(CNN) -- Playing Meadow Soprano on HBO's pilot of "The Sopranos" was the role of a lifetime for then-16-year-old Jamie-Lynn Sigler, an unknown actress from Long Island, New York.But little did anyone know that when the show debuted in 1999, Sigler was on the verge of taking her life due to her struggle with an eating disorder."I seriously contemplated suicide," said the actress, who now goes by her married name -- Jamie-Lynn DiScala in an interview with CNN's Paula Zahn. "I felt that no one in this world would ever understand the constant battle I had in my head every day."Exercise bulimia 'interrupts your life'DiScala was suffering from exercise bulimia. Exercise bulimics work out to "purge" what they have eaten in much the same way bulimics vomit after eating. Chronic, obsessive exercise is accompanied by a vigilant, nearly compulsive focus on calories.Doctors are still learning about this form of bulimia and there are no strict guidelines for diagnosing this disorder."The difference between a lot of exercise and exercise bulimia is when an individual is willing to cancel their whole life to fit in exercise," said psychologist Douglas Bunnell, past president of the National Association of Eating Disorders and clinical director of the Renfrew Center of Connecticut. "Whether it's missing work or a meeting to fit in that long workout, exercise bulimia functionally impairs and interrupts your life."DiScala said her battle with the disorder began when her high school boyfriend broke up with her. Devastated and depressed, she started to question her looks and her body. She became concerned about every calorie that went into her mouth and obsessed with burning every last one through exercise."I started maybe just doing like 20 minutes on the treadmill before school and then deciding on I wasn't gonna have any dessert anymore," she recalled.DiScala was encouraged by the resulting weight loss."When I saw the scales start to go down, well, then, I thought, 'Well, what happens now if maybe I exercise an hour before school and don't eat bread?' "Her idea turned into waking up at 3 a.m. to exercise for four hours before school and eating next to nothing.She then tried to find new ways to burn more calories apart from exercise such as frequently asking to go to the bathroom so she could walk to and from class and fidgeting. She saw her breakfast routine as an opportunity to burn calories as well."I would set things so far apart on the counter where I would have to walk up and down the kitchen counter to make it just so I can constantly be burning calories," she said.'It was awful'Within four months, DiScala weighed a mere 80 pounds."I was wearing basically children's clothes. It was hard to find clothes that would fit," she said."Every week I would see my reflection of my back and see more bones coming out, more ribs and more hip bones. It was awful."DiScala said exercise, calories and the scale ruled her life even though she longed to do the things that any teenager wanted to do like sleep in and hang out with her friends."I really wanted to just be comfortable and be happy, but I didn't think it was possible ever again. And I just didn't know how to get past it." Further, DiScala says admitting she had an eating disorder meant failure to her.During this low point in her life came what should have been a high point in her career when in November 1997, DiScala learned that HBO would be picking up the series. But she was under the spell of her eating disorder and nothing else mattered. "It was like in one ear and out the other because I was too concerned about what I was going to be having for lunch that day. And I truly lost a will to live."Her rock-bottom moment came on a drive with her parents into New York City to go rollerblading. After leaving their house more than 45 minutes late, DiScala's strict exercise and eating schedule was completely disrupted -- a disaster for an exercise bulimic."I was shaking and crying in the back of the car and my parents were crying because they didn't know what to do," she said.DiScala admitted then to her parents that she had an eating disorder and wanted help. The next day she saw a therapist and a nutritionist and was put on Prozac.Road to recovery and advocacyDiScala began to eat and modify her exercise and started gaining weight. But when she returned to "The Sopranos" set to shoot the first season in the summer of 1998, she was still 35 pounds thinner than when she shot the pilot. Worried that she'd be too weak to do her job and that she didn't look the part of a Mafia daughter, whose family sustained themselves on platefuls of pasta, show producers began auditioning other actresses for the role. But DiScala vowed to hold on to the part she had dreamed of and within a year, she gained back all the weight.Now, DiScala serves as the spokeswoman for the National Eating Disorders Association. She's also shared her own personal story in her autobiography "Wise Girl."And while she's let go of her eating disorder, she still holds on to one reminder in her wallet: a picture of herself at her lowest weight."I thought that that was my life. I was set. This was the way I was going to have to live my life," she said. "And knowing that I was able to overcome it and be healthy and happy again is amazing."CNN's Paula Zahn contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Teachers in the nation's largest public school system have ratified a new contract with the city that gives them 15 percent raises over four years, union leaders announced Thursday.About 63 percent of the teachers voting favored the new contract, capping a lengthy, often contentious battle between the city and the United Federation of Teachers. More than 86,600 votes were cast."It is my hope that with this agreement, we can put the bitterness of the last few years behind us and work together to provide the highest quality education for our students," UFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement.Teachers had been without a contract since May 2003. At one point during the negotiations, the union threatened a strike, which would have been illegal.A tentative deal was struck in early October, and union delegates moved to get it approved.Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement that the contract was "good for teachers, the city, and most importantly, our school children."The pay of starting teachers would increase to $42,000 from $39,000, with a new maximum base pay of about $92,000, up from $81,000.The contract also extends the school year by two days and requires teachers to work 50 minutes more each week, giving students extra help.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LAWRENCE, Kansas (Reuters) -- At the new "Explore Evolution" museum exhibit in Kansas, visitors pass a banner showing the face of a girl next to the face of a chimpanzee for a lesson on how the two are "cousins in life's family tree."They can also study DNA under a 4-foot-tall double helix model, peruse fossil record research, and examine how advancements in treating modern-day diseases require an understanding of the evolution of cell structures.Curators of the exhibit, which opened Tuesday at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, hope their work provides a counterweight to the anti-evolution sentiment sweeping their state and the country. Sister exhibits, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, are opening in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan."People just don't understand how science works. We need to better inform them about what science is," said Teresa MacDonald, director of education for the university's Natural History Museum, which opened the exhibit on Tuesday.But on November 8, state education officials in Kansas are poised to do what many scientists see as just the opposite.Led by a conservative Christian chairman who says evolutionary theory is incompatible with the biblical account of God's creation of life on earth, the Kansas Board of Education plans to insert questions about the veracity of evolution theory into statewide teaching standards.The action has outraged scientists across the nation and both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Teachers Association have refused Kansas' request to use their copyrighted material.The Kansas board made a similar, but more aggressive effort to weaken evolution instruction in 1999. But a public backlash ultimately led to the reversal of those actions.Evolution under attackNow, the new Kansas standards, which outline what teachers should teach and test on, leave evolutionary principles in the curriculum but insert phrasing that encourages students to question their validity. The standards also delete certain text about how science is defined."The stakes are high," said Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education. "If Kansas gets away with it ... I anticipate that in every state where science standards are up for revision, we are going to be fighting another battle."Efforts to undermine evolution instruction have also been seen in Michigan, Kentucky, Georgia and elsewhere.And one key case was being tested in court this week in Pennsylvania, where a group of parents sued the Dover Area School Board because teachers had been ordered to tell biology students that the theory of evolution is not established fact.The Pennsylvania school officials introduced students to an alternative theory known as "intelligent design," which holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, such as God, rather than an undirected process such as natural selection.Intelligent design, or ID, proponents have also been active in pressing for the changes in Kansas, but school board members there stopped short of including intelligent design ideas in the state standards."ID is making enormous progress," said John Calvert, a Kansas City lawyer and ID proponent. "Is it going to happen overnight? No. Is it going to happen? Yes."Calvert said museum exhibits such as the one in Lawrence are flawed because they ask visitors to believe humans evolved randomly, with no specific purpose or design by a higher power -- a theory polls show a majority of Americans do not believe.But evolution supporters say religion has no valid role in a science class."This is all based on establishing a theocracy within our system," said Sue Gamble, a member of the Kansas School Board who opposes changing the science standards. "We said we didn't want to do that when we established our country. This should not be happening."Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- Getting a sense of a destination's true character takes a little time, especially if you're relying solely on the listings in your trusty guidebook.Dig a little deeper, and you're likely to see how the locals live.Reading materialCheck out the local newspaper or independent weekly when you arrive or look for them online before you go."You can find a lot of entertainment stuff in there, a lot of restaurant reviews that might not necessarily be part of the restaurants that are recommended by hostels or tourist agencies," said Laura Martin, editor in chief of the 2007 "Let's Go" guides.Many papers and independent weeklies publish an annual roundup of the city's most popular offerings -- including information on restaurants, bars, shops, galleries and parks.Looking at bulletin boards in coffee shops or local stores often yields good insider information, said Jane Pirone, publisher of "Not for Tourists," a series of guides designed to make you feel like a local, or at least like a good friend is showing you around."One big strategy for me is finding an independent bookstore because you really can find so much cool information about what's going on in the neighborhood and the town from that," Pirone said.By cross-referencing the local entertainment listings with a guidebook, you can find a performance that sounds intriguing in a club or bar that suits your tastes.Take cues from the localsDon't be afraid to ask for recommendations.Sometimes you don't even have to ask. A restaurant packed with locals is promising, said Julian Smith, author of "Moon Handbooks" guides on Ecuador, Virginia and the Four Corners (where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico intersect). "It might be a really nice-looking restaurant, but if it's sitting empty on a Saturday night, that's probably not a good sign," Smith said.If you're not confident in the advice you receive, ask someone else. Sometimes asking around in an environment where you feel comfortable will produce the sort of recommendations you're seeking."If you're at a cool local record store or coffee shop or bookstore, then the person you ask will most likely give you a more authentic neighborhood restaurant as opposed to a chain that's void of any character about the city," Pirone said.Getting aroundMaking your way from point A to point B with residents gives you more opportunities to gather information. Even if you're not the type to chat with someone on a bus, it's an interesting way to observe day-to-day life."I like to try and take local transportation when I can, instead of a tour or a rental car," Smith said."A lot of times you meet interesting people, and you might stick out, but people usually are interested in where you're from and where you're going."Martin agreed that public transportation can be a fun experience and a good way to get to areas that aren't heavily visited by tourists, but she advises travelers to make sure the system is reliable before hopping aboard.Smith said he likes to hire a taxi and a driver when he's traveling abroad in a place where costs are low."You get kind of a personal tour guide for the day because taxi drivers know everything, just about. They're one of the best sources of information," he said.Rest for the wearyIf you really want a window into local life, consider forgoing a hotel room or hostel for a rental house, apartment or a visit in someone's home.Web sites such as Vacation Rentals by Owner and Great Rentals offer a variety of rental properties across the globe.Smith recommends renting a room in someone's home for a more culturally rich experience.For the truly adventurous, budget-minded traveler, there are a number of hospitality sites -- CouchSurfing.com, Globalfreeloaders.com or Hospitalityclub.org -- that link travelers up with local hosts and accommodations at little or no cost.Smith said he has had good experiences with Servas International, a nonprofit group that links travelers with hosts in an effort to build cross-cultural understanding.Getting off the traditional lodging circuit is a good way to find local flavor, Martin agreed."You're not necessarily with other travelers all the time," she said. "You're getting a better idea of what it actually is like to live in that culture as opposed to just staying there for a few days."

