went south pretty quickly, and momentum builds in the playoffs, and next thing you know we're in Game 7 overtime. So most likely we want to finish this one next game."

They know it won't come easy. Nothing has against the tight-checking, hardworking Predators. Despite the big gap in the series, every game has been close.

When Canucks captain Henrik Sedin scored into an empty net with 21 seconds left in Game 4 on Thursday it was the only time either team had led by more than one goal in this low-scoring series. Two of the four games required extra time, including a double-overtime Game 2 win for Nashville in Vancouver.

As the Predators prepared to face elimination for the first time this season — and try to win such a game for the first time in six tries ever — they took solace in the fact things are so close.

"You have to remind yourself not to make it too big," goalie Pekka Rinne said. "Our backs are against the wall but I like where we stand. We haven't played our best and we're still in it."

If there's been a difference in the series, it's been the top players.

While Nashville captain Shea Weber, a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the top NHL defenseman, has partnered with Ryan Suter to quiet Daniel and Henrik Sedin on the Canucks' top line, second-line center Ryan Kesler has stepped up. Kesler, a Selke Trophy finalist as the league's best defensive forward after scoring 41 goals in the regular season, scored his first of the playoffs in Game 3. He added the game-winner on a power play he drew in overtime. He also scored the winning goal in Game 4 off a beautiful rush to convert a penalty he drew on Suter.

"If there was a mid-playoff Conn Smythe we should just give it to him right now and get it over with, right?" Bieksa joked of the playoff MVP award. "He's making something happen almost every shift. He could be in their heads right now."

Kesler, who was charged with shutting down Chicago captain Jonathan Toews in the first round, had six points as the Canucks won both games in Nashville.

"To me he's like a Mark Messier. He s a big physical guy who can score, he plays a lot of different roles, he's got a second gear for a big guy," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "Every series there's different heroes. In this series it looks like it is Kesler's turn on the Vancouver side. Now we're looking for a hero. Our hero hasn't evolved other than Peks."

Trotz pointed to role players such as Jordin Tootoo and Mike Fisher as guys that filled that role in a first-round win over Anaheim — Nashville's first series victory in 12 years and six tries. But Fisher, who had six points in that win, doesn't have any against the Canucks.

Sergei Kostitsyn, Martin Erat and Patric Hornqvist, the Predators' top-three scorers in the regular season with 61 goals and 148 points, have yet to score a goal in the second round, combining for just three assists.

"We don't have a superstar," Weber said. "We need a group of guys to chip in and score."

Trotz said part of the problem has been a refusal of some to adapt, to fight for second and third opportunities in front of the net. Veteran forward J.P. Dumont, who will play his first game of the series after Jerred Smithson was knocked out of Game 4 after taking an elbow from Kesler in the nose, agreed.

"We all saw when Chicago was all over them they scored on rebounds, battling for pucks in traffic," said Dumont, who has played 50 NHL playoff games but was scratched for all but two this postseason. "That's definitely something we look at and talk about, but we have to play our game. It's been firsts for a lot of stuff for us this year — first playoff-round win — so we're looking forward to establishing some new records. It's going to start now."

Kevin Towers is back at Petco Park, looking and sounding every bit the free-wheeling executive who was fired by the San Diego Padres after the 2009 season.

Towers is in his first season as general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are a few games better in the standings than the struggling Padres. The teams opened a three-game series Friday night.

Towers spent more than two decades in the Padres' organization, the last 14 as GM before being fired by CEO Jeff Moorad. Moorad said he wanted a GM with a more strategic approach than Towers' shoot-from-the-hip manner. The Padres won four division titles and reached one World Series under Towers.

Venezuela's state oil company says the failure of an air circulation system has affected production at the South American country's largest refinery, but the problem will not affect oil shipments.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA says the problem prompted the shutdown of some units at the Paraguana Refining Complex in the northwestern state of Falcon.

The complex has the capacity to process approximately 900,000 barrels of crude oil a day and produces 200,000 barrels of gasoline daily.

Venezuela is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and a major supplier of heavy crude to the United States.

Officials are investigating the cause of Friday's failure.

Atlanta's Derek Lowe limped off the mound after allowing his first two hits of the game to start the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Lowe appeared to injure himself Friday night when he hit a single in the top of the seventh and advanced to second on Chipper Jones' hit.

In the bottom half, Lowe got two strikes against leadoff batter Shane Victorino then trotted off the mound toward center field. Victorino broke up the no-hit bid with a single to left on the next pitch.

Atlanta trainers visited the mound but Lowe remained in the game. The next batter, Placido Polanco, hit a ground-rule double and Lowe was done.

Eric O'Flaherty relieved and struck out the side.