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(UPI) - An appeal will be filed in a Montreal court after a Quebec judge overruled a father who grounded his 12-year-old daughter for dangerous Internet use. The lawyer for the father, who can't be identified to protect the girl, told The Gazette newspaper that Justice Suzanne Tessier overstepped the court's bounds last Friday when she ruled in favor of the girl's legal challenge and said she would be allowed to go on a school trip her father had forbidden because of misbehavior. "I don't think this tribunal was the proper forum for a decision like this one," lawyer Kim...

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Tina Louise Steed had just one question for a judge who declared her an adult Thursday morning. "I'm wondering how come they wouldn't believe my ID in the first place?" she asked Judge Jay Weatherby. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services acknowledged that Tina Louise and three other "disputed minors" are actually adult women - admissions that came as the Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled it never had sufficient evidence to remove any children from a polygamous sect. At least three more women were to be declared adults Thursday afternoon or Friday,...

Following the lead of New York City and Brookline, health regulators in Boston last night took the first step toward banning artery-clogging trans fat from French fries, doughnuts, and other food sold in restaurants and corner stores. more stories like this The Boston Public Health Commission voted unanimously, after little discussion, to give preliminary approval to a ban that would take effect late this year if it receives another thumbs-up in the spring. Commission members were spurred to action by scientific evidence linking artificial trans fat to heart disease in humans and to diabetes and obesity in animal studies. Brookline...

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Calif. bans smoking in cars with kids By STEVE LAWRENCE, Associated Press Writer Thu Oct 11, 6:04 AM ET SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California motorists will risk fines of up to $100 next year if they are caught smoking in cars with minors, making their state the third to protect children in vehicles from secondhand smoke. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday signed a bill that will make it an infraction to smoke in a vehicle if someone under age 18 is present. But the traffic stop would have to be made for another offense, such as speeding or an illegal turn,...

WASHINGTON--the House late Tuesday passed--by a less-than-veto-proof 265-159 margin--an expansion of a children's health insurance program over the objections of area Republican members, who voted against the bill. President Bush has threatened to veto the Democratic-backed bill, which would add coverage for several million children and families under the State Children's Health Isurance Program by increasing cigarette taxes by 61 cents a pack. "This is a crummy bill," Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said. "We created this program 10 years ago to help working families, but this goes way beyond the original intent of the bill." http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local.aspx?articleid=22217&zoneid=77