(Southern Living) -- While the land area of the ACE Basin is small enough for a weekend trip, the natural beauty of this great, green place in the South Carolina Lowcountry will make you want to linger longer. Walking trails, canoe trips, nature tours and more await.First stop: WalterboroIf you're driving along I-95, your first glimpse of the ACE Basin comes in the middle of this small city that lies on the area's northern edge. Walking trails of the Great Swamp Sanctuary meander alongside Ireland Creek. It's a great place for birding. Call (843) 549-9595 or visit www.walterboro.org.Oceanside at Edisto IslandFrom U.S. 17, turn south on State 174, cruise slowly through the small town of Adams Run and then follow the road about 25 miles to ocean's edge. Edisto Beach State Park features four miles of nature trails and programs. Loggerhead turtles nest on the island's sandy beaches. Edisto Beach Golf Club is open to the public at Fairfield Ocean Ridge Resort. You can shop, dine and sunbathe. For general information, call the Edisto Chamber of Commerce at (888) 333-2781 or visit www.edistochamber.com.Lowcountry gemsYou'll find the best views of Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge and Donnelley and Bear Island Wildlife Management Areas deep in the hearts of these areas. At all three, walking trails take you deep into forests, fields and tidal marsh.At the refuge's visitors center (off State 346), you can tour its headquarters, Grove House, built about 1828. It's one of three antebellum houses remaining in the area and was once the seat of a rice plantation. Cooler days in late fall, winter and spring are the best times to walk the trails of the refuge and wildlife management areas. Bring binoculars (and insect repellent) for great birding in those seasons. For information, call the refuge at (843) 889-3084 or see www.fws.gov/acebasin/.You can put your feet up and see much of the ACE Basin with several vendors who provide guided excursions into the area. Beaufort-based Ace Basin Tours is one. Tours aboard the 38-foot Dixie Lady pontoon boat wind through marshes and around sea islands for about three hours. Call (843) 521-3099 or visit www.acebasintours.com. Paddling the acronymThe Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers, along with scores of other tidal creeks, slip through the silence of forests and marsh. Many choose to explore the Edisto, which is the longest free-flowing blackwater stream in North America. The Edisto River Canoe & Kayak Trail Commission has marked a 60-mile trail, with several put-in spots, including one each at Colleton State Park and Givhans Ferry State Park. The commission offers guided educational river trips. Call (843) 549-5591 or visit www.walterboro.org.You'll also find several commercial liveries in the area. One is ACE Basin Outpost, right on U.S. 17 at Joe's Landing on the Ashepoo River. It offers rentals, sales, lessons and tours. Call (800) 785-2925.Driving great roadsThe way paddlers love canoeing the ACE Basin, others love driving its two-lane roads. They glide beside the white fences and green pastures of old plantations, penetrate deep forests and ride along above thick swamps. Glance at the forests along roadsides, and you'll often see the dikes of relic rice fields now overgrown.Take it slow; wildlife may be crossing just ahead in a bend of the road. I once slowed down for a wild turkey to strut across State 26, one of the best roads to drive. From deep forest it rises over relic dunes and ends at Bennett's Point on Mosquito Creek. There you'll find science lessons and fresh shrimp. Biologists of the National Estuarine Research Reserve study shoreline life.Other beautiful two-lane drives are those I like to call "Sabbath roads" that pass alongside historic country churches. They include State 21 (turn off U.S. 17/21), which pauses at Old Sheldon Church Ruins, lovingly preserved by St. Helena Episcopal Church in nearby Beaufort. State 174 turns south off U.S. 17 and passes by Trinity Episcopal, housed in an 1880 edifice. Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island occupies an 1830 structure, while the 1818 Old First Baptist Church houses an African-American congregation.Another African-American congregation worships at St. James the Greater, an 1826 church on what locally is called Catholic Hill. Follow State 303 south of Walterboro and turn right on State 41. Give a (loggerhead turtle) mom a helping handBotany Island Beach ranks as one of the premier nesting sites in South Carolina for loggerhead sea turtles. This year, females lumbered ashore and dug at least 200 nests. The nonprofit Botany Community Conservation Sea Turtle Project always needs volunteers, especially during hatching time in late summer. Call the project coordinator, Meg Hoyle, at (843) 869-2998. The organization also accepts tax-free donations at 2231 Devine St., Suite 100, Columbia, South Carolina 29205.Where to stayYou'll find several chain motels, such as Hampton Inn, along I-95 in Walterboro. Edisto Beach State Park features cabins and campgrounds. Elsewhere on Edisto Island, Fairfield Ocean Ridge Resort offers vacation villas, with off-season rates at 20 percent less than the published online, on-season rates. Rates range from $180 to $760. Call toll-free (877) 296-6335 or visit www.fairfieldvacations.com. Several realty companies offer rentals. For complete listings, call the Edisto Chamber of Commerce at (888) 333-2781 or visit www.edistochamber.com.Many visitors choose to headquarter in Charleston or Beaufort and then drive into the ACE Basin for the day. Beaufort is much closer -- about 30 miles south of the area. Several chain motels are available, along with small inns housed in historic structures such as the Beaufort Inn ($165-$285). Call (843) 379-4667 or visit www.beaufortinn.com. Rates at the Rhett House Inn range $135-$245. Call (843) 524-9030 or visit www.rhetthouseinn.com.Note: Visitors fill Beaufort-area lodging for graduation ceremonies at nearby Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot, which are held most weekends of the year. You often can find accommodations at the last minute, but it's good to call well in advance.Where to dineIn Beaufort, fill up on stone-ground grits and other breakfast foods at Blackstone Deli & Cafe, (843) 524-4330, or choose pastries and gourmet coffees at Firehouse Books & Espresso Bar, (843) 522-2665. Several restaurants line Bay Street, among them the elegant Saltus River Grill (843) 379-3474.On Edisto Island, our choice is the Old Post Office, (843) 869-2339, at 1442 State 174. You'll want to write home about the shrimp and grits.In Walterboro, have a soda at the fountain at Hiott's Pharmacy, (843) 549-7222, on Washington Street downtown, and don't miss the boiled peanuts at Woods Brothers Store, (843) 844-2208, on U.S. 17 near Green Pond.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- NASA's top priorities are a replacement for the space shuttle and completing the international space station, and some other programs are being cut or deferred to concentrate the agency's resources, NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin said Thursday."NASA cannot afford to do everything on its plate today," he told the House Science Committee. Funding priorities required the agency to cancel several programs that "we either did not need or did not need right now," Griffin said.For example, it seemed like putting the cart before the horse to continue life science studies about how people respond to being in space before the agency was sure it could put people back in space, he said.In addition to life sciences, another affected program is nuclear systems technology, Griffin said.That program is designed to provide power to an outpost planned for the surface of the moon. But that won't be needed until after 2018, so the work is currently being deferred, he said.The agency has adopted a "go-as-you-can-pay" approach, Griffin said.That focus on two primary areas should serve as a warning of potential cuts for the rest of NASA, Rep. Bart Gordon commented.Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert expressed support for Griffin but added that "NASA cannot use aeronautics and science as a piggy bank to fund human space flight."Griffin said the next flight of the space shuttle is still planned for spring, adding that while the agency was surprised by problems with the foam insulation on the last flight, a lot has been learned from that.NASA has been developing the new crew exploration vehicle, which is intended to fly to the moon but also can replace the space shuttle when it goes out of service.Delaying that work could result in the United States being out of the manned spaceflight business for a few years after the shuttle is retired, at the same time other nations are increasing their space programs, Griffin said.In addition, he said, NASA is encouraging private industry to submit proposals to carry cargo and crew to the space station.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China, which launched its first manned space mission just two years ago, plans to put a man on the moon around 2017 and investigate what may be the perfect source of fuel, a newspaper reported on Friday.Two Chinese astronauts orbited Earth for five days last month in the Shenzhou VI and China was now developing new craft up to the Shenzhou X, eyeing a permanent space station and an eventual moon mission, state media said this week."China will make a manned moon landing at a proper time, around 2017," leading scientist Ouyang Ziyuan was quoted by the Southern Metropolis News as saying.The project also includes setting up a moon-based astronomical telescope, measuring the thickness of the moon's soil and the amount of helium-3 on the moon -- an element some researchers say is a perfect, non-polluting fuel source.Some scientists believe there is enough helium-3 on the moon to power the world for thousands of years."We will provide the most reliable report on helium-3 to mankind," Ouyang said.The United States unveiled a $104 billion plan in September to return Americans to the moon by 2018. Its Apollo program carried the first humans to the moon in 1969.China's first lunar orbiter could blast off as early as 2007, coinciding with its third manned space trip in which possibly three men would orbit Earth in Shenzhou VII and conduct a space walk. (Full story)China was designing a rocket that could carry a payload of 25 tons, up from a present limit of eight tons, the Beijing News reported this week, though it would unlikely be ready for another six-and-a-half years.