BY HARRY RING
Who needs the counseling? -In Pensacola, Florida, a five- year-old was arrested on a felony charge for allegedly biting and scratching her teacher. A school official said the arrest was intended to compel the child's parents to authorize counseling.

But nobody's in jail - A federal jury awarded $450,000 to Amanda Buritica who was held for 22 hours by U.S. customs officials. She was strip-searched, X-rayed, and given a powerful laxative so that inspectors could check if she had swallowed drug packets. She was targeted because she was traveling alone on a "high risk" Singapore Airlines flight from Hong Kong, was wearing loose clothing and had no souvenirs.

`Hold the union' - According to the Wall Street Journal, it's rare for a McDonald's outlet to shut down. But one in Montreal is closing allegedly because it's losing money. The Journal says it's the only store in the chain where the workers are unionized. The owners - who hold five other franchises - denied that McD ordered them to shut it down.

Racism - a deadly social disease - Heart disease is the top killer of U.S. women. Among women who are Black, the toll is 67 percent higher than among white women.

Security measure - In England, a pregnant woman waiting to appear in court on a minor theft charge was chained to a radiator for five hours. Another woman waiting to appear, was handcuffed to her and also chained to the radiator. The company that operates the jail said the only secure cell was occupied by male prisoners.

...meanwhile - A British cop, who is an instructor in self- defense, was given a three-month jail term -half of it suspended - for assaulting a boy, age 10.

Be the first on the block - Diamond merchant Harry Winston teamed up with MIT Media Lab to bring you Heartthrob, a ruby and diamond brooch with chip-controlled light-emitting diodes that flash with each heartbeat. $400,000.

Part of the heritage - "SACRAMENTO, California - Organizers of California's 150th birthday program failed to file tax returns, awarded contracts that weren't put out to bid, and took questionable trips to Scotland and Rhode Island, investigators charged." - News item.

Not worth the effort? - In a Florida damage suit General Motors was ordered to produce a document which bears out that it knew it was making some vehicles with fuel tanks that can explode in crashes. A GM memo calculated that the annual cost of deaths in such accidents came to about $2.40 per vehicle, and it would cost about $2.20 to prevent the fires.  
 
 
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