USA TODAY articles from September 2006

USA TODAY archives from September 2006

New laws target campus housing fires.(YOUR LIFE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... As millions of young people head back to college, campuses all over the country--prompted by a number of recent lethal fires and resulting legislative action--are working to improve the safety of their student housing. Legislation has been...

Workplace cues from back-to-school checklists.(YOUR LIFE)
September 1, 2006... It's that time of year again: Students everywhere are trading their swimsuits, sandals, and carefree days for text books, backpacks, and class schedules. While the transition may not be as dramatic for professionals, many nevertheless will face...

Modern education's "cycle of poverty".(urban schools, skilled teachers)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Urban schools and those with lower-performing students tend to employ the least-qualified teachers but, contrary to popular belief, this might not just be because teachers prefer working with higher-performing students. Research shows that...

High school dropouts cost country billions.(YOUR LIFE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The U.S. loses hundreds of billions of dollars each year when young people fail to graduate from high school, with costs reflected in lost productivity and tax revenues, as well as additional burdens to the health care, public assistance, and...

Heat, drought doom wheat and cotton crop.(Northern Plains )
September 1, 2006... The drought afflicting the Northern Plains since last fall has compromised the upcoming spring wheat crop, while the lack of rain in the Mississippi Delta and Southeast could devastate the regions' cotton output (as already has occurred in...

Smokey the bear working overtime.(YOUR LIFE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Large forest fires have occurred more frequently in the West since the mid 1980s as spring temperatures increased, mountain snows melted earlier, and summers got hotter, contend researchers at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Almost seven...

Is immigrant detention mimicking drug policies?(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The growing prevalence of detention as a policy within the U.S. immigration system is strikingly similar to policies of criminal sanctions and mass incarceration used to fight the "war on drugs" in the 1980s, claims University at Buffalo (N.Y.)...

Number of "illegals" triples earlier estimate.(illegal immigrants)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... While Federal officials insist that only 11-12,000,000 illegal immigrants currently live in America, a new book asserts the number is closer to 30,000,000--one-tenth of the entire U.S. population. Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's...

Latino immigrants negative toward blacks.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Latinos bring negative stereotypes about black Americans to the U.S. when they immigrate and identify more with whites than blacks, according to a study of the changing political dynamics in the South conducted by researchers at Duke...

Katrina a bust on poverty awareness.(Hurricane Katrina)
September 1, 2006... Contrary to a popular theme reported in news coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 Gulf Coast disaster did not reveal to most Americans that widespread poverty and inequality are the nation's "dirty little secret." Rather, citizens were aware...

Driveway dangers for children.(YOUR LIFE)(accidents)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Every year, thousands of children are seriously injured or killed when they are hit by a vehicle backing out of a driveway, but a child is much more likely to be backed over by a minivan or truck than by a car, according to a study by the...

The world isn't flat, it's tilted.(globalization)
September 1, 2006... Across the country, a growing number of Americans fear that they could be replaced by someone from a developing country. Polls indicate that millions of citizens are preoccupied with the outsourcing of U.S. jobs and the threat of global...

Kids choosing television over trees.(national parks dont attract kids)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Per capita visits to U.S. national parks have been declining since 1987, after having risen for the previous 50 years. The drop occurs as the use of electronic media is on the rise--something the ecologically concerned maintain is "evidence of...

Why do mothers dress like their daughters?(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Today's children grow up watching their parents try to keep up with the latest trends, so instead of looking like normal moms, more and more mothers would rather look like their daughters. It's no wonder that teens themselves start growing up...

Government cannot solve gas crisis.(YOUR LIFE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Gasoline prices that continue to skyrocket have consumers shaking their fists and politicians struggling to placate them. It seems that everyone wants to break our dependence on foreign oil, but no one can agree on what we ought to do about it....

Sense of entitlement rising among youth.
September 1, 2006... Apparently, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) is not the only one who thinks that today's young people have too much of a sense of entitlement. Nearly 83% of those surveyed agree that America's youth feel more entitled compared to 10 years ago,...