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's response to a flu pandemic could not succeed without a strong effort by state and local governments because the battle might have to be fought on "5,000 fronts," Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt says.Democrats in the House and Senate, however, question whether the states have the financial resources to engage in such a fight.In particular, lawmakers take issue with the Bush administration's plans for the purchase of certain medicines. The plan says states would pay about $510 million for enough anti-flu drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza, which can reduce the severity of the illness, to treat 31 million people. (Watch if the flu plan is adequate1:38)The federal government would give states an incentive to make those purchases by providing a 25 percent match, or $170 million.Rep. Nita Lowey, D-New York, said the proposal amounted to an unfunded mandate on the states and might mean that some states would not be able to buy enough drugs."This is a national emergency. I believe very strongly it should not depend upon where you live as to what sort of protection you get," Lowey told Leavitt at a House hearing Wednesday.Leavitt unveiled the administration's pandemic preparedness plan during two separate hearings before congressional appropriators. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, broached the issue of state funding, too."States are extremely nervous about what's going to be required of them," she said.Leavitt said that when it came to anti-flu drug purchases the federal government would be spending most of the money. The Bush plan calls for adding enough antivirals to the federal stockpile to treat 24 million people. All of that money would come from the federal government.The program involving state funding would supplement the stockpile with an additional 31 million courses of treatment.Leavitt also downplayed the role of anti-flu drugs during a pandemic, saying people should not equate the stockpiling of the drugs to pandemic preparedness. Rather, the foundation of the Bush plan relies on the development of vaccines that could prevent somebody from getting the disease altogether.Leavitt said funding and liability protections were critical to ramping up the production of a pandemic flu vaccine.Lawmakers said they agreed that drug manufacturers would need some protection from civil lawsuits, but Republicans and Democrats alike expressed concern that some of the legislation proposed so far gives consumers basically no recourse if harmed by a pandemic flu vaccine.Overall, President Bush proposes to spend $7.1 billion to prepare for a flu pandemic, three of which have occurred during the past century. The plan itself was released Wednesday, and it stressed major steps that state and local authorities must begin taking now:Update quarantine laws.Work with utilities to keep the phones working and grocers to keep supplying food amid the certain panic.Determine when to close schools and limit public gatherings such as movies or religious services."Every community is different and requires a different approach," Leavitt said.Also Wednesday, the government for the first time told Americans not to hoard Tamiflu, because doing so will hurt federal efforts to stockpile enough to treat the sick who really need it. Tamiflu's maker recently suspended shipments of the drug to U.S. pharmacies because of concern about hoarding.Lawmakers also grilled Leavitt on why it took the administration more than a year to issue its plan."Could we have acted sooner to avoid the situation we are in now, in effect running for cover?" said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania.But other lawmakers described the Bush plan as sound. Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, congratulated Leavitt for his "proven leadership" on the issue.Pandemics strike when the easy-to-mutate influenza virus shifts to a strain that people have never experienced before. It's impossible to predict when the next pandemic will strike, or its toll. But concern is rising that the Asian bird flu, called the H5N1 strain, might trigger one if it eventually starts spreading easily from person-to-person.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- For David Kozlow, turning 40 was a major pain in the neck. And in the ankles, back, groin, shoulder and hamstrings.A lifelong athlete who played high school lacrosse and college football, ran a 5:20 mile and bench-pressed 300 pounds, the attorney found himself approaching his 40th birthday with a laundry list of exercise-related injuries.One of those ailments, a herniated disk in his neck, took two years of acupuncture and heat therapy to alleviate the pain."I still had the mind-set that I was in my 20s," he said. "It took a few years for me to come to the conclusion that I couldn't really do what I used to do, and I had to readjust my sights."Getting older hurts -- and when it comes to exercise injuries, doctors say that's more the case than ever before. Many are seeing increasing numbers of baby boomers with blown knees, sore backs, stiff shoulders and other complaints."The volume of people in their 40s, and even in their 30s, coming in with (knee) osteoarthritis is much higher than a decade ago," said Dr. Jess Lonner, director of knee-replacement surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. "It's a highly motivated generation that plays harder than a generation ago."Sports injuries among baby boomers increased by 33 percent from 1991 to 1998, according to figures cited in a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report. Baby boomers in 1998 suffered more that 1 million sports injuries, to the tune of nearly $19 billion in medical costs, said the report from 2000, the most recent data available.The highest numbers of sports-related injuries came from bicycling, basketball, baseball and running, according to the consumer report. The most common injuries come from overuse and affect knees, ankles, lower back and shoulders.Aging can't be avoided, but injuries can be. And doctors say that doesn't mean all avid joggers must hang up their running shoes, or lifelong basketball players must necessarily forgo the neighborhood court -- it's all about exercising smarter."The old adage 'no pain, no gain' should be less relevant as we age than when we're younger," Lonner said. "It's a matter of being educated in how to exercise appropriately and what signs to look out for when exercising, like muscle soreness and joint pain."For Kozlow, the solution was to switch from strenuous weightlifting to a workout that was gentler on muscles and joints. Now he does yoga and tai chi every day, strength training with light free weights and push-ups every other day, along with isometrics and elastic resistance bands. He also walks to and from work -- about a 35-block round-trip."The goal was to be pain-free and to be fit without hurting myself," said Kozlow, who didn't rely on drugs or surgery to heal his injuries. "You have to readjust your mind-set and be more attuned to your body and its limitations, which can be hard to admit."As we age, experts say, it's easier to get injured and it takes longer to heal sprains and strains. The physical changes and ailments that can come with age include loss of muscle mass, decreased bone density, diminished muscle and tendon flexibility, and joints less able to handle impact.If the idea of exercise is to keep in top physical condition, hot-dogging it on mountain bike trails or trying to relive those varsity-letter glory days in "weekend warrior" style can be counterproductive, said Dr. Vonda Wright, clinical instructor in the department of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine."Many of us may still feel like we're 20, but we're not 20," she said. "Men come into my office with ruptured Achilles' tendons or muscle tears because they insist on doing the same things they did when they were much younger."Doctors recommend a physical exam, including a cardiovascular work-up, for baby boomers looking to get active or stay fit. The results can be used to tailor an individual fitness program with the lowest injury risk."It all depends on the person. If you repeatedly get banged up by being on the basketball court, you should think about getting on a bike," Wright said. "There's a time to reconsider doing extreme sports, but there's never a time to stop being active."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Even now, years later, the mug shots are jarring.The murder suspect wears a red-and-purple T-shirt with a playful animal design. His height and weight: 4-foot-7 and 70 pounds. This suspect has almost no history. He has never held a job. He has no need for a Social Security number. He isn't even halfway through elementary school.He's just 8.The child, identified in court documents as E.H., was charged, along with his 7-year-old playmate, with the slaying of an 11-year-old girl, Ryan Harris. The 1998 case captured national headlines as the two became among the youngest children in the nation ever formally accused of murder.While the charges quickly unraveled, the two boys eventually turned the tables on their accusers. City pays $11 millionAfter seven years, a final agreement has been reached in civil cases that charged the city and the police with wrongful arrest.Last month, the city approved a multimillion-dollar settlement of one suit, having ordered its lawyers to negotiate an agreement even as a jury trial was nearing its end. An earlier case was resolved out of court.Nearly $11 million in taxpayer money, including legal fees, has been paid to close what an alderman called the "one of the most shameful episodes in our city's history."And yet, in settling, the city admitted no wrongdoing. No police were sanctioned.Case shows what can go wrongThis was not the first time children have been wrongly accused or confessed to something they didn't do.But the case offers a rare glimpse into how it can happen -- what detectives may say and do behind closed doors, and how a harrowing journey from a police station to the courts and a psychiatric hospital can change the lives of two little boys.E.H., a high school freshman, turns 16 this month. When he took the witness stand for the civil case in August, he didn't look at the jury. Nor did he glance at two men sitting at the defense table: James Cassidy and Allen Nathaniel, the detectives -- the former retired, the latter still on the force -- accused of framing him.Nearly half his life had passed since news helicopters had buzzed over his house and he was called "little killer."He recalled the day when he rode bikes with friends, including Ryan Harris, and watched her enter a red car with two men. Then he ended up at the police station, where he assumed he'd look at photos to try to identify them.Instead, police surrounded him and showed him a photo of a badly beaten body in a weed-filled lot; Ryan Harris' panties were jammed down her throat, leaves stuffed in her nostrils."They were hollering at me, asking me if I killed her," the boy told his lawyer, Andre Grant, in a near