(CNN) -- Bob Riter speaks to breast cancer patients, usually women, about something they can relate to -- his own experience with the disease.After a 1996 diagnosis, and treatment, Riter, 49, is in remission and working at the Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance in Ithaca, New York, as the associate director."Lots of people have heard talks and things about breast cancer over the last decade, and sometimes by being a guy with breast cancer, it's a different twist that catches their attention," Riter says. "It makes them, I think, more receptive to the whole conversation."Arguably, little attention is paid to breast cancer among men, partly because of the low incidence in the population coupled with the assumption that it's not a male disease.The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2005, 1,690 men in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer (compared to 211,240 women likely to be diagnosed). Of those, roughly 460 will die from the disease.But while the rates may differ, breast cancers among men and women are nearly identical, including in terms of detection and treatment."It turns out that breast cancer is really the same disease in men and women," says Riter. "Under the microscope, you can't tell the difference."Diagnosis and treatmentBreast cancer in men usually presents itself as a lump in the chest, dimpling of the skin or changes in the nipple. From there, doctors can conduct a breast exam, mammography and biopsy to determine if the abnormalities are in fact breast cancer. In some cases, discharge from the nipple can be tested for cancer cells.Men are most often diagnosed anywhere from five to 10 years later than women -- with the disease most likely to strike those between the ages of 60 and 70.When the cancer is diagnosed in men and women at the same stage, the survival rate is similar, says Debbie Saslow, director of breast and gynecological cancer at the American Cancer Society. Treatment for men with breast cancer, as in women, depends on the stage and type of tumor, she adds.Based on those factors, a male patient's treatment can start with a mastectomy to remove the tumor and, in some cases, the surrounding lymph nodes. It might also include chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy."The treatment very much parallels what we do with women," says Dr. Eric Winer, director of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Breast Oncology Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. "It seems to work about as well."Not just a women's diseaseRiter says he didn't think too much about the lump he felt under his right nipple one night as he was scratching his chest. But a few weeks later, when he began to bleed, he headed to the doctor, who in turn, sent him to a surgeon. To Riter's surprise, he was diagnosed with breast cancer.Among men with breast cancer-like symptoms, Riter is an exception. Often, men ignore some symptoms of the disease, because breast cancer doesn't come to mind as a potential ailment."One of the big problems for males is that men tend not to think about breast cancer. When they develop a sign or a symptom, unlike a woman, men tend not ... to go to the physician as quickly," says Dr. Lawrence Solin of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.That can result in a more advanced state of breast cancer when it's finally diagnosed, says Solin, which can affect a patient's survival rate. In 2005, the American Cancer Society estimates the survival rate for male breast cancer sufferers will be 73 percent, compared to 81 percent for women."The delay to diagnoses is substantially longer in men than in women," he says, noting that the successful public awareness efforts reminding women to examine themselves for lumps have been lost on many men.Awareness aside, experts acknowledge that while it is unnecessary all men (like women) should have regular mammograms, they do believe men should use good judgment."The biggest message is not so much that all men should do self-exams, but more that if a man feels lump, he should act on it. A woman who feels a lump should definitely get it checked out," Winer says.Combating assumptionsApart from the challenges of physically overcoming breast cancer, some male patients struggle with the disease's psychological baggage."A lot of guys with breast cancer go underground. They think of it as a women's disease and they're embarrassed about it, or they're ashamed of it," Riter says.But with a glint of hope, he adds that more men willingly talking about it.And Riter is doing his part, putting the disease in the spotlight for men and women alike."I really like to go to national breast cancer meetings," he says, "because a lot of people know that men get breast cancer in theory, but until you have a face to associate with it, it's fairly abstract. And so I'm sort of that face."CNN's Lauren Gracco and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (AP) -- The sun is barely up, but the movie theater parking lot holds dozens of cars.There's no early matinee. The cars belong to Hurricane Katrina refugees from New Orleans -- nursing students waiting for class to start.So in Theater 4, nursing management will be followed by "Serenity." After the Research in Nursing class, "Elizabethtown" is showing in Theater 6. An anatomy exam in 7 precedes "The Gospel." And in Theater 11, Mothers and Childbearing Families (aka obstetrics) is followed by the Wallace and Gromit movie "The Curse of the Were Rabbit.""It's just like an auditorium-style classroom," says Jenelle Johnson, 24. "They use PowerPoint. But we can smell popcorn on our way out."And there aren't any flip-up desktops -- something that helps explain the big box of free clipboards plopped in front of the theater, along with boxes of freebie pens, pencils, notepads, scrubs and warm socks (the air-conditioning is fierce) donated by businesses and other schools.Louisiana State University's nursing school gets to use the theater free as long as everyone clears out by 11 a.m. Other classes are held at more predictable spots around Baton Rouge, though many dental school courses are taught at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.While New Orleans' universities will not reopen until spring semester, LSU's medical school cranked up again just a month after Katrina, setting up shop in the state capital. Tulane's med school opened a week later, in Texas."We were amazed at their resilience," says Joe Keyes, senior vice president of the Association of American Medical Colleges.The vast majority of medical students -- LSU's 2,800 and Tulane's 2,600 -- stayed with their schools. The dental school reports only one of its 316 students transferred.Student living conditions vary. Johnson, who will graduate within months, lives half of the time on a Finnish ferry in the Port of Baton Rouge with students and faculty members. She also lives part-time with an aunt.The ferry, FinnJet, which had sailed the Baltic Sea for nearly 30 years, was obtained for housing by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Students get to live there free; about 500 have taken the offer."The food is great," Johnson says.There is the occasional collision between Nordic and Southern tastes -- the grits served are too watery and too finely ground, for instance."They try to get the grits out of grits," says Alecia Oden, an occupational therapy student.Oden owns a house on New Orleans' Louisiana Avenue. "It's 50-50," she says. "Fifty percent wet, 50 percent not. Not including the mold all over the walls."Dr. John Rock, chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center, says it was crucial to get the medical school back in business quickly. Other schools had begun recruiting top teachers and researchers almost immediately, he says."This class -- the class of 2005-2006, these men and women -- will be an important part of our recovery effort. They will be staffing our hospitals, caring for our patients," Rock says. "We felt it was just so important we not fall behind a year."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The door to a Hunter College lecture hall opens, and in steps Madonna. There's no tweed for this professor-for-a-day; she wears a black dress and form-fitting boots that stretch to her knees.She's the latest participant in "Stand In," one of MTV Networks' hottest features, particularly given its brevity and relative lack of visibility.The MTVu network, a spinoff seen primarily on college campuses, invites celebrities to be surprise lecturers. Since Jesse Jackson inaugurated the series in January 2004, "Stand In" has featured Bill Gates, Shimon Peres, Tom Wolfe, Kanye West, Ashley Judd, Russell Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Sen. John McCain and Sting."It brings the class to life in a way that few would ever imagine," said Stephen Friedman, MTVu's general manager.MTVu had envisioned a series where colleges would compete to hear a celebrity speak. But that proved too time-consuming to organize and when its second speaker, Marilyn Manson, nailed his appearance at Temple University, MTVu knew it had a better format.Manson walked into a class on art and politics in full makeup, writing "Mr. Manson" on the blackboard and setting down a bottle of absinthe before the startled students. He then led a discussion on the role of provocative art in society, saying "art to me is a question mark. I don't think it should ever be an answer."Gates, the one-time computer geek turned world's richest man, surprised a University of Wisconsin class on introduction to programming. McCain requested a visit to his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy, to talk politics.The students' reaction is key; most episodes someone with mouth agape at who has just walked into their sleepy classroom.Participating colleges and MTVu try to keep the secret by telling fibs to students who may wonder about the cameras when they show up to class.At Hunter last week, a film class was told it was screening Madonna's new documentary, "I'm Going to Tell You a Secret," and discussing it with the film's director. With an endless stream of adults walking in and out of the room during the movie, smart students figured out what was happening."Since there were security guards all lined up I figured she was coming," said Pinar Noorata, a junior film major. "That was kind of a dead giveaway. But I think everybody was still surprised. It was kind of surreal."As the students stood and applauded Madonna, about a half-dozen pointed their cell phone cameras in her direction so their friends would believe them later.They lobbed mostly softball questions about the film, Madonna's interest in kabbalah and her two-decade journey through different musical incarnations."I don't feel like I'm trying on personas," she said. "What I always hope to do is change and evolve. I have no regrets because that's life and life is about change."She looked back at students who weren't much younger than her when she made her journey from her home in Michigan to New York City, hoping to make it first as a dancer, then as a singer. She counseled self-confidence and tenacity."The biggest mistake that any of us can make is to believe what other people say about us," she said.Creating excitementFor the celebrities, the appearances offer a dose of hero worship in a carefully controlled environment, before a youthful audience many of them need to court. The white-suited Wolfe seemed genuinely juiced to stand before a class that was studying one of his novels.There's also the chance to promote a pet cause, like on Thursday when actress Cameron Diaz jolted awake an 8 a.m. Stanford University civil engineering class. She appeared with architect William McDonough to talk about building designs that protect the environment."I was expecting like 10 kids to show up," Diaz told The Associated Press later. "It's exciting. A few of the kids came up afterward and said, 'This is so great, this is something I'll remember.' Hopefully, it's something they'll be thinking about when they are sitting down trying to create."Sting brought his band to an advanced musical composition class at the University of Illinois-Chicago, offering one thrilled student the chance to add a flute solo to "Every Breath You Take.""To make it more meaningful, you really have to have the right class," Friedman said. "What makes this work is the setting of the right person in the right class."Seeing much of the stand-ins is a challenge, though. MTVu leaves most of the appearances on the cutting-room floor, boiling each down to a four-minute sound bite. MTVu is available only on television systems in dorms and dining halls at 730 college campuses, although this fall it became the first MTV Network streamed continuously on the Web. Past appearances are archived and can be viewed through the station's Web site.MTV is considering giving "Stand In" some exposure on the main network, Friedman said, and is also mulling making extended versions of the appearances available on the Internet.For Hunter College senior Ruomi Lee-Hampel, it turned out to be one class definitely not worth skipping."Hearing a director speak about his work was my purpose in coming," he said. "It was just an added bonus to see Madonna in fishnets."