Is it up to the U.S. to fix the Middle East?(National Affairs)
September 1, 2006... NINETY YEARS AGO, the world was in a period of wrenching and bloody transition. War raged in Europe. It was a conflict triggered by a series of tragic misjudgments stemming from decades-old resentments and shifting European alliances, and...

Solving the Middle East.(WORLD WATCHER)
September 1, 2006... THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION has not spent a single moment trying to fix what is wrong in the Middle East. The problem there is not the lack of gun-barrel democracy. The problem is that Arabs and Israelis are locked in a thousands-of-years continuum...

Three days in North Korea: change can--and must--come to this rogue nation, but it will not be easy, as a trip to this bastion of Communist control proved.(Worldview)
September 1, 2006... THE COLONEL LOOKED us in the eye. "Aren't you afraid to be here? We are enemies!" So began our tour of the Korean demilitarized zone from the North Korean side--and of 20th-century history from the North Korean perspective. During several...

The sloppy majority.(public dressing)
September 1, 2006... A RECENT ARTICLE in The New York Times noted that Hollywood types now are wearing flip-flops--shoes appropriate for beachcombers--to business meetings. A new level--or should I say depth--of causal has been plumbed. Decades ago, Californians...

How immigration reform could help alleviate teacher shortages.(Education)
September 1, 2006... BEFORE EACH SCHOOL YEAR begins, there is a predictable barrage of news stories lamenting the lack of qualified public school teachers, especially in the hard-to-fill areas of math and science. The shortage of math and science teachers is not a...

Dreaming in Black & White.(Focus on Photography)
September 1, 2006... JULIEN LEVY EMERGED in the 1930s as a prominent art dealer who mounted the first exhibition in New York devoted to Surrealism. In addition to organizing shows devoted to painters and sculptors such as Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Leonor Fini,...

Advertorial adversities.
September 1, 2006... THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION is not alone in worrying about television stations that air corporate advertisements masquerading as news stories. In fact, the FCC requires that broadcast stations disclose the corporate backers of "video...

Napoleon on the Nile.(art exhibition, Dahesh Museum of Art, New York)
September 1, 2006... "NAPOLEON ON THE NILE: Soldiers, Artists, and the Rediscovery of Egypt" brings together more than 80 large, exquisitely detailed engraved plate illustrations from the massive, encyclopedic compendium known as Description de l'Egypte, long...

Girodet: France's Romantic Rebel.(Museums Today)
September 1, 2006... ANNE-LOUIS GIRODET de Roussy-Trioson, or Girodet as he commonly is referred to, was much admired in his own time, although he is not especially well known to the American public. Girodet (1767-1824) was a painter of genius, but also a rebel...

"Let them eat cake!" a new PBS documentary examines the many myths surrounding Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, who met her end on the blade of the guillotine.(Mass Media)
September 1, 2006... TO TELL THE STORY of Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen, better known as Marie Antoinette, is to relive the great revolution that unleashed the forces which shaped our modern world. In his PBS documentary portrait, "Marie...

Lizards and snakes ... oh, my! The American Museum of Natural History is the ideal showcase for live squamates and their remarkable adaptations for survival, including projectile tongues, deadly venom, amazing camouflage, and sometimes surprising modes of locomotion.(Ecology)
September 1, 2006... "LIZARDS & SNAKES: Alive!" introduces visitors to a diversity of squamates--the animal group that includes legged and legless lizards and snakes. It showcases live specimens and their remarkable adaptations for survival, including projectile...

The gentle clown.(Red Skelton )(Biography)
September 1, 2006... TWENTY YEARS AGO, as the resident humor scholar here at Ball State University, I was chosen to give the keynote address for a special ceremony awarding Hoosier-born Red Skelton with an honorary doctorate. Preparing the comments proved easy....

Rembrandt at 400: better than ever: the great Dutch master excelled in a number of mediums, as his drawings reveal the artist's keen powers of observation while his printmaking proved to be uniquely bold and innovative.(The World of Art)
September 1, 2006... REMBRANDT VAN RIJN'S graphic works illustrate, perhaps even better than his paintings, the range of the great 17th-century Dutch master's creative genius--his spontaneity, artistic inventiveness, and rethinking of traditional media. His subject...

