Free Republic

LOS ANGELES (May 18) - Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa trounced Mayor James Hahn to become the city's first Hispanic mayor in more than a century as voters turned to the promise of change in a metropolis troubled by gridlock, gangs and failing schools. Tuesday's election confirms the rising political power of Latinos in the nation's second-largest city. In a victory speech before thousands of supporters in downtown Los Angeles, Villaraigosa, 52, paid tribute to his heritage while promising to bring the city's diverse racial and ethnic groups together. ''I stand here today because people believed in me. I want you to...

Sars victim who infected 133 will remain in quarantine By Jeremy Laurance Health Editor 11 April 2003 As the death toll from severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) rose to 111 yesterday, with five more fatalities in China and Hong Kong, the authorities in Singapore were considering what to do with one of the disease's earliest and most medically extraordinary victims. Esther Mok, a 26-year-old former flight attendant, is believed to have carried the disease from Hong Kong's Metropole hotel, source of the global outbreak, to Singapore on 1 March. Doctors at first did not know what was wrong with her...