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- It's been about a decade since some Las Vegas resorts tried to market themselves as family destinations. The emphasis on fun for the kiddies has since given way to marketing dance clubs and $300 bottles of liquor to 20-somethings -- not to mention selling golf resorts and celebrity chefs to 50-somethings. For a mother of two, the line "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" can only mean that you'd rather forget that your kid threw up on a thrill ride here.But while the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has found that visitors with children make up only 10 percent of tourists, the city remains on the must-see list for many families. It's also near enough to places like Disneyland (265 miles away) and the Grand Canyon (275 miles away) to be included on itineraries for regional family trips.And even though there are plenty of ways to blow your money here, Las Vegas can be surprisingly affordable for a family vacation. Good deals abound for airfare and hotels, and many attractions are free. Besides, it's illegal for anyone under 21 to "loiter" in a casino. That means families can walk past slot machines to get to a restaurant, but Mom and Dad can't gamble the college funds away with Junior in tow.After friends raved about the fun they'd had in Vegas with their kids, my husband and I decided to check it out. But we were skeptical. Our mental images of the place were a patchwork of old Vegas -- a boozy, smoky, tacky place populated by losers in plaid jackets -- and new Vegas, where we assumed we'd scoff at the faux Brooklyn Bridge and absurd Eiffel Tower. After all, we live a mile from the real bridge in New York. We'd climbed the real tower in Paris. How could Vegas be anything but a joke?Surprise! The real Las Vegas was beautiful, sparkling, and thrilling. As New Yorkers, we are not accustomed to walking around other cities with our jaws open and our eyes fixed upwards saying "Wow!" That is a reaction we have only observed in other people visiting Manhattan. But that's exactly what we did as we toured the Strip with thousands of other tourists taking in one dazzling extravaganza after another.We walked across the mini-Brooklyn Bridge at the New York-New York hotel-casino and took pictures of the mini-Eiffel Tower, a perfect golden jewel outside the Paris Las Vegas hotel. We were hypnotized by the dancing fountains at Bellagio and loved the pyrotechnics of the volcano that blows up periodically outside The Mirage. The kids would have watched the lions in the glass cage at MGM Grand hotel all night if I hadn't pulled them away.The pirate battle staged outside Treasure Island was free and as entertaining as some Broadway shows I've seen -- only we didn't have to pay $60 for lousy seats. Sexy dancing girls on one ship faced off against cute pirate boys on another ship in a mini-operetta that includes fireworks and choreographed diving maneuvers worthy of the Olympics. (Some parents, however, may judge the bump-and-grind dancing and innuendos too racy for a family audience.)Dare I admit that we liked the ersatz black pyramid and statue of Pharoah at the Luxor as much as the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum? And the indoor roller coasters at the Adventuredome inside Circus Circus proved thrilling, even though we'd visited Disneyland and Universal Studios a week earlier. P.S., at $22.95 for an all-day pass, Circus Circus was a lot cheaper. The hotel also offers free live shows by circus performers.For those with bigger budgets, there are plenty more ways to empty your wallet with children at your side, including the Eiffel Tower Experience ($7 for children, $9 adults); the Manhattan Express Roller Coaster at New York-New York ($12.50); "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Hilton ($33.99 children, $36.99 adults), and the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay ($9.95 children, $15.95 adults).Choosing where to stay is one of the hardest decisions visitors to Las Vegas make. Every hotel offers something special. We went with the Monte Carlo because of the pool complex and because of its accessibility. You can walk to many other attractions from there, and its layout makes it fast and easy to get from your room to the street, garage or pool. This is no small consideration in Las Vegas, where people can miss their flights because it takes so long to exit massive hotels with multiple wings and thousands of rooms.Our game plan was to spend daylight hours poolside, then to see the Strip lit up at night. We spent hours in the Monte Carlo's lazy river -- the water feels marvelously cool when it's hot outside (it was 109 degrees when we visited in August), and it's heated in winter. And the current in the river is so strong you don't even need a tube -- you just float along. You can rent or buy tubes at the pool, but like other budget-conscious families we saw, we brought inflatable tubes from home.Fine cuisine is wasted on small children, so dining in the fabled restaurants at Wynn Las Vegas or Bellagio was never on our agenda. For lunch, we grazed from the poolside concession. A fruit platter -- a cornucopia of fresh pineapple, luscious berries and perfect cantaloupe -- was a welcome change from the usual junky snacks we eat on vacation.For supper, we went to the Peppermill, a diner that dates all the way back to 1972 -- an eternity in Vegas years. Compared to the rest of the city, the glitz here is low-key, yet it's sparkly and fun. Good service, reasonable prices, and the kids found plenty they liked. Order sparingly -- portions are enormous.For breakfast, the two-for-one buffet at our hotel was good, and the performance by the omelet chef was amazing. Part artist, part machine, he juggled four or five orders at once and executed each to perfection within moments.Our hotel front desk said we could keep our hotel room key card, now deactivated, as a pool pass for the day after we checked out, or as a memento. It's now a treasured part of my 12-year-old's Vegas keepsakes -- along with a "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" T-shirt.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Inside Dukem, one of the city's best-known Ethiopian restaurants, the bustle on the street seems far-removed as burning incense mingles with the aroma of spicy stews.On a small stage, performers in sequined white gowns thump on drums and sing traditional music from the East African nation. Patrons sitting nearby use their fingers -- no forks here -- to tear into spongy pancakes and scoop up exotic cuisine such as awaze tibs, which is lamb marinated with jalapeno, tomato and garlic.A new ethnic identity is taking root in a once-decaying neighborhood not far from the White House, where 10 Ethiopian restaurants are clustered together and dingy storefronts are now splashed with bright hues of blues, yellows and reds."You feel like you're in your own country when you come here," said Tefera Zewdie, the owner of Dukem, who left Ethiopia as a teenager 20 years ago.The Washington region has the world's biggest Ethiopian community outside of Africa, according to the Ethiopian embassy. The 2000 Census reports 15,000 Ethiopians have settled in the Washington area. But the embassy and those who study African immigration argue that number is far too low, saying the actual number is closer to 200,000.Now this growing ethnic group wants to be recognized in the city by naming a street "Little Ethiopia."But the location -- near U Street -- faces resistance from some in the community who want to preserve the area's historic significance. Before riots erupted in the 1960s, the area was known as America's "Black Broadway" because of its thriving black-owned jazz clubs, shops and theaters."They're trying to erase us," said longtime city resident Ora E. Drummer. "This community was built by African-Americans. I would never go to Ethiopia and name it 'Duke Ellington Way,"' she said. Ellington, an influential jazz musician, was a native of Washington and is closely linked with the neighborhood's history.Kinuthia Macharia, a sociology professor at American University, said he believes the special ethnic designation is more about the potential economic benefit for business owners, rather than an attempt by Ethiopians to elbow out other cultures."If you go to San Francisco or New York, people tell you about Chinatown," Macharia said. "In addition to eating, you visit businesses" giving them more exposure and raising their profile.There is already a Little Ethiopia in Los Angeles on Fairfax Avenue between Olympic and Pico boulevards. The area has many Ethiopian businesses and restaurants.A formal designation in Washington would be welcomed by Senedu Zewdie, Tefera's sister. She decided to open her own restaurant, Sodere, last spring a few blocks away from Dukem. On a recent weekday afternoon the restaurant was nearly empty -- but she says the crowds pick up on weekends.Designating the area Little Ethiopia, she said, would make it more of a destination for tourists who might otherwise ignore that section of Washington.Opponents include community activist Deairich "Dee" Hunter, who claims the campaign is the work of a "small group of people who are obsessed" with the idea. But several thousand people have signed a petition circulated in support of the name change, said Tamrat Medhin, who is leading the effort to hang signs that say Little Ethiopia, or something similar, on Ninth Street between U and T streets NW."The Ethiopian community came in and moved in when people were afraid to come to the neighborhood," said Medhin, who chairs the Ethiopian-American Constituency Foundation. His idea has the support of District of Columbia Councilman Jim Graham, who represents the neighborhood.Graham said he favors the idea of Little Ethiopia because of the immigrants' significant contributions. Besides restaurants, Ethiopians also have opened churches, hair salons and a community services center."Anything we do that underscores the multicultural nature of where we live ... is fine with me," said Graham, who spent about a month in Africa last year to learn more about the people he represents.Many Ethiopians began arriving in the United States after a military coup in the 1970s, said Hermela Kebede, the leader of Washington's Ethiopian Community Center, which assists newcomers by helping them find housing and offering English classes.She said the presence of the embassy is a big reason Ethiopians initially decided to settle in Washington. Now, the community has grown so large it has its own Ethiopian Yellow Pages."They're coming from one Ethiopia to another," Kebede said.Graham said it is too soon to say when the D.C. Council will act on the Little Ethiopia proposal. In the meantime, he said it is important to win the support of those who are angered by the Ethiopians' campaign.Zewdie, the owner of Sodere, also hopes that naming the area Little Ethiopia will increase Americans' awareness of her homeland, pointing out that many people know little about Ethiopia, except for what they have seen and read in the news about famines and war."Ethiopia has a rich culture," she said. "We want (people) to come back again and again."