Those crazy insanity pleas.(AMERICAN JUSTICE)
September 1, 2006... IN AN OBITUARY OF TRIAL LAWYER Vincent J. Fuller on July 29, 2006, The Washington Post implies that the attorney executed a brilliant defense of John Hinckley, Jr., that won him a "dramatic courtroom verdict." The Post rhapsodizes that, "Within...

Blessed are those who mourn--and those who comfort them: in our death-denying society, all too often the message is: Get over it and get back to normal. The fact is, the bereaved's "normal" never will be the same.(Psychology)
September 1, 2006... DISBELIEF IS the first thing you feel. The news does not make any sense. There is some mental scrambling around for an anchor. Is this real? How could this be? There is sadness and surprise and, perhaps hidden in the back of your mind, a sense...

Fending off bereavement bullies: beware the all-knowing rules maker who, in pat cliches, tells us how we should act and feel, and how long our grief should last and what form it should take.(Psychology)
September 1, 2006... MOST OF US think of grief as a time when others will come to our aid with understanding and compassion. We also so like to think of ourselves as being understanding and compassionate with others in their time of need. The three people in the...

The silent sorrow.(Life in America)(miscarriages, full-term stillbirths and newborn deaths)
September 1, 2006... MORE THAN 1,000,000 couples in the U.S. alone each year endure the sorrow of a spontaneous pregnancy loss, from first trimester miscarriages to full-term stillbirths and newborn deaths. This represents about 31% of all conceptions and this...

When tears are not enough: if called upon to help those walking the anguished path of grief, will we know what to do to help ease their pain and alienation?(Medicine & Health)(psychological management of critically ill persons)
September 1, 2006... WE ARE CARE providers all. Whether you are a professional care provider or someone who wants to comfort a loved one in pain, you can learn how to accompany and support an anguished person on his or her "grief journey" when tears are not enough....

The gift of being there for a seriously ill loved one.(Medicine & Health)(patient's psychological management)
September 1, 2006... IT WAS THREE WEEKS AGO that Sarah, one of your best friends since college, found the lump. The days following the news have been a maelstrom of medical appointments, tests, and tearful phone calls. Yesterday's call brought the grim news:...

A system in crisis.(Health Care)
September 1, 2006... HEALTH CARE concerns consistently rank near the top of surveys of Americans pertaining to issues that are important to them. There is good reason for concern. Compared to other industrialized nations, health care in the U.S. is much more...

Projects that work: being on time, within budget, and to specification can be difficult. As one project manager explained, "you can have it fast, cheap, or good. Pick two.".(Business & Finance)
September 1, 2006... EACH YEAR, an estimated 10 trillion dollars is spent on projects around the world, many of which fail. In fact, there hardly is a company that is satisfied with its project performance. By some measures, two-thirds or more new product,...

Going, going, gone!! Kiss that baby goodbye!(WHAT'S NEW?)(ESPN Books' "Dingers! A Short History of the Long Ball" and "2006 Baseball Encyclopedia")
September 1, 2006... "No one can understand what it really is unless you have felt it in your own hands and body. It is different from seeing it or trying to describe it. There is nothing I know quite like meeting a ball in exactly the right spot. As the ball makes...

Don't just play the game--wear it!(WHAT'S NEW?)(GameWear inc.'s necklace )
September 1, 2006... So your son's Little League team won the local district championship, or his last-inning home run propelled the squad into the playoffs, or his game-saving catch helped the club clinch first place, or maybe you got into the act and finally...

Finally, a visor case for sunglasses.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... For us, sunglasses are an essential part of everyday living. It doesn't matter what season of the year, we never leave home without this invaluable accessory. A universal problem is what to do with them when we run in and out of stores and...

A wake-up call well worth hearing.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Its there anything worse than being woken up by an alarm clock in the morning? Well... how about having your precious naptime interrupted by that same jarring buzzer after you've pulled an all-nighter to get that term paper in on time. Fret...