whisper."Did you tell them you killed Ryan Harris?' Grant asked."I said I didn't do anything," he answered."Were you afraid?""Yes."'Confession' challengedThe charges against E.H. depended largely on the purported confession of his friend, identified as R.G., who was questioned separately. According to police, the 7-year-old said he threw a rock at Ryan, and she fell off her bike and hit her head. Then, he allegedly said, he and E.H. dragged her into a wooded area, where R.G. stuffed the girl's underwear in her mouth.Attorneys for the boys have long ridiculed that claim, noting R.G. had a serious speech impediment and could barely string two or three words together -- much less a 16-sentence confession."To say that he could tell a story from start and to finish was patently absurd," argues Jan Susler, a lawyer for R.G. "These two little kids were scared out of their brains."It's not difficult for police officers to shape a kid's message, says Stephen Ceci, a professor of developmental psychology at Cornell University and an expert on child confessions. "They're putty in the hands of a powerful adult authority figure," he said.In this case, the boys were questioned without lawyers or family in the room. Their statements were not recorded. And from the moment they walked out, both denied they'd ever confessed.'Good boys don't lie'"I didn't do it, Grandma," R.G. repeatedly said after the interrogation, during which police held his hand and bought him a Happy Meal and a toy car.At the time, the detectives, Cassidy and Nathaniel, were praised by police for having "performed magnificently" in cracking what had become a "heater" case, with heavy public and political pressure for an arrest.Seven years later, the detectives defended their actions, saying both boys had implicated themselves. But the detectives also made some troubling admissions.Cassidy testified he hadn't reviewed the files, yet still managed to get a confession on his first day on the case -- though dozens of investigators had been working on it for weeks.He acknowledged that E.H., a second-grader, probably didn't understand his version of Miranda warnings. Cassidy called them "kiddie rights" and they included the admonition: "Good boys don't lie."Officer's troubling historyThis wasn't Cassidy's first controversy involving a child suspect. In 1994, he said an 11-year-old boy blurted out that he had killed an elderly neighbor. The boy tried to recant, but was convicted. In 2002, a federal judge tossed out the murder conviction, saying the arrest was illegal and the confession coerced. The young man sued; the case was settled out of court. In the Harris case, it took police about a month to rule out the boys and drop charges. DNA led authorities to a convicted sex offender, Floyd Durr, who awaits trial in Ryan's murder.By then, the boys had spent about a week in a psychiatric hospital. Their parents said they were told if they didn't consent, they'd risk losing them to state custody.Both families have moved away. But years later, they'd argue, scars remain.Lost innocenceOne of E.H.'s lawyers, R. Eugene Pincham, says, "This will be with him the rest of his life."A photo of E.H. as a beaming 8-year-old clutching his cat was flashed on a courtroom wall for the jurors.Then came the witnesses: the boy's mother, teachers and a psychiatrist claiming he went from being a chatty, sociable kid at the top of his class to a recluse with poor grades who rarely strays from his porch."Do you go out a lot?" Grant, his lawyer, asked the teen."It's safer in the house," E.H. replied."Do you have bad dreams?""Sometimes.""About what?""The police station and the psychiatric hospital."City attorneys argued the boy's troubles stem from a chaotic family life that has included occasional contact with the police as well as a fire that killed five relatives. They also presented a psychologist, who said his arrest had not caused permanent psychological damage.Experts, such as Ceci, say children can be resilient and rebound from the most traumatic events.But R.G. hasn't, according to his lawyer, Susler. She says the boy, now 14, wet his bed for years, chewed his fingernails until they were bloody and infected, banged his head on the floor and refused to sleep in his own bed, curling up in the hallway outside his parents' room.R.G.'s family was affected, too, she says, citing stress from the boy's arrest as contributing to his parents' divorce.R.G. is a freshman in a therapeutic high school who takes antidepressants and receives psychological counseling, Susler says. Because his mother didn't want to expose him to a trial, his family settled out of court for $2 million this year -- a sum one alderman said should have been increased fivefold.Lawyer: 'Systemic' police misconductFlint Taylor, R.G.'s lawyer, says even though just two detectives were named, this case showed "systemic misconduct" from the top to the bottom of the police department.When two tiny grade-school-age boys were brought in for questioning, he says, "No one said, 'Show me how these kids could have done that."'"No one was ever disciplined for it," Taylor adds. Everyone walked away."Police declined comment.E.H.'s family settled for $6.2 million. His grandmother, Rosetta Crawford, told reporters the trial, before being curtailed, had shown her grandson wasn't responsible for Ryan's murder."It wasn't about the money," she said, but instead about sending a message, in hopes of preventing police from handling child suspects this way again.Case inspired changesThe case did inspire changes in the law: Today, kids under age 13 charged with murder or sex crimes must be represented by a lawyer during a custodial interrogation. In addition, Chicago police now require a parent or guardian's presence when kids under age 13 are held for questioning on felony charges.Illinois also mandates taping of interrogations in homicide casesThese are positive steps that make this a watershed case, says Steve Drizin, director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University and expert on juvenile justice. "Whether the legacy is strong enough to prevent this from happening again, only time will tell," Drizin says. He pauses, then adds: "I think it could happen again in a heartbeat."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A leading Republican senator said Sunday that the Bush administration is making "a terrible mistake" in opposing a congressional ban on torture and other inhuman treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody.Sen. Chuck Hagel, considered a potential presidential candidate in 2008, said many Republican senators support the ban proposed by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.The ban was approved by a 90-9 vote last month in the Senate and added to a defense spending bill. The White House has threatened a veto, but the fate of the proposal depends on House-Senate negotiations that will reconcile different versions of the spending measure. The House's does not include the ban.Vice President Dick Cheney has lobbied Republican senators to allow an exemption for prisoners held by the CIA if preventing an attack is at stake."I think the administration is making a terrible mistake in opposing John McCain's amendment on detainees and torture," Hagel, R-Nebraska, said on "This Week" on ABC. "Why in the world they're doing that, I don't know."McCain, citing the Senate vote as well as support from the public and from former Secretary of State Colin Powell and others with military service, said he will push the issue with the White House "as far as necessary.""We need to get this issue behind us," McCain said on "Fox News Sunday." "Our image in the world is suffering very badly, and one of the reasons for it is the perception that we abuse people that we take captive."Mistreatment of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and allegations of mistreatment at the U.S.-run camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have drawn withering criticism from around the world. Human rights organizations also contend that the United States sends detainees to countries that it knows will use torture to try to extract intelligence information.When the White House failed to kill the anti-torture provision while it was pending in the Senate, it began arguing for an exemption in cases of "clandestine counterterrorism operations conducted abroad, with respect to terrorists who are not citizens of the United States."The president would have to approve the exemption, according to the administration proposal, and any activity would have to be consistent with the Constitution, federal law and U.S. treaty obligations.Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he supports the vice president's efforts to gain a CIA exemption. While contending that the administration opposes torture, Hatch said, "They're going to everything in their power to make sure that our citizens in the United States of America are protected."Appearing with Hatch on CBS's "Face the Nation," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners "is not what America is all about. Those aren't the values that we're fighting for."Sen. Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said his vote against the ban doesn't mean he favors torture. He rejected Durbin's comments as "not really relevant to what we are trying to do to detain and interrogate the worst of the worst so that we can save American lives."Roberts said that success with detention and interrogation depends on the detainee's fear of the unknown. He suggested that passing a law and putting U.S. policies into a manual would tell detainees too much about what to expect."As long as you're following the Constitution and there's no torture and no inhumane treatment, I see nothing wrong with saying here is the worst of the worst. We know they have specific information to save American lives in terrorist attacks around the world. That's what we're talking about," Roberts said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The powers behind "The West Wing" are making this campaign promise: Sunday's live debate between presidential candidates Arnold Vinick and Matt Santos will be far from politics -- or television -- as usual.Laurence O'Donnell, who balances work as a political analyst and a "West Wing" executive producer, said the hourlong episode (8 p.m. EDT on NBC) represents "my wish-fulfillment debate.""We are using the accepted liturgy of presidential debates. It will look the same, it will be moderated by Forrest Sawyer, a real news person, it will have all that real feel to it," O'Donnell said."But I think it will be more satisfying in that the candidates end up really going into the issues in a way that they normally would not," he said. "They end up each forcing the other to get more honest as the debate wears on."In other words, Republican Vinick, played by Alan