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) -- NASA decided Sunday to close the Kennedy Space Center and told its 13,000 workers to stay home Monday as Hurricane Wilma races across Florida.Meteorologists were predicting winds of about 60 mph at the space shuttle's home port at Cape Canaveral, on Florida's east-central coast, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.In preparation for the storm, the payload bay doors of the space shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour were closed in case of leaks in the hangar where they are located. Computers and other electronic equipment were covered in plastic.A plutonium-powered space probe being prepared for launch in January to Pluto was packed inside a transportation carrier, KSC spokesman George Diller said.A small team of emergency workers spent the night at the space center to watch over the shuttles, various payloads awaiting rides to orbit and critical ground support equipment.For now, Kennedy Space Center officials expected to be closed only Monday."We anticipate being open for regular business on Tuesday," Diller said.NASA already has been hard hit by hurricanes this season.Katrina's assault on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast on August 29 shut down the agency's external fuel tank assembly facility in New Orleans and its shuttle engine testing center in Mississippi.The agency has been trying to resume construction on the international space station, which has been on hold since before the 2003 Columbia disaster. NASA grounded the shuttle fleet during the last shuttle mission and hopes to resume flights in May 2006.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DARMSTADT, Germany (Reuters) -- The launch of the European Space Agency's "Venus Express" spacecraft has been delayed after technicians discovered contamination in the Russian-made launcher, an ESA official said on Monday.Europe's first mission to Venus was scheduled for Wednesday but will be delayed for several days while tests are carried out on the Soyuz-Fregat launcher, a spokesman at the agency's European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt said.The tests on the covering of the carrier rockets where the contamination was discovered at the weekend will only take a few days, the spokesman said. After that, the spacecraft should be launched as planned from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.The Venus Express probe will travel through space for around 163 days and once it is captured by Venusian gravity, it will orbit the planet and analyze its atmosphere and clouds.Among the mysteries about Venus the mission hopes to solve is why a planet so similar to Earth in size, mass and composition has evolved so differently over the course of the last 4,600 million years.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Federal regulators on Thursday approved what would be the first transplant of fetal stem cells into human brains, a procedure that if successful could open the door to treating a host of neural disorders.The transplant recipients will be children who suffer from a rare, fatal genetic disorder.The Food and Drug Administration said that doctors at Stanford University Medical Center can begin the testing on six children afflicted with Batten disease, a degenerative malady that renders its young victims blind, speechless and paralyzed before it kills them.An internal Stanford review board must still approve the test, a process that could take weeks.The stem cells to be transplanted in the brain aren't human embryonic stem cells, which are derived from days-old embryos. Instead, the cells are immature neural cells that are destined to turn into the mature cells that makeup a fully formed brain.Parkinson's disease patients and stroke victims have received transplants of fully formed brain cells before, but the malleable brain cells involved here have never before been implanted.Batten disease is caused by a defective gene that fails to create an enzyme needed in the brain to help dispose of brain cellular waste. The waste piles up and kills healthy cells until the patient dies. Most victims die before they reach their teens.The idea is to inject the sick kids with healthy, immature neural stem cells that will "engraft" in a brain that will direct them to turn into cells able to produce the missing enzyme.Such an experiment showed promise in Batten-afflicted mice, but such an ethically charged test has never been tried before in humans."I'm sure there is no threat to anyone's identity," said Arthur Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics. "But we are starting down that road."What's more, some of the brain cells to be implanted will be derived from aborted fetuses, which Caplan also said raised ethical concerns for some.Concern expectedStem Cells Inc., the Palo Alto, California biotechnology company developing the Batten disease treatment, said it receives its fetal tissue from a nonprofit California foundation that also collects tissue from miscarriages and other surgical processes. Stem Cells chief executive Martin McGlynn declined to name the foundation.Stem Cells Inc. first applied for the human test last December, but the FDA demanded more information in February and put the application on hold. An FDA spokeswoman didn't return telephone calls or an e-mail inquiry.McGlynn said the FDA wanted more information on where the transplanted brain cells were expected to go in the brain and other related health issues such as the chances the transplant might cause tumors. McGlynn also said the agency wanted more information on its manufacturing process and more details about the design of the six-patient test.He said the FDA's concern was expected."This endeavor is unique. It's pioneering and no one has ever proposed to do what we are attempting," McGlynn said. "Once you put those stem cells in, you can't get them back."Stanford University neurosurgeon chief Dr. Stephen Huhn will bore small holes through each child's skull and inject the neural cells into the patients' brains. The children will be given drugs to ensure the patients immune system doesn't attack the new cells and they will be closely monitored for a year.Huhn said the initial Batten trial will primarily test whether the millions of new cells each child receives is safe for them. Ultimately, more tests with many more patients over several years will be needed to determine whether the transplanted cells help Batten patients.Human testingIf there is success, people afflicted by other brain disorders could benefit from such treatment."This may be what the future may hold for regenerative medicine," Huhn said.Stem Cells Inc. was founded by Stanford University researcher Irving Weissman. The company's stock closed up 11 cents to $4.96 in trading Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.McGlynn said Batten disease was chosen because mice genetically engineered with the disease were readily available and because it's a brutal, fatal disease with no cure -- a fact the FDA considered when weighing whether to approve such a novel human experiment.McGlynn said the stem cells had to be tested in humans."You cannot ask a mouse how it's feeling," he said.For Marcus Kerner, a federal prosecutor in Santa Ana, California with a Batten-afflicted son, the FDA's approval Thursday gave him hope his child may actually survive.He said he will apply to have his 5-year-old son Daniel enrolled in the experiment."It is a horrific, terrible way to watch a child die and there is currently nothing available to stop it," Kerner said. "I think this is going to be a major medical breakthrough that will save Daniel's life."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

OTTAWA, Canada (AP) -- World health ministers meeting in Canada to discuss strategies to fight the spread of bird flu emphasized that preventing the disease from mutating into a deadly human virus was as important as developing new vaccines against it.That said, some officials at the opening of a two-day conference on battling a potential flu pandemic were discussing whether they might have to break international patent regulations to produce generic versions of Tamiflu if it came down to saving their civilians."A suggestion that's being made by some countries is that there are countries that have the capacity to manufacture the vaccine, that we actually need to assist them with technology transfers," Canada's Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh told a news conference on Monday. He said technology transfers was "a euphemism for loosening the patent laws."Dosanjh was referring to recent statements by Indian authorities, who are weighing whether there is enough risk of bird flu spreading in their impoverished nation to invoke a compulsory licensing clause to lift Swiss pharmaceutical Roche's patent of Tamiflu, the coveted anti-flu drug considered by many as the only viable one that can fight bird flu.The World Trade Organization in 2003 decided to allow governments to override patents during national health crises, though no member state has yet invoked the clause."It may not be resolved here; but there are countries out there that are saying they will defy patent protections and we couldn't be judgmental if people are dying," Dosanjh said.World Health Organization Director General Lee Jong-Wook said the conference delegates were consider a proposal by Mexico for the wealthier nations to put aside 10 percent of their stockpiles of Tamiflu and other potential influenza drugs for poorer nations. He said some nations had suggested 5 percent was more in line with reality, but conceded some countries likely would horde drugs in the face of a true pandemic."In time, when there's a real need for Tamiflu, the basic instinct will be, `This is for our people,' and it's an unnatural act to share this precious small quantity of medicines with others," Lee said. That is why, he said: "It makes a lot of sense to try and put out the fire out there, rather than waiting for this wave to reach you."Lee emphasized the need for transparency and immediate reporting of any cases of avian flu. China was widely criticized in the early stages of SARS for not going public with its cases.Dr. Jacques Diouf, head of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, said countries must not overlook the goal of tamping down bird flu in Southeast Asia while obsessing over the development of antiviral drugs."As the world takes prudent measures to prepare for a major human pandemic, greater measures must be taken to stop this disease, in its tracks, at its source, in animals. This is very possible. It can be done," Diouf said.He said it would take more money to make a dent in efforts to wrestle under control the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, which is endemic in parts of Asia. He said 140 million chickens and ducks had been culled in Southeast Asian, costing those countries $10 billion and devastating rural communities.Diouf suggested it would take $1 billion to make a dent in efforts to wrestle under control the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, which is endemic in parts of Asia. However, only $25 million has been pledged.As the conference convened, European health officials were meeting in Copenhagen to review that continent's readiness for a possible human pandemic.The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in Russia, Romania and Turkey, and experts in Britain were trying to determine Monday whether six Croatian swans found last week had H5N1 -- a strain that scientists fear could mutate into a virus that would easily spread person-to-person.Though medical research has advanced tremendously since the Spanish flu of 1918, which claimed as many as 50 million lives worldwide, air travel and open borders make the threat of pandemic ominous.Dr. David Nabarro, the U.N.'s point man on bird flu, caused a stir last month when he warned that a pandemic could kill anywhere from 5 million to 150 million people, prompting WHO to try to dampen fears by estimating 7.4 million deaths was a better forecast.The bird flu remains the greatest threat in Southeast Asia, where the virus has killed 61 people since 2003, mostly poultry farmers and their relatives in Vietnam and Thailand. Indonesia and Cambodia have also suffered a combined seven deaths.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

FRESNO, California (AP) -- A judge ruled Friday that proceeds from a $250,000 life insurance policy Scott Peterson took out on his wife, Laci, will go to her mother instead.Because Scott Peterson was convicted of killing his pregnant wife, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Roger Beauchesne said he is not entitled to collect the benefits of her life insurance policy. Under state law, criminals cannot profit from their crimes.The judge said the money should go to the executor of Laci Peterson's estate, her mother, Sharon Rocha.Neither Rocha, who had petitioned the court, nor Scott Peterson's attorney could be reached for comment Friday.Scott Peterson was sentenced to death earlier this year for killing his wife and their unborn son. Their bodies were found on the shore of San Francisco Bay months after her December 2002 disappearance.A $25 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against Scott Peterson by Laci Peterson's family is set for trial in April.