Set 'em up in style: cocktails by Jenn.(surveys )(Survey)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... One recent survey showed that, in a perfect world, nearly nine out of 10 women would like to enjoy a "girls' night" at least once a month. Of course, in our busy lives, it's often difficult to find the time for such festivities, but when we do,...

Celebrate the most hallowed of holidays.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Matchbox's Search for the Mummy's Gold Adventure Set)(Creativity for Kids' Ancient Egypt Mummies & More )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... If there's one holiday that's taken off like no other, it's Halloween. From the yard displays to the costumes, it seems each year becomes more elaborate than the one before. Not only do we revel in the pageantry, but we especially love that our...

If you could see what I see.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Spy Museum Store's Estes Digital Camera Plane)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Are you curious about what's going on in your neighbor's yard? Or would you just like to get a bird's eye view of your surroundings? With Estes Digital Camera Plane ($175.00) you can take photos from 1,000 feet up while having a blast flying...

Setting the mood for the festivities.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Cocktails play a prominent role in many gatherings. Whether at a casual get-together, elegant dinner, major social event, or anything in between, the type of drinks served often sets the mood for the festivities. New products continue to enter...

If you combine a diaper bag and a papoose ...(WHAT'S NEW?)(Parents of Invention introduces The Sidekick--a diaper bag with a built-in child carrier)(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... Who hasn't witnessed this scene a million times: A frustrated room pushing an empty stroller with one arm while trying to balance an antsy toddler in the other? Or what about the parent standing in line holding a heavy child who, without...

Walking my baby back home--safely.(WHAT'S NEW?)
September 1, 2006... Even with sky-high gasoline prices, the streets and parking lots are filled with SUVs and other oversized vehicles that make it difficult for drivers to see people stepping into the road from a sidewalk or from between parked cars. This is...

Standing on a tower, world at your command.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Fisher-Price's toys)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... One of the most basic of infant and toddler toys is building blocks. We've yet to meet a child who could resist knocking down any tower within view. It's amazing to watch them persist until they finally are able to stack their own creation and...

B-Boppin' sound for confounding 'tweens.(WHAT'S NEW?)
September 1, 2006... If you're as stumped as we are when it comes to finding gifts for 'tween girls, check out the B-Bop ($19.99) from Radica, Dallas, Tex. We may not be able to keep up with their likes and dislikes, and we may not be able to distinguish between...

The right tool for the right job.(WHAT'S NEW?)(Black and Decker's Automatic Adjustable Wrench)(LoggerHead Tools' Bionic Wrench and Bionic Grip)
September 1, 2006... We all know that the easiest way to get jobs done around the house is to have the correct tools. There is nothing more frustrating than to get involved in a project and not have the equipment you need on hand to complete the task properly. One...

Summer blockbusters, old favorites come alive.(VIDEO GAMES)("Barnyard" and "Monster House")(Product/service evaluation)
September 1, 2006... Two of the most talked about movies of the summer have translated quite seamlessly to video games from THQ, Agoura Hills, Calif. We're talking, of course, about "Barnyard" and "Monster House." While the kids really enjoyed seeing the films on...

Museum memo.
September 1, 2006... What's new in museums around the country? Among the more interesting exhibitions on view are: Bob Dylan's American Journey 1956-1966, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, through Sept. 7. The Streets of New York: American Photographs...

At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68.(Book review)
September 1, 2006... AT CANAAN'S EDGE America in the King Years 1965-68 BY TAYLOR BRANCH SIMON & SCHUSTER 2006, 1001 PAGES, $35.00 This book is the last in a trilogy that is a call to conscience, a poignant remembrance of man's inhumanity to man. It highlights...

Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?(PARTING THOUGHTS)(freedom for the entire world)
September 1, 2006... FREEDOM IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT things to define, yet wars are fought to secure it. Evidently, many regard freedom as worth dying for, although an increasing number of our citizens are questioning whether the freedom of others is worth...