Alda, and Democrat Santos, portrayed by Jimmy Smits, will listen and respond to each other -- as opposed to real-world debates that tend to excise substance or spontaneity.The fictional encounter starts with the usual rules, the kind that "are set up by the candidates and are there to protect the candidates and not promote an informed debate," said executive producer Alex Graves, who is directing O'Donnell's script.But one of the politicians -- Graves won't say who -- quickly proposes tossing the book aside."And that's the starting point and everybody, including the moderator, underestimates what that's going to mean," Graves said. "It ends up ... with the candidates doing and saying things you would never expect to see in a debate, never."The actors may also do something rarely seen. Although they have a script, Alda and Smits also received a crash course in debate strategy and issues that will allow them to veer off the page."It's loose enough that it will be exciting to the audience," Smits told The Associated Press.Asked if that approach puts unusual pressure on the actors, he replied: "Pressure? I'm totally sweating this."Battling backThe episode, with separate live versions for Eastern and Western time zones and with just two commercial breaks, could be the highlight of a resurgent year for "The West Wing," which is drawing lavish critical praise after being dinged in recent seasons for a creative slump.Ratings for the series need a jolt. In the first few weeks of the season, and with a move from Wednesday to Sunday, it lost more than 30 percent of its audience (while ABC's new Oval Office drama "Commander in Chief" jumped into the top 10).Whether "The West Wing" can regroup and return for an eighth year, it's making this season count. There's the immediacy of a story line with echoes of the CIA leak case, with the TV version involving communications director Toby Ziegler and space program secrets.That's intercut with the lively presidential campaign that could end up with the White House remaining in the hands of the Democratic Party or with a moderate Republican senator from California gaining control early next year.The producers are claiming they have yet to decide whether Vinick or Santos prevails; maybe Sunday's show will offer clues."The West Wing" featured a debate before, between President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and Republican opponent Robert Ritchie (James Brolin). But that fourth-season show switched between behind-the-scene machinations and the debate itself.This time, the producers decided to really stretch TV's boundaries. Scenes typically last scant moments; the debate episode will offer two 25-minute blocks of uninterrupted drama, most of it focused on the candidates."We're letting two great actors really go at each other and try to defeat each other for basically an hour, nonstop," O'Donnell said, with the chance to go "deeper and deeper and slug each other harder and harder."Issues include taxes, health care and U.S. border security. (The topic of abortion was explored in the previous week's episode.)'More exciting than daunting'The challenges are "more exciting than daunting," said Alda, who, like Smits, has worked on the stage. The "M*A*S*H" star also can claim live on-air experience: In the early days of TV and his career, Alda appeared on shows including "The U.S. Steel Hour."He likes his character -- Vinick "seems unusual in that the positions he takes have some connection to the values he holds," Alda notes dryly -- and is rooting for him."It makes it fun. When an actor plays a character, you want what that character wants. Otherwise it doesn't look authentic. So I really want to defeat Jimmy -- I mean Jimmy as the character," Alda said."No, he wants to win," is the retort from Smits when told of Alda's remark.The actors and producers agree there's significant room for error on a live episode, especially given how infrequently it's done (an "ER" episode and the recent "Will & Grace" episode among the few examples).Ever the strategist, O'Donnell suggests that missteps could prove as rewarding for viewers as a flawless hour."We could get it completely wrong. You might be able to only hear Alan Alda and not hear Jimmy because the mikes don't work (or) the camera goes out; some crazy thing happens with the equipment. Certainly, the actors can lose their way.""There's just nothing more fun to watch than that kind of train wreck. If I wasn't involved with the show I'd be turning it on just to see: OK, how do they screw up," he said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- "Jarhead," a blow-by-blow first-person account of the Persian Gulf War, is far less compelling than Anthony Swofford's 2003 memoir of the same name on which the movie is based.By carefully avoiding any references or comparisons to the current situation in Iraq, it's not an anti-war movie. Frankly, it's barely a war movie at all -- at least, not in the classic troops-clashing-in-battle sense.That lack of drive makes for an admirable character study, but keeps the audience at a distance."Jarhead" begins with Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal, making a smooth transition into mainstream Hollywood filmmaking) and keeps its focus on him as he goes through his personal Desert Storm.The film traces his grueling, painful journey from boot camp grunt to high-strung, emotionally drained sniper. He becomes a one-man killing machine, with emphasis on "machine."WaitingWe're taken into the inner workings of boot camp, as a group of men who wouldn't have given each other the time of day in civilian life learn to work together and finally come to the point where they would give their lives for one another. It's a grim process made all the more intolerable by Staff Sgt. Sykes, played by Jamie Foxx. With Sykes -- declaiming, defiant, determined -- Foxx once again proves he's got enough talent to play just about any role.Swofford is teamed with another grunt, Troy (the terrific Peter Sarsgaard), to be trained as snipers. Snipers work in teams and they're put together at random.Long days of training finally pay off when they're finally sent to Kuwait, only to find themselves sitting on their humps for six mind-numbing months in the scalding desert, waiting and waiting some more, doing their best to hang on to their sanity and keep their raging testosterone in check.Finally the men see four days and four hours of actual action against the enemy. But it becomes painfully clear that this isn't to be their war, one fought on the ground, but rather an air war using Scud missiles and fighter jets with burning oil wells lighting up the ink-black desert skies. All their sacrifices have been for nothing.Quite frankly, so has the movie.Screenwriter William Broyles Jr. -- a Vietnam veteran -- has written a war movie with no war.The acting is superb and all involved try damned hard to give this film a purpose. There are some extremely interesting scenes -- one, in particular, features Swofford with an enemy soldier in his sights, but he's forbidden to shoot him by his superiors -- and some remarkable insights into the hearts and minds of men who face the idea of death every day while fighting a growing sense of futility about their mission. The few battle scenes are also well done and infused with a great sense of dread.But somehow director Sam Mendes ("American Beauty," "Road to Perdition") can't pull it all together. In the end, "Jarhead" feels remote, uncertain of whether it wants to make a big statement, or if it wants to make one at all.As a study of one man's war experience, "Jarhead" has its moments. But if you want a great movie about the Gulf War, rent David O. Russell's "Three Kings."

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A 20-year-old man accused of using thousands of hijacked computers, or "bot nets," to damage systems and send massive amounts of spam across the Internet was arrested on Thursday in what authorities called the first such prosecution of its kind.Jeanson James Ancheta, who prosecutors say was a well-known member of the "Botmaster Underground" -- or the secret network of computer hackers skilled at bot attacks -- was taken into custody after being lured to FBI offices in Los Angeles, said U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek.A bot is a program that surreptitiously installs itself on a computer and allows the hacker to control the computer. A bot net is a network of such robot computers, which can harness their collective power to do considerable damage or send out huge quantities of spam.Mrozek said the prosecution was unique because, unlike in previous cases, Ancheta was accused of profiting from his attacks -- by selling access to his "bot nets" to other hackers and planting adware -- software that causes ads to pop up -- into infected computers."Normally what we see in these cases, where people set up these bot systems to do, say, denial of service attacks, they are not doing it for profit, they are doing it for bragging rights," he said. "This is the first case in the nation that we're aware of where the guy was using various bot nets in order to make money for himself."Ancheta has been indicted on a 17-count federal indictment that charges him with conspiracy, attempted transmission of code to a protected computer, transmission of code to a government computer, accessing a protected computer to commit fraud and money laundering.Ancheta, who was expected to make an initial court appearance late on Thursday or Friday, faces a maximum term of 50 years in prison if convicted on all counts, though federal sentencing guidelines typically call for lesser penalties.Prosecutors did not name the companies that they said paid Ancheta and said the firms did not know any laws were broken.Mrozek said Ancheta, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, was thought to have made nearly $60,000 from the planted adware, using the money to pay for servers to carry out additional attacks, computer equipment and a BMW.He said Ancheta was taken into custody after FBI agents called him into their offices to pick up computer equipment that had been seized in an earlier raid.Among the computers he attacked, Mrozek said, were some at the Weapons Division of the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California and at the U.S. Department of Defense.