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Lashaun Harris had been hospitalized and prescribed drugs to quiet the voices inside her head.Still, legal and mental health experts say it will be difficult to prove the 23-year-old mother was legally insane when she dropped her three young sons to their deaths in San Francisco Bay.California is one of about 20 states that uses the strictest legal standard for assessing a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Under the rule, criminal defendants must show not only evidence of mental illness, but that they were incapable of determining right from wrong."Somebody may be very clearly psychotic and have a history of behaviors that establish the person was ... delusional, but that doesn't get you to insanity the way the law looks at it," said Ron Honberg, legal director for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.Harris, scheduled to return to court Friday, will most likely face a hearing to determine if she is mentally competent to stand trial, and psychiatrists eventually will attempt to determine whether she was insane at the time.Harris' lawyer, Teresa Caffese, refused comment last week on whether her client would claim insanity. Harris has pleaded not guilty to three counts of capital murder.On Wednesday evening, authorities said Harris lifted the boys over the railing of a downtown pier, dropping them one by one into the chilly 53-degree water 10 feet below. Authorities said she told investigators that voices instructed her to do so.The body of Taronta Greeley, 2, was recovered late Wednesday night about two miles from Pier 7. The other two boys-- Treyshun Harris, 6 and Joshoa Greeley, 16 months -- remained missing Sunday and were presumed dead.Relatives say the former nurse's assistant, who gave birth to her first child at age 16, suffers from schizophrenia that surfaced within the past two years and recently worsened when she stopped taking her medication.Harris' history as a struggling young, single mother may have exacerbated her condition, said Shari Lusskin, director of reproductive psychiatry at New York University Medical Center."She is a walking risk factor," Lusskin said.Rare defenseLegal experts say insanity defenses are used only in about 2 percent of all felony cases, and acquittals remain relatively uncommon. Mothers have had mixed success arguing they were not responsible for their actions because of mental illness.Christina Riggs, a nurse who injected her two sons with potassium chloride, the chemical used in executions, was put to death in Arkansas five years ago after an unsuccessful insanity defense.Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who in 2001 methodically drowned her five children in a bathtub. Despite an insanity plea based on postpartum psychosis, she was sentenced to life in prison.In contrast, Deanna Laney, a Texas woman who beat her two young sons to death with rocks, was acquitted by reason of insanity earlier this year.Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for Harris.Experts say the frequency of such cases points to the need for more aggressive monitoring of mentally ill mothers. In New York, for example, mothers can be ordered by a court to undergo treatment or take drugs to control their illness.Even making it socially acceptable for mothers to talk about the difficulties of parenting could help prevent such tragic outcomes, said Santa Clara University law professor Michelle Oberman."Imagine the life of a 23-year-old with three children under the age of 7, something that by definition includes a lot of struggle even if you are mentally healthy, even if you finished school, even if you are employed," said Oberman, co-author of "Mothers Who Kill Their Children: Understanding the Acts of Moms From Susan Smith to the Prom Mom.""It's ludicrous to think that a mother who is schizophrenic can parent a child, let alone three children on her own. It's a recipe for disaster," Oberman said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Monday that he will not release any records of his conversations with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers that could threaten the confidentiality of the advice that presidents get from their lawyers."It's a red line I'm not willing to cross," Bush said.Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding more documents on Miers, including from her work at Bush's counsel."People can learn about Harriet Miers through hearings, but we are not going to destroy this business about people being able to walk into the Oval Office to say, Mr. President, this is my advice," Bush said after a meeting with his Cabinet.Bush did not directly answer the question that was posed to him by a reporter at the end of the meeting -- whether the White House is working on contingency plans to withdraw Miers nomination in the face of opposition to her from liberals and conservatives. Instead, he said that she is an "extraordinary woman" and that he understands people want to learn more about her."Recently, requests, however, have been made by Democrats and Republicans about paperwork out of this White House that would make it impossible for me and other presidents to be able to make sound decisions," Bush said. "In other words, they've asked for paperwork about the decision- making process, what her recommendations were. And that would breach very important confidentially."Earlier, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush is committed to sticking with Miers until the Senate vote."He's confident that she will be confirmed because as senators come to know her like the president knows her, we're confident that they will recognize she will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice," McClellan said.Schumer: Miers lacks votesNew York Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings on her nomination said Sunday that she doesn't have the votes to be confirmed. Republicans countered that Schumer cannot predict how the GOP-controlled Senate will decide Miers' fate.Many Republicans have yet to commit to approve President Bush's second nominee to the high court, and some outside conservatives have started organized efforts to force the White House to withdraw her name.Conservative groups like the Third Branch Conference, Eagle Forum, and Center for Military Readiness are now organizing efforts to force Miers' withdrawal, including starting a Web site: http://www.withdrawmiers.org/."If President Bush continues with this nomination, he's in serious danger of permanent losing the support of the majority of the conservative movement," said Richard Viguerie, a conservative direct-mail fund-raising guru who runs American Target Advertising.Miers' confirmation hearings begin Nov. 7. Schumer said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," that lawmakers of both parties are concerned about Miers' independence and judicial philosophy."I think, if you were to hold the vote today, she would not get a majority, either in the Judiciary Committee or on the floor," he said. "I think there is maybe one or two on the Judiciary Committee who have said they'd support her as of right now."Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, rejected the notion that Miers' nomination was shaky. He said most senators are waiting for the hearings before making up their minds. "There are no votes one way or another," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation."Another committee Republican, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, told "Fox News Sunday" that he has not seen "anything coming from the White House that says that they're going to pull this nomination."Brownback, who has been skeptical of Miers and has not announced how he will vote, added, "They're doing everything they can to prepare Harriet Miers for the hearings right now."Miers, a longtime Bush confidante who has never been a judge, was nominated to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The choice has troubled some conservatives who say it was risky because Miers was a blank slate on issues such as abortion and gay rights.Democrats, too, have expressed concerns about whether Miers could sever her close ties to Bush and rule independently once on the bench.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Bush said Monday the investigation into the outing of a covert CIA operative was "very serious," even as Republican allies started casting aspersions on the prosecutor and the possibility of perjury charges.The mixed signals came as special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald appeared close to indicting top White House officials in the nearly two-year investigation, lawyers involved in the case said.Fitzgerald's investigation has focused largely on Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, and Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, and their conversations with reporters about CIA operative Valerie Plame in June and July of 2003.After a Cabinet meeting, Bush was asked whether he agreed with Republican suggestions that Fitzgerald may be overzealous and that possible perjury charges would be little more than legal technicalities."This is a very serious investigation," Bush said. Rove sat behind the president in the Cabinet room; across the room sat Libby.Lawyers involved in the case say Fitzgerald has laid the groundwork for indictments this week, and that he was focusing on whether Rove, Libby and others may have tried to conceal their involvement in the leak from investigators.Indictments against any top officials would be a severe blow to an administration already at a low point in public opinion, and would put a spotlight on aggressive tactics used by the White House to counter critics of its Iraq policy.Plame's identity was leaked to the media after her diplomat husband, Joseph Wilson, challenged the Bush administration's prewar intelligence on Iraq.Lawyers said one possibility was a "split decision" in which Libby is indicted and Rove is spared.But one lawyer involved in the case said that could be just as damaging to the White House because of the possibility that Cheney himself could be implicated in any resulting trial."It's improbable to think of Libby out there as a free agent," the lawyer said.Bracing for bad news, White House officials are discussing how to cope without Rove and Libby if they are indicted and forced to step down.Asked about the uncertainty, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said, "We've got to keep our energies focused on the things we can do something about."While Fitzgerald could still charge administration officials with knowingly revealing Plame's identity, the lawyers said he appeared more likely to seek charges for easier-to-prove crimes such as making false statements, obstruction of justice and disclosing classified information.Over the weekend, Republicans launched a pre-emptive strike against possible charges for perjury.Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas derided any potential perjury charge as a "technicality," and suggested Fitzgerald may be trying to show that "two years' of investigation was not a waste of time and dollars."Other Republicans with close ties to the White House suggested that Fitzgerald was looking at perjury and obstruction charges because he was having trouble proving that officials knowingly leaked the identity of a covert operative.In contrast, Bush has publicly praised Fitzgerald's investigation, saying earlier this month that "he's doing it in a very dignified way."Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- If there's a Hollywood A-list that casting directors consult when they need a young girl in a lead role, Dakota Fanning certainly is at the top.The 11-year-old star has become such a hot talent, she even manages to cross over to the A-list for young boy roles.Fanning's part in the horse-racing family flick "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" had been written for a boy. Then writer-director John Gatins caught Fanning in "Man on Fire" and rethought the gender of young Cale Crane, who teams with her dad (Kurt Russell) to nurse an injured thoroughbred back to champion status."I was so impressed with her as I have been in the past and thought, she's the perfect age at this point, and what an opportunity it would be for this movie to take on a whole other level of complexity given what she does as an actor," Gatins said of Fanning."I think I even sent Dakota the script that had the word 'boy' in it" to describe Cale, Gatins said. "I told her, 'I just wanted you to read the script and see if you might be interested.' It's rare air with Dakota, and I think everyone kind of realizes that."Chatting with Fanning, though, there's no rare air. She's a giggly, smiley, fidgety sprite who's as sweetly adorable in person as she is on screen.Given the precociousness she captures on film, you expect a little adult spouting about how the character resonated with an emotional truth that leapt off the page and demanded that she take the role.In truth, Fanning just wanted a pony."I had never been around horses at all. That's why I wanted to do it," Fanning said in an interview at September's Toronto International Film Festival, where "Dreamer" premiered.Co-stars: Penn, Washington, Cruise, De NiroSpending half her life as a professional actress, Fanning has been around some of the biggest names in the business, a roster of collaborators that would be the envy of actresses five times her age.After a start in commercials and TV guest spots, Fanning shot to fame as the daughter of a retarded man (Sean Penn) in 2001's "I Am Sam," becoming the youngest nominee ever, at age 7, for the Screen Actors Guild awards.Her leading men since then include Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds," Denzel Washington in "Man on Fire," Robert De Niro in "Hide and Seek" and now Russell and Kris Kristofferson in "Dreamer."Fanning co-starred with Mike Myers in "The Cat in the Hat," Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon in "Trapped" and Brittany Murphy in "Uptown Girls." She starred in Spielberg's alien-abduction TV miniseries "Taken," played Reese Witherspoon's character as a young girl in "Sweet Home Alabama" and was Glenn Close's daughter in a segment of the newly released "Nine Lives," an anthology film of short dramas about women.Elisabeth Shue, who had co-starred with the young actress in "Hide and Seek," signed on to play her mother in "Dreamer" because she was eager to work with Fanning again."I was really so excited and thought, 'If there's a part, I don't care what it is, I'm going to do it just because I love her so much,' " said Shue, describing Fanning as a brilliant natural performer who remains a bright, unaffected child despite the trappings of stardom."She is a little girl," Shue said. "Her playful spirit is very much alive when she's not working. Even when she is working, she comes and she runs and hugs everybody in the morning, and her beautiful smile just sort of forces everybody, pushes them, to open up to the day."For Fanning, who recalls always playing little pretend scenes around her home in Georgia, film acting is the ultimate game of make-believe. She showed a flair for acting early on, and after a brief stint at a local playhouse, Fanning moved with her parents to Los Angeles.Her mother accompanies her to sets, but Fanning said her parents are not actively involved in her film choices. The decisions are all hers."I have a feeling it's kind of like working with a horse that's too big for you to control yourself, too strong," said Kristofferson, who plays Fanning's grandfather in "Dreamer." "But you can just sort of guide it or aid it in living. I don't think it was anybody's idea but Dakota's to be who she is, and they supported her."Loving her work Fanning starred in one of the year's biggest hits, "War of the Worlds," with Tom Cruise. Fanning approaches acting with the energy of a child at play and no affectation, just a pragmatic desire to fill the character's shoes when the camera rolls.To capture a sad mood in "I Am Sam," she thought about her goldfish that had recently died, but she is hardly a junior method actor referencing her own life for emotional experiences to embody what a character is going through."I think it's just when you're playing the character, just kind of into your character, you're kind of thinking and feeling what she's thinking and feeling at the time," Fanning said. "So if she's doing that, you're doing that."In "Dreamer," Fanning dominates scene after scene, notably in a sequence in the family's horse stable with most of her co-stars, including Russell, Kristofferson and David Morse as the villain trying to buy back the injured thoroughbred by waving a fistful of dollars in Fanning's face.The tiny Fanning goes toe-to-toe with the hulking Morse, mouthing off and knocking his character down to her size."That's my favorite scene, because we were all together," Fanning said. "Those are my favorite scenes, when we're all there having a good time, and it was a scene that we could really have fun with and be really mean and do different things. I think it's cool to do movies and do things that you wouldn't be able to do in real life, and that's a thing I wouldn't get to do in life, so that's what makes it fun."Next up, Fanning gets to play with talking animals, starring as the main human character in a live-action version of "Charlotte's Web" due out next summer.Fanning is home-schooled and has a teacher who accompanies her when she's shooting a movie. She said she plans to go to college, but that acting will remain her lifelong career.Does Fanning ever feel she's missing out on her childhood?"No, no. Never," Fanning said. "Not at all. I enjoy what I'm doing so much that that doesn't even bother me at all, because I feel like I wouldn't be as happy."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (AP) -- Maybe someday, officials will put up a statue marking this quaint village as the birthplace of "Calvin and Hobbes."Just don't expect cartoonist Bill Watterson to attend the unveiling ceremony. It's been nearly 10 years since he abruptly quit drawing one of the most popular comic strips of all time. Since then, he's been as absent as the precocious Calvin and his pet tiger, err, stuffed animal, Hobbes.Some call Watterson reclusive. Others say he just likes his privacy."He's an introspective person," says his mother, Kathryn, standing at the front door her home, its yard covered by a tidy tangle of black-eyed Susans and other wildflowers. It's where Watterson grew up. Calvin lived there too, so to speak. Watterson used the well-kept, beige Cape Cod-style house as the model for Calvin's home.You might even expect Calvin to come bounding out the door with Hobbes in tow, the screen door banging behind them. After all, the guy on the front porch kind of resembles Calvin's dad. Readers will remember him as the exasperated patent attorney who enjoyed gummy oatmeal and jogging in 20-degree weather.Sure enough, Watterson's father, Jim, has a sheen of sweat on his neck, not from a run but from the 73-year-old's three-mile morning walk.Watterson has acknowledged satirizing his father, who is now a semiretired patent attorney, in the strip. Jim Watterson says whenever Calvin's dad told him that something he didn't want to do "builds character," they were words he had spoken to his cartoonist son.After "Calvin and Hobbes" ended, Jim Watterson and his son would paint landscapes together, setting up easels along the Chagrin River or other vistas. He laughed that sometimes they'd spend more time choosing a site than painting. But they haven't painted together for years.So what's Watterson been up to since ending "Calvin and Hobbes?" It's tough to say.His parents will say only that he's happy, but they won't say where he lives, and the cartoonist could not be reached for an interview.His former editor, Lee Salem, also remains mum, saying only that as a painter Watterson started with watercolors and has evolved to oils."He's in a financial position where he doesn't need to meet the deadlines anymore," Salem says.Watterson's parents respect -- but have no explanation for -- their son's extremely private nature. It doesn't run in the family. Kathryn is a former village councilwoman and Jim is seeking his fourth council term this fall. Their other son, Tom, is a high school teacher in Austin, Texas.Comic strips and 17th-century artBill Watterson, 47, hasn't made a public appearance since he delivered the commencement speech in 1990 at his alma mater, Kenyon College. But he recently welcomed some written questions from fans to promote the October 4 release of the three-volume "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes," which contains every one of the 3,160 strips printed during its 10-year run.Among his revelations:He reads newspaper comics, but doesn't consider this their golden age.He's never attended any church.He's currently interested in art from the 1600s.Salem, who edited thousands of "Calvin and Hobbes" strips at Universal Press Syndicate, says that Watterson is private and media shy, not a recluse. Salem didn't want to see the strip end, but understood Watterson's decision."He came to a point where he thought he had no more to give to the characters," Salem says."Calvin and Hobbes" appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers during its run, one of the few strips to reach an audience that large.Its success was rooted in the freshness of Calvin -- an imaginative 6-year-old who has the immaturity of a child and the psychological complexity of a 40-year-old. As for Hobbes, the device of Calvin viewing him as alive and everybody else seeing him as a stuffed animal was simply brilliant, Salem says.Their all-encompassing bond of friendship -- being able to share joy and have fun together, yet get angry and frustrated with one another -- was another reason for the strip's success.Universal would welcome Watterson back along with "Calvin and Hobbes" or any other characters he dreams up. "He knows the door's open and he knows where we are," Salem says.There are few signs of Watterson or "Calvin and Hobbes" in Chagrin Falls, a town of 4,000 that has evolved from a manufacturing hub centered on its namesake falls to an upscale area of stately homes and giant maple trees.A Godzilla-sized Calvin is depicted wreaking havoc on Chagrin Falls on the back cover of "The Essential Calvin and Hobbes," released in 1988. He's carrying off the Popcorn Shop, where sweet smells have flowed from its spot on the falls for about 100 years.Fireside Book Shop, located just out of earshot of the water's roar, carries 15 different "Calvin and Hobbes" books -- customers used to be able to find autographed copies. Store employee Lynn Mathews says Watterson's mother used to deliver the signed copies to raise money for charity or just to help the book shop. That ended when the cartoonist discovered that some ended up on eBay, she said.The demand remains, though."I get a couple e-mails a month from people looking for signed books," said Jean Butler, Fireside's officer manager.Watterson and his wife, Melissa, moved earlier this year from their home in the village -- a century house on a hill between downtown and the high school, where the mascot is a tiger.'My choice was made'As a child, Watterson knew he would be an astronaut or a cartoonist. "I kept my options open until seventh grade, but when I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made," he wrote in the introduction to "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes."He loved "Peanuts" as a child and started drawing comics. He majored in political science at Kenyon. Thinking he could blend the two subjects, he became a political cartoonist but was fired from his first job at the Cincinnati Post after a few months. So he took a job designing car and grocery ads, but continued cartooning, even though several strip ideas were rejected.But Universal liked "Calvin and Hobbes" and launched its run November 18, 1985, in 35 newspapers. Calvin caught Hobbes in a tiger trap with a tuna sandwich in the first strip. He spent the next 10 years driving his parents crazy, annoying his crush, Susie Derkins, and playing make-believe as his alter egos Spaceman Spiff and Stupendous Man.Many of the best moments, though, were time spent alone with his pal, Hobbes."The end of summer is always hard on me, trying to cram in all the goofing off I've been meaning to do," Calvin tells Hobbes in an August 24, 1987, strip, the two sitting beneath a tree.Watterson ended the strip on December 31, 1995, with a statement: "I believe I've done what I can do within the constraints of daily deadlines and small panels. I am eager to work at a more thoughtful pace, with fewer artistic compromises."The last strip shows Calvin and Hobbes sledding off after a new fallen snow. "It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy ... let's go exploring!" Calvin says in the final two panels.Fans cried out in letters for Watterson to change his mind. Some, like Watterson's parents, say the funny pages haven't been the same since."It was like getting a letter from home," Jim Watterson says of reading his son's work each morning.People continue to ask the Wattersons if their son will ever send Calvin and his buddy Hobbes on new adventures."He might draw something else, but he won't do that again," Kathryn Watterson says.