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<p>A man charged with smuggling two teenage girls from India for a wealthy Berkeley landlord by posing as their father will spend two months in prison.</p> <p>Venkateswara Vemireddy, 33, allegedly posed as the father of the two girls, one of whom died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 1999. Her death prompted an investigation that led to an eight-year prison term for Berkeley landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy following his conviction on charges of transporting minors for illegal sexual activity, conspiring to commit immigration fraud and filing a false tax return.</p>

Scientists are gaining new insights into the role of temperament in making some people vulnerable to physical disease through studies exploring how stress influences the immune system, weakening disease-fighting cells and creating fertile environments for pathogens. This month, a carefully done study showed that shy men have much less resistance to the AIDS virus than extroverted men and benefit far less from treatment with antiretroviral drugs. It is the first study to demonstrate through laboratory tests a connection between being introverted and the course of AIDS in individuals, researchers said. Such studies are sketching in the details behind the growing...

Tug-Of-War Over Trade by Matt Forney/Beijing As China becomes the world's factory, U.S. manufacturers are getting hurt. Do the Chinese play fair? The answer is more complex than you might imagine. Jerry Rowland feels the dragon breathing down his neck. He's the CEO of National Textiles, a T-shirt maker in a state that has lost more than 37,000 textile jobs since the U.S. lifted quotas on Chinese imports two years ago. Unless Rowland's North Carolina workers suddenly become competitive with Chinese counterparts who earn just a few dollars a day, he fears his employees will be next. The plainspoken Southerner...

Poised to convene its first hard-hitting hearings in January, the federal commission investigating the 9/11 attacks continues to be at odds with the White House over access to key information and witnesses. Two government sources tell TIME that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is arguing over ground rules for her appearance in part because she does not want to testify under oath or, according to one source, in public. While national security advisers are presidential staff and generally don’t have to appear before Congress, the commission argues that its jurisdiction is broader—and it's been requiring fact witnesses in its massive...

Admit It: You, Too, Are Paris Hilton The average American has far more in common with spoiled TV heirs than you might think. By Geoffrey Colvin Florida, Nov. 29 (AP)—A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious on Friday as they scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter. The woman, Patricia VanLester, had her eye on a $29 DVD player, but when the siren blared at 6 a.m. announcing the start of the post-Thanksgiving sale, VanLester, 41, was knocked to the ground by the frenzy of...

Why Government Must Be Abolished Readers frequently fail to recognize my fundamental position, and are shocked when I say such things as "the US Constitution is an irrelevant, ineffective mistake" and "no, we shouldn’t be bombing villages in Iraq and Afghanistan." Readers sometimes accuse me of being a communist of one sort or another when I say something contrary to their Republican Party or neo-conservative assumptions. First, one thing needs to be made clear: Republican representative democracy is not the opposite of communism. Under our system of government in the US, everyone is encouraged to vote for what he...

What Happens to Cheating Soldiers? Capt. James Yee, the Army chaplain accused of sneaking classified materials out of Guantanamo Bay, has been charged with adultery as well. What sort of punishment do soldiers face for cheating on their spouses? The military penalty remains pretty harsh: up to a year in confinement plus a dishonorable discharge, which entails the forfeiture of all retirement pay. But a soldier's odds of facing such punishment are slim, at least if adultery is all they're charged with. In fact, courts martial on adultery charges alone are almost unheard of; the charge is usually added atop...

<p>WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) -- Thousands of ecstatic fans cheered "The Lord of the Rings" at the world premiere of the final installment of the award-winning movie trilogy.</p> <p>Like a victorious general at the front of his army, home-grown director Peter Jackson led stars from "The Return of the King" for five km (3 miles) through central Wellington on Monday, flanked by characters clad in armor and on black horses.</p>

Does U.S. Policy Raise Risks Abroad? By Jim Landers / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON -­ Is President Bush's foreign policy the most vexing risk of doing business abroad? Yes, says Paul Doran, deputy director of research with the London-based Control Risks Group. "Although the administration is seeking to use U.S. power to create conditions of stability, in fact the reverse is happening," Mr. Doran said. "They are creating uncertainties in parts of the world that are exacerbating risks for U.S. firms and U.S. personnel." Control Risks put Mr. Bush's foreign policy at the top of its 2004 forecast of...