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- In another time and place, college students wondering whether the campus cafe has any free seats, or their favorite corner of the library is occupied, would have to risk hoofing it over there.But for today's student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that kind of information is all just a click away.MIT's newly upgraded wireless network -- extended this month to cover the entire school -- doesn't merely get you online in study halls, stairwells or any other spot on the 9.4 million square foot campus.It also provides information on exactly how many people are logged on at any given location at any given time. It even reveals a user's identity if the individual has opted to make that data public.MIT researchers did this by developing electronic maps that track across campus, day and night, the devices people use to connect to the network, whether they're laptops, wireless PDAs or even Wi-Fi equipped cell phones.The maps were unveiled this week at the MIT Museum, where they are projected onto large Plexiglas rectangles that hang from the ceiling. They are also available online to network users, the data time-stamped and saved for up to 12 hours.Red splotches on one map show the highest concentration of wireless users on campus. On another map, yellow dots with names written above them identify individual users, who pop up in different places depending where they're logged in."With these maps, you can see down to the room on campus how many people are logged on," said Carlo Ratti, director of the school's SENSEable City Laboratory, which created the maps. "You can even watch someone go from room to room if they have a handheld device that's connected."Researchers use log files from the university's Internet service provider to construct the maps. The files indicate the number of users connected to each of MIT's more than 2,800 access points. The map that can pinpoint locations in rooms is 3-D, so researchers can even distinguish connectivity in multistoried buildings."Laptops and Wi-Fi are creating a revolutionary change in the way people work," Ratti said. The maps aim to "visualize these changes by monitoring the traffic on the wireless network and showing how people move around campus."Some of the results so far aren't terribly surprising for students at the vanguard of tech innovation.The maps show, for example, that the bulk of wireless users late at night and very early in the morning are logged on from their dorms. During the day, the higher concentration of users shifts to classrooms.But researchers also found that study labs that once bustled with students are now nearly empty as people, no longer tethered to a phone line or network cable, move to cafes and nearby lounges, where food and comfy chairs are more inviting.Researchers say this data can be used to better understand how wireless technology is changing campus life, and what that means for planning spaces and administering services.The question has become, Ratti said, "If I can work anywhere, where do I want to work?" Graduate student Sonya Huang, stands in front of a map of the MIT campus that shows the flow of wireless Internet users at the school."Many cities, including Philadelphia, are planning to go wireless. Something like our study will help them understand usage patterns and where best to invest," said researcher Andres Sevtsuk.Sevtsuk likened the mapping project to a real-time census."Instead of waiting every year or every 10 years for data, you have new information every 15 minutes or so about the population of the campus," he said.While every device connected to the campus network via Wi-Fi is visible on the constantly refreshed electronic maps, the identity of the users is confidential unless they volunteer to make it public.Those students, faculty and staff who opt in are essentially agreeing to let others track them."This raises some serious privacy issues," Ratti said. "But where better than to work these concerns out but on a research campus?"Rich Pell, a 21-year-old electrical engineering senior from Spartanburg, South Carolina, was less than enthusiastic about the new system's potential for people monitoring. He predicted not many fellow students would opt into that."I wouldn't want all my friends and professors tracking me all the time. I like my privacy," he said. "I can't think of anyone who would think that's a good idea. Everyone wants to be out of contact now and then."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) -- Azerbaijan's ruling party took an early lead Monday in a crucial parliamentary election that many hoped would at last be free and fair, and the opposition vowed to fight to overturn what it called fraudulent results.The vote was closely watched for signs of improvement on flawed past elections that sparked violence and destabilized the oil-rich, strategically located ex-Soviet republic.With votes counted in 28 percent of constituencies, the Central Election Commission reported early Monday that 58 candidates from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party were in the lead, followed by 30 independents and four candidates from the opposition Musavat party.An exit poll conducted by the Mitofsky, Edison Media and CESSI organizations showed candidates of the ruling party winning 30 of the 125 seats and "leading-too close to call," in 26 other races.It was unclear who sponsored the exit poll, which opposition figures alleged was being conducted under government auspices.The U.S. government sponsored another exit poll as a check on the official count. Its figures were expected to be released, candidate by candidate, throughout the night, but it did not list candidates' affiliation. A full list of candidates and their affiliations could not immediately be obtained from the election commission.Hundreds of foreign observers fanned out across the country to watch the vote and follow the count. Domestic observers stayed in polling stations throughout the day.The opposition had said it would wait until after the foreign observers' statements to make its own assessment of the fairness of the election. But on Sunday night, Ali Kerimli, one of three main opposition leaders, said the voting was "clearly falsified.""These elections could not reflect the will of the Azerbaijani people," he said.He said reports were coming in of opposition members of local election commissions being detained.The deputy chairman of the Musavat party, Vurgun Eyub, said seven opposition party officials had been detained in a station in the Surahani district outside Baku, and that opposition observers had been thrown out of 23 stations just before the polls closed. The reports could not immediately be confirmed independently.The executive secretary of the ruling party, Ali Akhmadov, pronounced the elections "transparent, just and democratic." He said that whatever violations were recorded were not enough to affect the results.The uneven campaign saw some opposition rallies banned and its activists beaten and detained. About one-quarter of the candidates originally registered to compete withdrew from the race in the last few weeks.Still, the opposition expressed hope that the balloting could lead to change."I know that in any case, today is the beginning of a drastic democratic transformation," Musavat Party leader Isa Gambar said after casting his ballot.Final turnout was 46.83 percent, according to the Central Election Commission.The United States has a strong interest in stability in the Caspian Sea nation, which sits on a strategically critical axis between Russia and Iran.The election pitted President Ilham Aliev's New Azerbaijan Party against the Azadliq (Freedom) coalition, the New Policy bloc of technocrats, and an array of smaller parties and independent candidates. Some 1,541 candidates vied for places in the 125-seat parliament.After casting his ballot at a school decorated with a portrait of his late father, who led Azerbaijan both in Soviet times and independence, Aliev said the campaign had been fair. He pledged that "the process of democratization would continue after these elections."Alleged coup plotThe independent Center for Election Monitoring, a domestic group funded by international grants, said that at some polling places, election workers were not marking voters' thumbs with invisible ink.Center representative Anar Mammadli said officials at some polling places were openly supporting specific candidates.An Associated Press reporter saw an election commission in a village just outside Baku refuse entry to two young men whose names were on voter registration rolls because they used their foreign travel passports instead of domestic ID as supporting documents.Matilda Bogner, the Baku-based representative of Human Rights Watch, said she had received credible reports of multiple voting and of police taking voters in a bus from one Baku polling station to another to cast ballots.A six-person delegation that presented itself as a group of independent U.S. observers pronounced the election transparent, and it was given prominent coverage in a live broadcast on state television. The U.S. Embassy emphasized, however, that the delegation did not represent the United States.Less than three weeks before the vote, Aliev's government announced the discovery of an alleged coup plot led by Rasul Guliyev, an Azadliq leader in exile. Several government ministers and other high-ranking officials were jailed.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran's chief nuclear negotiator has contacted three European nations to re-start negotiations over its nuclear program, Iranian state-run news agency IRNA said Sunday.Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote to leaders of Britain, France, and Germany emphasizing "the necessity of conducting negotiations," the report said.Britain's foreign office confirmed that leaders of the three nations received a letter Sunday from Iranian officials. The office would not comment on the letter's content.Iran broke off talks with the so-called EU-3 earlier this year, saying the demand that it stop its nuclear program altogether was unacceptable. Iran insists its program is purely for energy purposes, but the United States argues Iran is using the program as a guise to try to develop nuclear weapons.The IRNA report did not say that Iran had changed its stance on previous offers made by the EU-3. But it said Larijani's letter said he had "assessed" the previous negotiations "and has welcomed logical and constructive negotiations within the framework of international laws and regulations."U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan planned to visit Iran this month, in a trip largely aimed at re-starting the stalled talks. But Annan canceled the trip after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent assertion that Israel should be "wiped" off the map."Annan decided it was "not an appropriate time" for him to go to Iran, citing the "ongoing controversy" over the remarks made last week, according to a statement from the secretary-general's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.On October 26, Ahmadinejad demanded the Jewish state be "wiped off the map." He has since defended the call, which drew international criticism.Annan expressed "dismay" last week over the remarks in a rare rebuke of a U.N. member state.