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Chris Claypool was addicted to his BlackBerry wireless handheld. Like many users, he never thought twice about pecking away at lightning speed, replying to a wave of e-mails from clients around the globe.Last year, the 37-year-old agricultural sales director from Post Falls, Idaho, noticed a throbbing sensation in this thumbs whenever he typed. He switched to tapping with his index finger, then his middle digit and finally his pinky. But his thumbs pained him to the point where he can't even press the buttons on his TV remote control.After months of aching, Claypool took a break. Now he only uses his BlackBerry to send short messages -- typing with the tip of a pencil eraser whenever his thumbs get sore."It affects business because I can't whack away on my BlackBerry like I used to," he said. "It's just too painful."Repetitive motion injuries, which have long afflicted desktop and laptop computer users, are invading the mobile handheld world.There's even an informal name for the malady -- "BlackBerry Thumb" -- a catch-all phrase that describes a repetitive stress injury of the thumb as a result of overusing small gadget keypads.Business executives and tech-savvy consumers are increasingly using BlackBerries, Treos, Sidekicks and other devices with miniature keyboards designed for thumb-tapping to stay connected while on the go.And that has some ergonomic and hand experts worried about injuries from overexertion."If you're trying to type 'War and Peace' with your thumbs, then you're going to have a problem," warned Alan Hedge, director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.No national statistics exist on how many people suffer from this type of thumb ailment, but some doctors say they are seeing an upswing in related cases, said Dr. Stuart Hirsch, an orthopedist at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey."It's mostly the road warrior who prefers to answer e-mails on a thumb keyboard," said Hirsch. "If all you did was just answer with a simple yes and no, it would not be a dilemma."For as long as video gamers have been blasting aliens, so-called "Gamer's Thumb" has been a sore spot for them, as well. With tens of millions of portable video game machines on the market, lots of young hands risk digit abuse.Games for such devices generally include some type of printed warning about injury risks from prolonged playing.Earlier this year, the American Society of Hand Therapists issued a consumer alert, warning users of small electronic gadgets that heavy thumb use could lead to painful swelling of the sheath around the tendons in the thumb.The group recommended taking frequent breaks during e-mailing and resting one's arms on a pillow for support.A booklet that ships with the Nintendo DS handheld system advises a 10 to 15 minute break for each hour of play, and a break of at least several hours if gamers experience wrist or hand soreness."People tend to use just one finger over and over again and it's that repetitive use with one digit that could lead to problems," said Stacey Doyon, vice president of the American Society of Hand Therapists and a registered occupational therapist in Portland, Maine.The BlackBerry, which debuted in 1999, employs a full QWERTY keypad for thumb typing to automatically send and receive e-mail. About 2.5 million people currently use Blackberries, more than double from a year ago.An executive for Research In Motion Ltd., which makes the BlackBerry, said the company considers ergonomic factors when designing its keyboards."Of course, any product can be overused ... so people should listen to their own bodies and adjust their routine if necessary. But I would caution against confusing rare examples of overuse with the typical experience," Mark Guibert, vice president of marketing, wrote in an e-mail.Musculoskeletal disorders, which include repetitive strain injuries, accounted for a third of all workplace injuries and illnesses reported in 2003 -- the latest data available, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Specialists say the thumb -- considered by many as an island because it is set apart from the other fingers -- is among the least dexterous digit and is not meant to be rigorously worked out.For people who insist on typing more than a sentence with their thumbs, external keyboards that connect to the gadgets may be a less painful alternative, said Dr. Jennifer Weiss, assistant professor of orthopedics at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.Treatment for BlackBerry thumb may include wearing a splint and applying ice to the affected area. If the pain persists, doctors may opt to inject the thumb area with a cortisone shot. Surgery may be required as a last resort.John Orminski, a 44-year-old information technology manager from Pontiac, Michigan, went to a doctor in the spring after feeling a strain in his right thumb.On any given day, Orminski uses his thumb repeatedly to punch clients' telephone numbers, scroll through his address book and update his calendar on his BlackBerry.Orminski already suffers from golfer's elbow -- a form of tendinitis -- from playing the sport. But unlike his elbow pain, which occurs in spurts, Orminski's thumb woes tend to flare up more often.He recently started physical therapy for this thumb -- receiving electrical stimulation and massage to relax the muscles."It can get sore and tender, but I'm learning to live with it."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WATERLOO, Ontario (AP) -- You've likely seen their famous faces in American Express television commercials: Robert De Niro ruminating over his city; Ellen DeGeneres dancing to her own beat; and Mike Lazaridis scribbling on his blackboard.Mike Lazaridis?While the seemingly unpronounceable name and pudgy every-man mug are relatively unknown outside Canada, the co-creator of the BlackBerry wireless e-mail device is an icon back home. Canadians proudly claim him as their own Bill Gates."My life is about making ideas happen," Lazaridis says in the Amex ad, scrawling on one of the dozens of blackboards that pepper the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an idea he made happen through a personal donation of $85 million.Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, the other man behind the pioneering BlackBerry, are among Canada's most revered sons in these dawning days of the Information Age."I stand up when I give speeches, hold up my BlackBerry, which everybody in the world has, and say: 'Canadian technology,"' says Pamela Wallin, Canada's consul general in New York.Well, not exactly everybody.But Lazaridis and Balsillie are indeed making their mark far beyond this university town at the center of Canada's so-called Technology Triangle, which employs 18,000 people at more than 400 high-tech companies.The two have earned hundreds of millions dollars with the six-year-old BlackBerry, which was originally developed by engineers at their Research in Motion Ltd., for internal use.Yet, in typically understated Canadian fashion, there is little boasting: no yachts, no trophy wives, no scandals.Like Gates -- who throws much of his money at AIDS research and Third World education -- the RIM executives are directing big chunks of their formidable fortunes toward projects in fostering innovation, improving education and seeking to make government more responsive."Always try to build something special," Lazaridis told the AP in a recent interview. "It's part of this decision to build important things and have an impact on society."Lazaridis and Balsillie, both 44 and fathers of two young children, still work out of modest offices at RIM headquarters in Waterloo, a bedroom community an hour's drive from Toronto.Balsillie typically jogs home from work and coaches his son's basketball team.He likes it when people unwittingly discover he's one of the billionaires behind BlackBerry: "I get a big kick out of that, 'I had no idea that you're the RIM guy."'Lazaridis says that when he's in town, he reads to his kids every night."They read a lot; no video games and no computers. We know it would absorb them. I didn't have a computer until I was in high school and I think I turned out pretty well."Lazaridis, meanwhile, is also chancellor of his alma mater, the University of Waterloo, which is known as the MIT of the north and where Lazaridis has also founded the Institute for Quantum Computing.For many, running a company like RIM would be chore enough, especially in these times of brutal industry competition.RIM employs more than 4,000 people in North America, Europe and Asia. The societal impact of its BlackBerry -- used by people trapped in the World Trade Center towers to send final messages to loved ones -- is so wide that RIM is now under full frontal assault by other tech heavyweights working on their own wireless e-mail products, including Microsoft, Nokia and Good Technologies.American Express says it chose Lazaridis to star in its commercials not just for his technology achievements, "but also because he has used his success to pursue philanthropic and educational interests in his community."Lazaridis' philanthropic baby is the Perimeter Institute, which he founded in 2000 and which is fast becoming a magnet for some of the sharpest minds in physics.Anton Zeilinger -- a leading physicist at the University of Vienna dubbed "Mr. Beam" for successful experiments in teleporting particles -- lectured at Perimeter earlier in the year and believes it has the potential for significant discoveries."Actually, considering the short time of its existence and the fact that it is still expanding, I would rank it already now among the world's top places in theoretical physics," he was quoted as saying by Maclean's, a weekly Canadian news magazine.Balsillie's philanthropic passion is housed just a stone's throw away in a renovated Seagram's barrel warehouse.A think tank at the intersection of politics and technology, it's called The Center for International Governance Innovation. Balsillie put $17 million of his own into the project, while