Best Editorial Cartoons of the Week - 11/15/03

On Friday, Nov. 14, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Ambassador Alan Keyes will hold a press conference in Detroit, Michigan, to discuss the removal Thursday of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore by an Alabama judicial panel. Dr. Keyes will also discuss the unbridled assault by the judiciary on the moral foundations of America. The event will be held at the Detroit Athletic Club, 241 Madison Avenue. Justice Moore was stripped of his office for refusing to obey a federal court order to move a stone Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building. The Court of...

<p>NEW YORK (AP) -- A 14-year-old girl who says she was raped after an appearance on Maury Povich's television talk show can go ahead with a $25 million lawsuit against the show and its host, a Manhattan judge ruled.</p> <p>State Supreme Court Justice Diane Lebedeff said the girl, who alleged that a man claiming to be the show's limousine driver raped her, had a valid claim. The judge found the girl was still under the show's travel arrangements when the alleged attack occurred.</p>

Ventures in Russia may not be secure: Putin's moves to curb oil tycoon threaten U.S. investments By JIM LANDERS WASHINGTON – The struggle between President Vladimir Putin and jailed oilman Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a nasty political brawl with major consequences for the future of democracy in Russia. But it is already consequential to the energy futures of China and the United States. Yukos Oil Co., Mr. Khodorkovsky's company, delivered the first cargo of Russian oil to Houston on July 3, 2002. A year later, Russia ranked sixth among the countries selling oil to the United States, providing 550,000 barrels a...

Economists groping to explain lack of job growth By ROBERT DODGE / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON – It seems as though the economy is beginning to catch fire. Retail sales are strong. Housing remains hot. Corporate earnings are exceeding expectations. The stock market has rallied. Even the nation's beleaguered factories are doing better. And analysts predict a government report due Oct. 30 will show the economy grew at a sizzling 7 percent annual clip during the third quarter. So where are the jobs? It is the gauge most Americans use for economic health. The ability to find a job...

White evangelicals, black churches could reshape politics By WILLIAM McKENZIE / The Dallas Morning News This wasn't your ordinary presidential rally. Ministers were urging the crowd to "go crazy for the Lord." Shouts of "glory hallelujah" echoed through the sanctuary. Cries of "get radical for Jesus Christ" followed along. All the while, people clapped, swayed and sang. And this was before the main event, when the 43rd president of the United States was to appear. When George W. Bush finally strode onto the stage, alongside the Rev. Tony Evans, the sanctuary went wild. As I said, this wasn't your ordinary...

Uninsured young adults take high-stakes gamble Illnesses, accidents show risks of eschewing steep cost of coverage By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News Clint Bowers had always been in perfect health. So when the 24-year-old Baylor graduate was dropped from his family's insurance plan and couldn't land a job with health benefits, he took a gamble. He did without. Then four months ago, Mr. Bowers got the shock of his life. Suffering from a fever and fatigue, he went to see his doctor. The diagnosis: leukemia. "This is something you can't ever believe would happen to you," said Mr....

Hayward High picks girl to serve as king Teen stirs debate by seeking homecoming seat By Elizabeth Schainbaum HAYWARD -- Girls rule Hayward High School! Proof is in the regal display at the school's annual homecoming parade winding through downtown today. Atop the senior class's float is one girl wearing a dress. The other girl -- a pantsuit. Both waving and smiling. One is homecoming queen. The other king. "A lot of people didn't want to see us here, but step back and make way for the royalties," said homecoming king Angela Anthony, 17. She and homecoming queen Iesha Miller,...

The Best Editorial Cartoons Of The Week - 11/08/03

<p>I got this letter last night, in response to my zero tolerance article of a few weeks ago. I was wondering if there were any Freepers that would give me some suggestions on how to respond.</p> <p>Cathryn, my son has become what I would call a victom of the Zero Tolerance. He is 8 years old and it took what is called a multi-tool to school with him yesterday.He took it out to use the screwdriver function to try and repair his sunglasses and a boy saw him and turned him into the teacher. I got a call from the principal today asking me to come in and I did. She informed me that my son had a weapon at school and that he has been suspended for 10 days and will be recommendend for expulsion for one calendar year.</p>

Best Editorial Cartoons Of The Week - 11/01/03