(CNN) -- Prices at the pump fell 23 cents per gallon in the United States in the past two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday.The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular was $2.43, the Lundberg Survey found.That was about 20 cents lower than it had been a few days before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29.It was also 41 cents higher than the average a year ago.The survey of gas stations in all 50 states was carried out Friday.Publisher Trilby Lundberg said prices have tumbled as refining capacity has been restored following hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico region. Also, imports have increased, while demand has dropped.Americans traditionally drive less as fall sets in. And the historically high prices have reduced demand, Lundberg said.A survey two weeks ago found the price had fallen 25 cents during the previous two weeks.Lundberg said Sunday she expects "more price cuts, but at a much smaller rate than we've seen for the past month," as more refining facilities are repaired and the lower prices encourage some people to drive more.The lowest average price the survey found was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where drivers paid an average of $2.06 for a gallon of self-serve regular. The highest average price was in Miami, at $2.74.Here are some other average prices for a gallon of self-serve regular:San Francisco, California: $2.64Honolulu, Hawaii $2.72Anchorage, Alaska: $2.53Chicago, Illinois: $2.52Denver, Colorado: $2.40Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $2.38Atlanta, Georgia: $2.35Detroit, Michigan: $2.23Omaha, Nebraska: $2.17

CARY, Illinois (AP) -- A 10-year-old boy was in critical condition Sunday after three pit bulls escaped from a home and went on a rampage, attacking six people before police shot and killed dogs, authorities said.No charges had been filed Sunday, but McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said it was being investigated as a crime scene.Neighbors said the attacks started late Saturday afternoon when children going door-to-door for a fund-raiser arrived at the home of Scott Sword, 41, who owned the dogs."We had music playing, and I heard this bizarre sound," said Debby Rivera, who lives three houses away. "I looked out the window, and I saw a young boy. The dogs were just jumping on him.""The screams were horrible," she said. The dogs were "relentless, like they were possessed."The pit bulls attacked the two children, and when the dogs' owner tried to stop them, the dogs turned on him and bit off his thumb, Nygren said. The boy's father also tried to protect his son and was attacked. The dogs went after another neighbor as well."The scene sprawled over a couple blocks; it was a very chaotic scene," said Lt. Michael Douglas of the Cary Fire Protection District.Residents threw rocks at the dogs and honked car horns to try to distract them from attacking before police arrived and shot the animals.Jim Malone said he and a neighbor tried to beat the dogs back with baseball bats. "He'd hit them, they'd run, and they'd come back," Malone said. "This went on for 15 minutes."The boy who was attacked, Nick Foley, was hospitalized in critical condition Sunday. His friend Jordan Lamarre, also 10, was in serious condition. Nick's father was listed in good condition. Sword and two others were treated for injuries and released.Last week, another 10-year-old boy in Colorado was mauled by a pack of pit bulls that attacked him in his own back yard. The boy was in critical condition after the attack, and the hospital said Sunday his family had requested no further information about his condition be released.The attack in the Denver suburb of Aurora came two days after the City Council banned pit bulls and other "fighting dogs." Owners who already had the dogs could keep them if they paid a $200 annual license fee.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) -- Elaine Oneto says losing her home to Hurricane Katrina was devastating and losing her son in Iraq just two months later was unimaginable, but the support she has received has been overwhelming.Oneto was trying to rebuild her life after the August 29 storm destroyed her Bay St. Louis home and the home of her son when she was told he had been killed in Iraq. First Lt. Robert C. Oneto-Sikorski, 33, was on a foot patrol Monday near al Haswah west of Baghdad when he was killed by a roadside bomb, military officials said.Oneto said Friday her only concern now is for her son's three children -- ages 6, 8 and 11.Oneto's sister, Eloise Kindja, however, said she felt betrayed that Oneto-Sikorski was fighting for his country -- and ultimately gave his life -- even as his family battled the Federal Emergency Management Agency for temporary shelter."What more does she have to give to the country?" Kindja asked. "She gave her only son."The sentiment apparently resonated with Gov. Haley Barbour and U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Mississippi, who sprang into action, Oneto said.Just one day after The Associated Press reported Oneto-Sikorski's death and the struggles of his family, Oneto received a mobile home. Power and water were immediately connected, Oneto said."The governor called today and I was so surprised," she said Friday. "In the big scheme of things I don't make a flip, but he was very genuine."Barbour spokesman Pete Smith said Oneto-Sikorski made the ultimate sacrifice and the governor has pledged to give her any assistance she needs."We appreciate the sacrifice Mr. Oneto-Sikorski made to his state and his country," he said.Oneto-Sikorski's children are staying with relatives near Memphis, Tennessee, where they evacuated after the storm flooded their homes. Their mother, Claire Regar, was also stationed in Iraq but has been given an emergency leave.Both Oneto-Sikorski and Regar were serving in Iraq with the 155th Brigade Combat Team, which is made up of about 3,500 Mississippi National Guard soldiers and others from more than a dozen states.The unit is scheduled to begin returning from Iraq by the end of the year.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

MEGIDDO PRISON, Israel (AP) -- Israeli prisoner Ramil Razilo was removing rubble from the planned site of a new prison ward when his shovel uncovered the edge of an elaborate mosaic, unveiling what Israeli archaeologists said Sunday may be the Holy Land's oldest church.The discovery of the church in the northern Israeli town of Megiddo, near the biblical Armageddon, was hailed by experts as an important discovery that could reveal details about the development of the early church in the region.Archaeologists said the church dated from the third century, decades before Constantine legalized Christianity across the Byzantine Empire."What's clear today is that it's the oldest archaeological remains of a church in Israel, maybe even in the entire region. Whether in the entire world, it's still too early to say," said Yotam Tepper, the excavation's head archaeologist.Israeli officials were giddy about the discovery, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon calling the church "an amazing story."Vatican officials also hailed the find."A discovery of this kind will make Israel more interesting to all Christians, for the church all over the world," said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican envoy to Jerusalem."If it's true that the church and the beautiful mosaics are from the third century, it would be one of the most ancient churches in the Middle East," he said.A Roman officer and a woman named AketousRazilo, who is serving a two-year sentence for traffic violations, was one of about 50 prisoners brought into the high-security Megiddo Prison to help excavate the area before the construction of new wards for 1,200 Palestinian prisoners.Razilo was shocked to uncover the edge of the mosaic. The inmates worked for months to uncover all the parts of the mosaic -- the floor of the church, he said."We continued to look and slowly we found this whole beautiful thing," said Razilo, who used a sponge and a bucket of water to clean dirt off the uncovered mosaics Sunday.Two mosaics inside the church -- one covered with fish, an ancient Christian symbol that predates the cross -- tell the story of a Roman officer and a woman named Aketous who donated money to build the church in the memory "of the god, Jesus Christ."Questions about the age of findPottery remnants from the third century, the style of Greek writing used in the inscriptions, ancient geometric patterns in the mosaics and the depiction of fish rather than the cross indicate that the church was no longer used by the fourth century, Tepper said.The church's location, not far from the spot where the New Testament says the final battle between good and evil will take place, also made sense because a bishop was active in the area at the time, said Tepper, who works with the Israel Antiquities Authority.The inscription, which specifies that Aketous donated a table to the church, indicates the house of worship predated the Byzantine era, when Christians began using altars in place of tables in their rituals, Tepper said. Remnants of a table were uncovered between the two mosaics.The building -- most of which was destroyed -- also was not built in the Basilica style that was standard under the Byzantines, he added.Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar and professor at the Holy Land University, said the second and third centuries were transitional periods where people sought to define their religious beliefs and modes of worship. Iconography and inscriptions found in Nazareth and Caperneum -- places where Jesus lived -- show that people went there to worship, although most did so secretly."This was a time of persecution and in this way it is quite surprising that there would be such a blatant expression of Christ in a mosaic, but it may be the very reason why the church was destroyed," Pfann said.The dig will continue as archaeologists try to uncover the rest of the building and its surroundings, including what they believe could be a baptismal site, Tepper said.Joe Zias, an anthropologist and former curator with the antiquities authority, questioned the dating of the find, saying there is no evidence of churches before the fourth century. The building may have been in use earlier, but most likely not for Christian religious purposes, he said."They're going to be hard, hard-pressed to prove it ... because the evidence argues otherwise," Zias said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Two minivans with standard side airbags earned "Best pick" ratings in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's first side-impact crash tests on minivans. Two other minivans without side airbags were rated "Poor."The Toyota Sienna and Nissan Quest earned IIHS's highest rating of "Good" for side impact protection and the added designation of "Best Pick," indicating that they performed particularly well. The Honda Odyssey also earned a rating of "Good" in the test.The Ford Freestar and Mazda MPV, when tested without their optional side airbags, were rated "Poor," the Institute's worst score.When the Freestar was tested with side airbags installed, it earned a rating of "Acceptable," the second-best of four possible ratings.The minivans that earned "Good" ratings in the test were equipped with curtain-style side airbags designed to protect the heads of occupants in all three rows of seats.The Institutes' side impact test uses a 3,300 pound barrier pushed into the side of the vehicle at 31 miles per hour. The barrier is shaped like the front end of a typical pick-up truck or SUV. Crash-test dummies, about the size of small women, were seated in the driver's seat and the seat behind the driver.Crash tests performed by the U.S. government use a barrier that is lower to the ground, simulating an impact from a car. An impact from an SUV or truck, like that simulated by the IIHS test, poses a much greater risk of head injuries."In each of the top-performing minivans, the curtain airbags did a good job of keeping the dummies' heads from being struck by the intruding barrier," said Institute chief operating officer Adrian Lund. "This is important because head injuries are factors in many serious side impact crashes, especially when the striking vehicle is a pickup or SUV with a tall front end."The minivans that performed well on the test also had structures that resisted crushing into the passenger compartment.The head of the dummy in the driver's seat of the Mazda MPV was struck by the barrier as it crashed into the minivan. While the impact was not hard, the Institute said, any impact should be prevented."Plus the MPV's structure was marginal, so there was more intrusion that contributed to high forces on other parts of the dummies," said Lund. "In a crash of similar severity in the real world, it's likely that a driver would suffer internal organ injuries as well as rib fractures. The rear passenger possibly would sustain a fractured pelvis."The MPV is available with optional side airbags. In cases where a safety device such as side airbags is offered as an option, the Institute tests the vehicle without the device but will re-test the vehicle with the device installed if the manufacturer requests it and pays for the additional vehicle.In a statement released by Mazda, the company said it stands behind the safety of its minivan."In contrast to IIHS' findings, the U.S. government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the Mazda MPV a rating of five-stars, the highest possible score, in both frontal and side impact tests," Robert Davis, senior vice president for research, development and quality for Mazda North American Operations, said in the statement. "And, of course, the MPV meets or exceeds every NHTSA-required safety standard."The Chevrolet Uplander and Dodge Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country minivans were not tested because they are undergoing design changes to improve their side impact safety. They will be tested early next year, the Institute said, along with the Kia Sedona minivan.Vehicle photos and details:Toyota SiennaNissan QuestHonda OdysseyFord FreestarMazda MPVFeedback