Lazaridis added $8.5 million."You have to pay a lot of attention to what's important, what's permanent, what's real," said Balsillie, whose office sports an electric guitar autographed by the Barenaked Ladies, a popular Canadian rock band.The center hosted an international conference in April on United Nations reform, with Deputy U.N. Director Louise Frechette mounting a defense of the world body before ambassadors, scholars and international relations experts.It just launched an Internet portal called the International Governance Leadership Organizations Online with a goal of becoming the largest such Web site for public policy institutions, to share and disseminate research."You can't be global without leveraging technology and the Internet," says Dan Latendre, the center's chief information officer.Pretty tall talk coming from a seemingly insulated community of some 100,000 people in an area founded by First Nations, Scottish immigrants and Mennonites.Waterloo and neighboring Kitchener and Cambridge, a region once dependent on the rubber, meat and button industries, are today credited with spinning off 22 percent of Canada's technology inventions.Lazaridis's father was the son of Greek immigrants and worked the assembly line at the Waterloo Chrysler plant; his mother was a seamstress. Balsillie's roots, like many others in southern Ontario, were from Scotland, from where his grandparents fled the potato famine.Lazaridis started RIM in 1984 with his childhood friend Douglas Fregin, who's still a vice president of the company. Balsillie joined in 1992.The company's first product was a networked display system that scrolled words across LED signs in General Motors factories.Lazaridis never forgot a high school electronics shop teacher, who took him to ham-radio swap meets and once told him: The guy who puts wireless and computers together will truly create something special.He sat at his basement computer one night in 1997 and e-mailed his office a white paper, "Success Lies in Paradox." When is a tiny keyboard more efficient than a large one, he asked.When you use your thumbs.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union officials have imposed a temporary ban on imports of live poultry, game and feathers from Croatia after at least six swans died there from bird flu.EU veterinary experts on Tuesday are expected to endorse the ban -- as well as a proposed temporary ban on imports of exotic birds for sale as pets into the 25-nation bloc, spokesman Philip Tod said.Even before the decision on Croatia was announced Monday, Zagreb had said it would halt all exports of poultry and feathers, The Associated Press reported. The EU ban does not cover imports of poultry meat from Croatia. Samples from Croatia were still being tested to determine if the virus found there was the deadly H5N1 strain, AP said. The swans landed in Croatia recently, but it is not known where they migrated from. Thirteen more swans have been found dead nearby. (Full story)The proposed EU ban on exotic birds comes after Britain confirmed that a parrot died in quarantine of the same H5N1 strain of bird flu that has devastated poultry stocks and killed more than 60 people in Asia."It is important to at least have a temporary ban in place," EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said at a joint news conference with British Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, whose country holds the EU presidency."It will give us some time to assess the risk. Then we can decide whether to extend these measures or amend them," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.The parrot is the first confirmed case of bird flu in Britain since 1992, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.The bird, from Suriname in South America, was almost certainly infected with the deadly strain by a bird from Taiwan, said Britain's chief veterinary officer, Dr. Debby Reynolds.The two separate bird consignments were kept in the same quarantine compound in Essex, sharing the same "airspace." Reynolds said it was likely that the parrot had contracted the disease in the UK.Asked if she considered placing the birds together to be a mistake, she told the UK's Press Association: "The process of putting consignments together is something that we obviously need to review."Because the bird was in quarantine, the UK's disease-free status is still in place, Reynolds said.Suriname, which sits on South America's northeast coast, has not reported the lethal H5N1 strain, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.The bird was one of 148 parrots and "soft bills" that arrived in Britain on September 16 for display and for collectors. Another parrot also died, but Reynolds said she did not know the cause.Dispelling concerns, Ron Cutler, a bird authority at the University of East London, said the finding shows the "British quarantine system is working effectively."Outbreak in RussiaAlso Monday, another region in European Russia, Tambov, located 400 km (250 miles) southeast of Moscow, has confirmed an outbreak of the same deadly bird flu strain, a senior regional animal health official said."Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of the H5N1 strain ... in some dead fowl tissue samples," the official told Reuters.He said the disease killed 12 hens at a private dacha in Morshansk district last week, after which local veterinary authorities destroyed 53 ducks and hens remaining in the locality, and imposed a quarantine on it.Since emerging in South Korea in late 2003, H5N1 has spread as far west as European Russia, Turkey and Romania, tracking the paths of migratory birds.Moscow confirmed last Wednesday an outbreak of H5N1 in the Tula region, some 200 km (125 miles) south of the Russian capital.Russia has been fighting bird flu since mid-July and has killed more than 600,000 domestic fowl.The latest person to have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain was a 7-year-old boy in Thailand whose father recently died from the virus.Hospital officials say the boy, who apparently helped his father slaughter and cook a chicken, is expected to recover.Most of the human deaths have been linked to contact with sick birds. But experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that could be transmitted between humans, triggering a global pandemic.As the scare over bird flu intensifies, Europe and Asia are ordering clampdowns on the movements of birds and people.Hong Kong's border with China, one of Asia's busiest, might be sealed if the deadly H5N1 bird flu starts spreading from human to human, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.The H5N1 strain first surfaced in Hong Kong in 1997, then re-emerged in 2003 in South Korea, before spreading to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Russia and Europe.Hong Kong has been a hotbed of virus alerts in recent years, including the outbreak of the SARS disease in 2003, which killed almost 300 people there. (Full story)The H5N1 bird flu strain also infected 18 people in Hong Kong in 1997, six of whom died.Consequently, Hong Kong's entire poultry population, estimated at around 1.5 million birds, was destroyed within three days. This is thought to have averted a pandemic.In Europe, the EU has placed restrictions on bird markets and shows while urging nations to vaccinate zoo birds as part of increased measures to head off the spread of the disease.Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- A U.N. peacekeeper who was shot while on patrol near the volatile Cite Soleil slum of Haiti's capital died Monday at a hospital in neighboring Dominican Republic, a spokesman for the United Nations said.The peacekeeper was shot in the head Saturday in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood while his patrol was trying to rescue a kidnapped woman, said Lt. Col. El Ouafi Boulbars, the U.N. military spokesman in Haiti.The peacekeeper was identified as Muhammed Khalaf, 32, a corporal from the Jordanian army.Some 7,600 U.N. troops and police are trying to re-establish order in the Caribbean nation ahead of elections to replace the interim government imposed after the February 2004 ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.The death brought to four the number of peacekeepers killed in clashes since the U.N. mission arrived in June 2004.Khalaf, who was married and had three children, was scheduled to return in two weeks."This tragic death does not alter our determination to make progress in our mission," Boulbars said.Cite Soleil is the base for armed gangs that U.N. authorities say are loyal to Aristide, who fled the country following a violent rebellion.The shooting occurred after the patrol intervened as gang members tried to hijack a car, Boulbars said.The peacekeepers were told by one of the people in the car that the same gang members were holding a woman captive. U.N. troops entered the slum and met with heavy fire from rooftops and alleys, he said.Khalaf was standing in the armored vehicle and returning fire when he was struck in the head by a bullet, officials said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigeria began three days of mourning Monday for 117 people who died when a passenger jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Lagos airport.Investigators were continuing to search the wreckage of the twin-engine Boeing 737 that went down late Saturday, killing all on board, Nigerian officials said. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo asked "all Nigerians to pray for all those aboard the plane and their families." Investigators were attempting to recover the plane's flight-data recorders in an effort to determine the cause of the crash.A U.S. citizen was among those killed in the crash, an FBI spokesman said Monday. Four FBI agents were at the site Monday after the Nigerian government requested their help with the investigation. A senior official at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja identified the American as Joseph Haydon but offered no other information about him.Dismembered and burned body parts, fuselage fragments and engine parts were strewn over an area the size of a football field near the village of Lissa, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Lagos.A Red Cross official at the site said there was a 70-foot (20-meter) crater where the main impact occurred, Reuters said.There were 111 passengers and six crew members on board, according to Bellview Airlines.The plane left Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos at 7 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) Saturday. It was headed to the country's federal capital of Abuja, a trip that should have taken about 50 minutes, officials said. The pilot of Flight 210 issued a distress call just before the control tower lost sight of the plane, about three minutes after takeoff, officials said. The plane was missing for hours before the wreckage was found shortly after dawn. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria scrambled two helicopters to search for the jet. Relatives of those on board also chartered a helicopter and search teams were dispatched.Bellview is a Nigerian airline popular with expatriates living in the West African nation and has been operating for about 10 years with no record of any incidents.A storm was passing through Lagos about the time the flight left. There were widespread rains and thunderstorms around the southwestern corner of Nigeria, particularly from Lagos to Ibadan.The normally bustling airport in Lagos, Nigeria's chief commercial center, was quiet Sunday with family members of passengers waiting for news of rescue efforts.President Obasanjo's wife, Stella Obasanjo, died Sunday at a hospital in Spain, officials said. She had traveled to Spain to undergo surgery and died from complications from it. (Full story)CNN's Jeff Koinange and Mari Ramos contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Cam'ron, who is recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in an apparent carjacking in Washington, said would-be thieves shouldn't expect him to give up his ride so easily.The 29-year-old rapper was wounded early Sunday when he refused to give up his Lamborghini at a traffic light after leaving a nightclub. When he attempted to drive away, the gunman fired a single shot that passed through both of his arms, Lynn Hobson, a spokeswoman for Cam'ron's label, Diplomat Records, said Sunday.Cam'ron was treated at Howard University Hospital and released Sunday afternoon."People are foolish if they think I'm going to lose my head and give up anything to anyone just because someone threatens me," Cam'ron, who was back home in Harlem, said in a statement Monday."I'm doing OK. It takes more than a botched carjacking to keep me down."The rapper, whose hits include "Hey Ma" and "Oh Boy," will release his latest album, "Killa Season," in February. He also plans to release a film by the same name.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the developer of the World Trade Center site in comments to a newspaper editorial board, saying space at ground zero might be better used for schools and residential buildings than office towers.The New York Daily News reported in Sunday's editions that Bloomberg told its editorial board it would be in the city's best interest "to get Silverstein out" of the project, referring to developer Larry Silverstein.Bloomberg said in the meeting Friday it would be a good idea to remove Silverstein, who holds a 99-year lease on the twin towers site, but "nobody can figure out how to do it.""Can you imagine the stink if you gave him half a billion dollars or a billion dollars in profit to get him out?" he said.Silverstein said through a spokesman that Bloomberg's remarks were confusing."Together with the governor, the mayor has frequently urged us to proceed as quickly as possible," he said. "I believe that New Yorkers want to see rapid rebuilding and not yet another exercise in planning and re-planning."Asked to elaborate during a campaign appearance Sunday, Bloomberg backed off of the harsh tone of his earlier remarks but said he must do what's right for the city."The best thing would be to find a way that he can develop successfully from his own economic point of view and work with the city and produce what's in the city's best interest," he said.Bloomberg's predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, and Gov. George E. Pataki created the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. in 2002 to oversee rebuilding of ground zero, but Pataki has taken greater leadership of the redevelopment, which also includes plans for a memorial, and retail and cultural space.Bloomberg has said he wants a greater role in the redevelopment of the 16-acre site. He told the Daily News that schools and residential buildings might be a better use of some of the space than office towers.At a campaign stop Sunday at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church in Brooklyn, Bloomberg questioned the need for the 10 million square feet of office space Silverstein wants to build to replace what was destroyed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack."I think it's time to see what the marketplace really wants, and perhaps we can better accommodate that," Bloomberg said.Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Steve Coleman said the charter that created the trade center does not allow residential buildings and changing the charter would require New York and New Jersey to pass legislation.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- The father suspected of keeping some of 11 special-needs adopted children in cages says he confined them only to keep them safe and showed off damage to his home he says they caused."I felt terrible about it," Michael Gravelle told a reporter and photographer for The Plain Dealer during a tour of his home Sunday. "But it's necessary."The children were removed from the home last month and sent to foster homes while the adoptions are investigated. The parents have not been charged, and custody hearings are scheduled in the widely publicized case.The couple previously has not let reporters into their home, about 60 miles southwest of Cleveland near Wakeman. Michael Gravelle said he was tired of his wife, Sharen, being labeled "world's most evil mother."The Gravelles say they were adopting children nobody else wanted, who had problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome, autism, HIV and pica, an eating disorder that causes children to eat dirt and rocks.The enclosures where the children slept are about 6 feet in length. The doors could be opened easily and had no locks on them, but a battery-powered alarm would go off when the doors opened, the newspaper said.They were used as sleeping quarters to prevent the children from hurting themselves with glass or eating medicines, Michael Gravelle said. Every cupboard and shelf was covered with chicken wire for the same reason, he said."If you can call these cages, take me to jail right now," Michael Gravelle said. "Right now."The couple pointed out holes where they said the children had kicked in the walls and gouges in the drywall from their fingernails. Baseboards were soaked with urine stains, and the walls still show marks where the children had smeared their feces."We live with this smell," said Sharen Gravelle, who at times broke down in tears. "We love these children."Prosecutor Russ Leffler alleges that the Gravelles were adopting the children for financial gain. Records show they received $4,265 monthly in adoption subsidies and disability payments when they had eight children in 2001."You could not pay me enough to do the things we had to do," Michael Gravelle said. "There is nothing easy about raising these children. We did not abuse them. That's the truth."The couple's lawer, David Sherman, was not aware of Sunday's tour, the newspaper said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- Development and storms have eroded much of the coastal wetlands that provide "speed bumps" for approaching storms. CNN.com asked readers whether steps should be taken to build them back. Here is a sampling of those responses, some of which have been edited:We screw around with the environment too much as it is. We should let Mother Nature run her course when it comes to issues such as these, where the destruction comes from a natural disaster itself! Jimmy, Boston, MassachusettsThe question we should ask ourselves is, "What would we gain by rebuilding the eroded or removed wetlands?" and compare those benefits to what it would cost to rebuild them. If the costs exceed the actual benefits, then we shouldn't rebuild them. If the government invokes its eminent domain powers to condemn and reclaim land for public use, each and every single land owner affected will have to be "fairly and justly compensated," and in my opinion, it would be too costly to rebuild the wetlands. Lee, Bristow, VirginiaAll of our coastal wetlands should be 100 percent restored over time. That means no new development and no replacing of any development that's been destroyed by storms. There probably should be agencies in the states concerned that could oversee the correct ecological restoration of these wetlands. The money would have to come out of each state's budget. Patricia, South Plainfield, New JerseyIf development has caused the erosion of wetlands, then the developers should be responsible for rebuilding them. However, if a wetland was destroyed or damaged by the recent hurricanes, to me, this is part of the natural evolution of the environment and they shouldn't be rebuilt by man. These areas should be protected and allowed to progress in their own manner. Development should not occur in these areas. Let the land regenerate itself in its due course and time. Stephen, Orem, UtahThe wetlands are a vital component to the ecosystem. They help preserve the characteristics that drew people to visit or live along the coasts. The wetlands must be preserved. James, Indianapolis, IndianaI'm sure the "lefties" would love another reason to spend a billion dollars of taxpayer money, but the answer is simply no. Scott, Atlanta, GeorgiaRebuilding hurricane-damaged wetlands provides us with a unique opportunity to practice a form of restoration that has been termed "reconciliation ecology." These restored wetlands can serve as both a buffer against future storms and a habitat for thousands of species of plants and animals. This helps protect people, their homes and businesses while replacing wetlands that have been drained in the past. It's a win-win situation for people and the environment. Nick, St. Louis, MissouriWe should not be developing coastal wetlands or repeatedly repairing reclaimed shorelines. Creating reefs from scrap ships strategically placed is one thing, but spending millions to add sand back to a once-upon-a-time beach is a waste. Ellen, Ocoee, Florida

TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- U.S. special forces dart through Iran's underground nuclear facilities, gunning down any hapless Iranians standing between them and centrifuges that must be blown to bits.Much to Tehran's relief, this crack team exists only in a new U.S. computer game. But even these animated saboteurs are too close for comfort, downloadable into Iranian living rooms at the click of a mouse.The cyberspace troopers have sparked bitter press comment in Iran and a petition asking that the game be shelved."Americans have a deep craving for an attack against Iran, but they are going to have to settle for this make-believe assault," wrote the Kayhan daily, whose editor is appointed directly by Iran's Supreme Leader."U.S. attacks Iran" is made by U.S. firm Kuma Reality Games whose war games often tie into top news stories.Iran is at the center of a diplomatic maelstrom, flatly denying U.S. accusations it is seeking atomic warheads. It argues it needs underground nuclear facilities, such as one near the central town of Natanz, to make fuel for power stations.The United States consistently declines to rule out a military strike against Iran, but has said such an option is "not on the agenda".The game's trailer plays pounding music and starkly asks: "Diplomacy has failed ... Is nothing to be done?". U.S. troops then strafe a car, leap out of helicopters and prowl around menacingly before blowing things up.Web site www.persianpetition.com, a forum for Persian speakers in Iran and abroad, posted a notice asking Kuma to withdraw the game on October 12. Since then it has got more than 5,000 signatures."We must make the Americans understand that Iran is different from Iraq and Afghanistan, where they just did what they wanted," the petition read.Kuma boss Keith Halper said he had no plans to take the game offline and that he had not realized the games were played in the Middle East as well."The controversy does surprise me. I just didn't expect that there were people from Iran who were going to become aware of it," he told Reuters.Other Kuma games have been criticized in the United States for their realistic portrayal of current events, including recent battles.The Iran game has been downloaded in Iran thousands of times, Halper said, and the company has received roughly 300 e-mail messages from Iran. Some criticized the game but others had asked how to get a copy without a broadband connection.Iran has been prickly about the idea of U.S. special forces lurking around inside the Islamic Republic since U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh said in the New Yorker this year that U.S. "Black Ops" had ventured across Iran's borders.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.