By RAHKIA NANCENews staff writer

The dust has never settled since theshots that killed Martin Luther KingJr. were fired, as conspiracy theoriescontinue to swirl around his assassi-

nation 40 years later.

For years, John Larry Ray has tried toreveal what he says is an uncovered pagein history about his older brother’s rolein the assassination of Martin LutherKing Jr. He always has contended JamesEarl Ray was a government “patsy,” thefall guy for a sophisticated governmentplot.

In his book “Truth At Last,” releasedtoday, Ray says his brother was caught ina web of hypnosis, brainwashing andgovernment-backed mind-control pro-grams that all began with the shooting of

a black soldier in 1948.As a military police officer in Germany,

James Earl Ray was directed to shoot thesoldier, only identified as Washington,who had been arrested for beating upJews. Army records showed that prior tothe incident, Ray had received two spinaltaps, which John Larry suggests may havebeen part of a drug experiment.

That shooting, the book says, identifiedJames Earl Ray as a programmable per-sonality and would eventually thrust himinto the center of the King assassinationon April 8, 1968. (Ray initially confessedto shooting King, but recanted three dayslater.)

Upon his general dis-charge from theArmy in 1948,James Earl Raywould spend

the next 20 years falling deeper into thegovernment network, first used as an un-dercover operative investigating Commu-nists and eventually landing in and out ofprisons, supposedly under the guidanceof federal agents.

John Larry Ray, now 75, had grownfrustrated and “didn’t care one way orthe other” whether the information wasmade available. But as the 40th anniver-sary of King’s murder approached, ama-teur historian Lyndon Barsten ap-proached him, not wanting him to take

See KING Page 6E

TESTING THECOMICS WATERS

Beginning today on the comicspages and on the editorial pages,The BirminghamNews is testingnew comic strips.

On the comics pages, we’ll dothem amonth at a time, and webegin with “Arctic Circle,” a stripby Alex Hallatt set in the cold,cold North Pole region. It’ll re-place “Cathy,” which faredpoorly in our recent comics’ poll,and you’ll have amonth to tell uswhat you think about it. Afterthat, we’ll begin testing anothercomic.

On the editorial pages, “Doo-nesbury” is on hiatus, and we’retrying out the strip “Candorville,”by Darrin Bell.

We suggest giving the comicsa couple of weeks before you tellus what you think, but that’s en-tirely up to you. Go toblog.al.com/bn/comics and letus knowwhat you think.

School bus radiomay help quietrowdy ridersWHO KILLED KING?

[ SECTION E ]LIFESTYLEE M 1 2 3

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

By DOUGLAS B. BRILLNewhouse News Service

BusRadio says it can help calm rowdy stu-dents on school buses with its free radios.

It sends eight hours of music, talk, publicservice announcements and ads each day tothe radios, which pick up the programmingthrough wireless signals. The company com-piles separate programming for elementary,middle school and high school audiences, pluslong segments for field trips.

“School districts around the country will tellyou, providing music on buses goes a long waywith behavioral issues,” said Wesley Eberle, aspokesman for BusRadio, headquartered in inNeedham, Mass. “It keeps the students enter-tained and the driver can focus on the road.”

The Bangor (Pa.) Area School Board justvoted to equip 43 district school buses with ra-dios that play the programming designed forchildren. They are to be installed within 45days.

District Superintendent John Reinhartknows it isn’t a sure fix. “There’s no magicmedicine for behavior on the bus,” he said.

He said the district took the radios becausethey have Global Positioning Systems and pro-vide the ability to communicate directly with911 dispatchers. Reinhart said that wouldmake for a safer bus ride regardless of whatprogramming does for student behavior.

“This is a way for us to be able to grab ontoa GPS system in a very cost-effective manner,”Reinhart said. “Hopefully, with this new sys-tem, we’ve upgraded our safety and security.”

Reinhart said giving a private company theopportunity to advertise to a public schoolpopulation may be criticized, although BusRa-dio said it has fewer ads than regular radio. Re-inhart said the safety upgrades outweigh thecriticisms.

It costs $300 to $400 to install a GPS on aschool bus, meaning the district would pay$12,900 to $17,200 to equip its buses. WithBusRadio, the district will actually make asmall amount of money, since districts get acut of ad revenue.

BusRadio was formed in 2004 and has radioson 10,000 buses in 160 school districts, reach-ing an audience of 1 million students daily, ac-cording to the company. (None of these dis-tricts is in Alabama). The company calls itself“the fastest growing national media network inthe youth music space.”

Like ChannelOne, a broadcast company thatprovides video equipment to school districtsthat agree to air the company’s televisionnewscasts, BusRadio makes money by sellingadvertisements in its programming.

James Earl RayMartin Luther King Jr.

In new book, James Earl Ray’s brother claims the government did

Comfy chicYansi Fugel brings

fall line to Gus MayerPaul Bryant Willie Mays

By CHANDA TEMPLE GUSTERNews staff writer

Yansi Fugel designs clothes forthe way she lives.

Whether she’s traveling the globefor business, vacationing with her

family in Vermont, or preparing forFashion Week in New York, she wantsthe clothes on her body to be comfort-able yet polished.

Fugel knows busy women want pol-ished comfort, too, which is why she’s

made a point to make timeless clothesthat fit busy lifestyles.

Her clothes contain fabrics that arewashable, wrinkle-free and travel-friendly.Her designs are also made to be mixedand matched for versatility.

The 53-year-old designer — whoquipped that 53 is the new 35 — said sheloves what she does. “It’s very rewardingbecause a lot of women that I come acrossin my travels . . . say, ‘There’s nothing butYansi in my closet,’ ” she said.

She apparently has a dedicated followingin Birmingham. For the past 16 years, GusMayer at Colonial Brookwood Village hascarried her line.

“Season after season, Yansi createsclothes that are timeless, functional and

See FUGEL Page 6E

Yansi Fugel givesnames to severalof her collections.Several piecesfrom the “BrokenEnglish” line arepictured hereincluding the fauxpony jacket, $660;black-caramelbroken argyleprint Travel Jerseywedge tunic/dress, $330; TravelJersey crush neckpullover, $176;black Travel Jerseyfold-over-waistbellbottom pants,$242; andultrmarinecashmere knit armwarmers, $132.

Henry Aaron Jesse Owens

Time for Final Four voteYou have onemore day to vote on the Final Four

match-ups in our Alabama’s Greatest Sports Legend brack-ets. It’s down to Bear Bryant vs. Willie Mays and Hank Aa-ron vs. Jesse Owens.

HERE’S HOW TO VOTEyyGGoo oonnlliinnee ttoo bblloogg..aall..ccoomm//bbnn//mmaaddnneessss.. YYoouu hhaavvee uunnttiill

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DEAR ABBY 2E HOROSCOPE 2ETELEVISION 2E SCRIBBLERS 3E COMICS 4E

SPECIAL

Eco-savvy companies ready to help you go greenBy CHANDA TEMPLE GUSTERNews staff writer

From makeup tools to a newchildren’s book about a recycling su-perhero, more companies are offer-ing “eco-friendly” products to helpshoppers go green. As Earth Day(April 22) nears, here’s a look atsome newer products available tohelp us save the planet.yy SSuussttaaiinnaabbllyy BBeeaauuttiiffuull ssttaacckkaabbllee

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Stackable rings from JenniferDawes use recycled gold andsocially and environmentallymined stones.