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Thousands of fans including pop star Madonna descended on central London on Sunday for the world premiere of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", the fourth installment of a hugely successful series of films.The darkest movie episode yet from J.K. Rowling's bestselling, seven-book series features young wizard Harry being tested to the limit in a magic tournament and meeting his nemesis Lord Voldemort in a dramatic climax.With death, danger and the first blossoming of teenage love at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the film has been ruled unsuitable for under-12s to watch unaccompanied by an adult, the first of the Potter films to get such a rating.Among the stars to grace the red carpet were American Madonna, German supermodel Claudia Schiffer and British actress Kate Beckinsale.The three teenagers who play central characters Harry, Hermione and Ron in the films also attended.Screaming girls waited hours in the rain for a glimpse of the actors, and especially Daniel Radcliffe, the 16-year-old who plays Harry. One banner among them read "Marry Me".Goblet cost an estimated $130 to $170 million, but it looks like a sound investment for studio Warner Brothers after the first three movies earned around $2.5 billion at the box office.British director Mike Newell said he wanted to recreate the atmosphere he remembered when at school."I remember being terrified of some teachers at school who were violent," he said in a recent interview. "The teachers would clout us. But I also remember things being absolutely hysterically funny, because there was such anarchy.""What I tried quite consciously to do was to make a movie which was entertaining for adults as much as it was for children. I knew there would be a lot of parents in there with nine-year-olds," he said.He also defended his decision to make Goblet a darker film than the previous three."There's a problem of credibility," he told Reuters in an interview last month to promote the film."If you think ... there is going to be the same sunlit, blush-toned childhood of film number one, there is a lot of questions that you will ask. You will tend not to believe that."He described the budget for the two-and-a-half hour Goblet as "colossal", although the film's backers still made him fight for money while making the film.The fifth Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", is due out in 2007.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

PARIS, France (CNN) -- As arson and violence spreads into regional France and central Paris, French President Jacques Chirac has vowed to crack down on the perpetrators."The absolute priority is to reestablish security and public order," Chirac told the nation Sunday after emerging from an emergency meeting with top members of his Cabinet. "The law should have the final say, and the republic is determined to be stronger than those who want spread violence and fear. Those people will be apprehended, judged and punished."As he spoke, increased security efforts were already visible in the capital, where thousands more police were in the streets and helicopters hovered overhead. Chirac also said he also wants to address what some observers have blamed as the cause -- unemployment as high as 50 percent among the nation's poor immigrant youth and discrimination against them.An official with the Interior Ministry listed Sunday's vandalism: in the western city of Nantes, a pre-school was set afire; in the eastern city of Colombe, rocks thrown at two buses hit a 13-month-old child, who was in serious condition; in the northern city of Rouen, a police barricade was set afire and a burning car was pushed into the police station; and in Strasbourg, near the German border, a school was torched.A church was set ablaze in the southern fishing town of Sete and another in nearby Lens, Pas de Calais; two schools in the southeastern town of Saint-Etienne and a police station in the central France town of Clermont-Ferrand were torched, as was a social center in Seine-Saint-Denis, near the border with Switzerland.Overnight Sunday into Monday, 528 cars had been set ablaze, and 95 people detained throughout France, an Interior Ministry official said. Thirty-four police were hurt, two of them seriously, he said.Since October 27, 3,460 cars had been torched, the official said. Earlier, more than 300 people were arrested Saturday night, when protesters expanded their arson rampage to Paris and the Mediterranean cities of Cannes and Nice overnight, said Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.Sarkozy praised police efforts and said anyone involved in the unrest "will be held accountable in front of the law."The riots began after the October 27 electrocution deaths of two black teenagers, who climbed an electrically charged fence while running from police. Residents blamed police for the deaths. (Paris has simmered)There have been calls by opposition groups on the left, including the Green Party and the Communist Party, for Sarkozy to resign after he called the rioters "scum" earlier in the week -- language that served only to inflame the vandalism. (Watch French teens explain why they're angry -- 2:08)The spreading violence has shocked national leaders and community residents into action as the French prime minister held special meetings Saturday and as many as 3,000 concerned citizens participated in a silent march.Mediators and religious leaders are talking to the youths in an effort to stop the violence. French Muslim groups also issued a fatwa against the violence, according to Reuters. (Full story)The Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF) condemned the disorder and destruction the riots had caused. Warning to touristsThe rioting prompted warnings from the U.S. and British governments for visitors to be aware of the situation and avoid the affected areas.National police spokesman Patrick Hamon told The Associated Press that arsonists were moving beyond their heavily policed neighborhoods to less protected areas."They are very mobile, in cars or scooters. ... It is quite hard to combat," Hamon told AP. "Most are young, very young, we have even seen young minors."There appeared to be no coordination between separate groups in different areas, Hamon told AP. But within gangs, youths were communicating by cell phones or e-mails. "They organize themselves, arrange meetings, some prepare the Molotov cocktails."The U.S. Embassy in Paris has issued a public announcement warning American travelers about the rioting."Although the riots have occurred in areas not normally frequented by U.S. tourists, travelers should be aware that train travel from the Charles de Gaulle Airport to the city center may be disrupted at times, as it passes near the affected area," according to the announcement, dated Friday."Travelers could rely instead on airport buses or taxis to downtown Paris. Americans should avoid the affected areas." CNN's Chris Burns and Hayat Mongodin contributed to this reportCopyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) -- In a clear jab at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President Bush called on Latin Americans on Sunday to boldly defend strong democratic institutions and reject any drift back to the days of authoritarian rule.Bush's remarks in Brazil came after Chavez, the leftist leader and friend of Cuba's Fidel Castro, spent the past two days hurling criticism at the United States at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina.Eyeing three upcoming presidential elections in Latin America, Bush said citizens must choose "between two competing visions" for their future.One, he said, pursues representative government, integration into the world community and freedom's transformative power for individuals."The other seeks to roll back the democratic progress of the past two decades by playing to fear, pitting neighbor against neighbor and blaming others for their own failures to provide for the people," he said. "We must make tough decisions today to ensure a better tomorrow."Bush also urged Brazil, the continent's largest economy, to use its considerable regional influence to prod into reality a U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas. Bush believes such a free-trade zone stretching from Alaska to Argentina would create jobs and lift the region's 220 million poor to better lives.That could be a tall order for Brazil.At the Americas summit, the United States and 28 other countries supported setting a date to restart negotiations on creating the trading bloc. But because Brazil and four other nations preferred to wait for world trade negotiations to take place in December, no agreement was reached on new talks.So Sunday, Bush appeared determined to move on from the divisions over the FTAA talks and focus on those World Trade Organization negotiations in Hong Kong. The talks are aimed at cutting tariffs worldwide.In the hope that success in the global talks would invigorate the FTAA's chances, Bush said he agrees with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that the United States must drop agriculture subsidies so it is easier for farmers in the developing world to compete. Bush said the United States promises to reduce and then eliminate those "trade-distorting subsidies" -- as long as Europe does the same."Only an ambitious reform agenda in agriculture, and manufactured goods, and services can ensure that the benefits of free and fair trade are enjoyed by all people in all countries," Bush said.Bush flew from Brazil to Panama, arriving Sunday night for a leisurely visit seen as a respite after the tense trade talks.Panama stepped up security measures in preparation for Bush's arrival. But a protest vigil drew less than 200 people on Sunday, on the heels of two days of festive independence-day parades with music and street dancing.Patrol boats guarded the bay near the Panama Canal and several blocks were closed to traffic in front of a hotel where Bush was scheduled to stay. Several U.S. jet fighters appeared at the Panama City airport, and police were more visible in the capital.Groups opposing Bush's visit also planned a protest rally Monday afternoon, while Panamanian authorities extended independence celebrations through Monday in a move to reduce student protests.Growing mistrustHis five-day trip, which concludes when he leaves Panama Monday, comes as there is growing mistrust in Latin America about the United States.The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq revived memories of the "gunboat diplomacy" era of U.S.-Latin American relations of a century ago. There also has been deep concern about the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction that Bush alleged Iraq had. Disclosures of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere added strains."I fully understand there's, at times, a view of America that is, in my opinion, not an accurate view," Bush said earlier in the day at a roundtable with young Brazilian leaders.Bush had good reason to make his push for freer trade, a better image for the United States and democracy here. Brazil has influence with Venezuela and in Bolivia, where the leading candidate in the December 4 presidential election is the founder of the Movement Toward Socialism political party. Evo Morales has pledged to decriminalize the coca crop and end the U.S.-backed drive to end its cultivation.Chile also holds its presidential elections in December and Brazil has balloting in October 2006."Only a generation ago, this was a continent plagued by military dictatorship and civil war," Bush said. "The successful democracies of the 21st century will not be defined by blood and soil. Successful democracies will be defined by a broader ideal of citizenship -- based on shared principles, and shared responsibilities, and respect for all."The president's visit was also expected to cement relations with Silva, the leader of a country that represents a lucrative market for U.S. products that Bush would like to expand."We carry on tranquil and mature discussions on specific issues that always come up as part of any partnership on this scale," Silva said after they met and before they dined on a what Bush called an "unbelievably good" Brazilian barbecue of beef, lamb, ox tail and some cheese.Silva at first was distrusted by Washington because of his leftist origins. But he surprised many by curbing spending and bringing inflation down to less than 6 percent a year. He also enacted programs to distribute food and boost education among the poor.Despite their opposing political leanings, the two share personal chemistry.Bush joked that Silva promised to take him fishing, but not until after he leaves office because the "entourage is a little big to go fishing while I'm president."Heavily armed police officers wearing bulletproof vests outnumbered the 150 demonstrators who protested with banners saying "Fora Bush" (Get Out Bush) at the retreat's entrance.About 40 students also participated in a sit-in at a local McDonald's that they called a symbol of U.S. capitalism."We will remain here until Bush disappears from the planet or leaves Brazil, whichever comes first," said one demonstrator, Rosa Marques, a history student at the University of Brasilia.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.