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The article describes Skid Row, a sprawling area of Los Angeles occupied by thousands of homeless: prostitutes, addicts, and criminals. Hotel developers, LA police department, politicians, and LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in coordination with the LA Homeless Services Authority, Central City Association, and Union Rescue Mission plan to revitalize the area by creating more support for the homeless and bringing in hotels and restaurants.

The article discusses the toll war takes on soldiers who return home from combat and the post-traumatic stress disorder that plagues many of them. Soldiers, such as those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, are more likely to return home with vivid memories of the killings and violence they were exposed to, according to Col. Kathy Platoni. United States President George W. Bush has allocated $3.2 billion to the Veteran's Administration's mental health facilities to keep up with current demands. INSET: Stress by Any Other Name.

The article presents a guide on dealing with child and adolescent health issues. Among the advice offered: sometimes crying babies just need to be left alone, children with croup benefit from being held and comforted, and many ear infections resolve themselves. Other problems addressed include fever, asthma, car safety, head injuries, broken bones, strep throat, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, acne, recreational drugs and STD tests.

This article focuses on children born of sperm donation and discovering more about the donors so as to forecast any health problems which might be caused by genetics. Donor anonymity is explored and there is the suggestion that it be done away with. Children have already started to meet half siblings conceived by donated sperm, though the names of sperm donors remain hidden. Some sperm banks are giving the donors the option of identifying themselves.

This article focuses on the threat posed to the old media by the Internet industry. Companies like the New York Times, Walt Disney, News Corp. and NBC/Universal, as well as magazine and book publishers, are losing ground to a new breed of media elites out to control the Internet industry. Google posted blowout profits in the third quarter of 2005.

Focuses on lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his corrupt activities. How he attempted to help the Tiguas Indian tribe in Texas reopen their casino after it was shut down; Speculation that Abramoff was involved in the effort to shut down the casino; Investigation of Abramoff's lucrative lobbying on behalf of several Indian tribes and his relationships with influential members of Congress; Claim that Abramoff overcharged and defrauded his Indian clients; Indictment of Abramoff and a former business partner on federal fraud charges related to the failed purchase of a Florida casino-boat company; How he became involved with Indian tribes.

Profiles Whole Foods, one of the hottest grocery chains in the U.S. as of June 2005. Rapid growth of the company; Statistics related to the company's positive financial performance; Efforts of Chief Executive John Mackey to double the number of Whole Foods stores in the U.S. by 2010.

Discussion of how the American baby boom generation is planning for retirement. Report that many baby boomers either cannot afford, or do not want, to stop working in their early 60's; Speculation that retirement will become a cyclical blend of work, education, and leisure; Discussion of how working past retirement age can boost income later; Advice to start clearing major debts at age 45; Discussion of savings options; Discussion of how to structure 401(k) account investments; Advice to make plans in advance to remain active during retirement; Advice to keep work skills current; Advice to maintain contact with family members and the community into retirement; Importance of fitness and good eating habits; Advice to consider long-term-care insurance.

Prosecutors have filed major criminal cases against figures at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and elsewhere, and more will surely come. Former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow has pledged four properties and a $5 million cash bond to guarantee he will appear in court to face charges that he engineered the complex accounting frauds that drove the firm into bankruptcy. The federal government has frozen $37 million of Fastow family assets as ill-gotten gains, and a federal marshal took custody of proceeds from the $3.9 million sale of the 11,000-square-foot dream mansion Fastow had been building in Houston: six fireplaces, Italian blue flagstone flooring, and museum-quality lighting for his art collection. When he goes to trial early next year, his lawyer says Fastow will argue that his actions at Enron were carried out with the full knowledge and support of Lay, Skilling, and the board of directors. For the tens of thousands of workers and investors burned by Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and other troubled corporations, it is difficult to watch those they see as the perpetrators of their misery still enjoying the good life. These cases got a major boost this fall when the Department of Labor's general counsel, Eugene Scalia (son of conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia), filed a brief on behalf of Enron workers. Experts are waiting to see if the Labor Department will weigh in on similar cases at Tyco, Dynegy, and other firms that have seen less political scrutiny. But in all of these cases, major legal battles lie ahead, as employees and shareholders fight for recovery from finite insurance funds, struggling corporations, and former executives who simply spent the money, sold off assets, or shielded them with help from generous homestead laws in states like Florida and Texas.

Bill Bratton was given the position of chief of police in Los Angeles, California. With his new team of handpicked deputies and consultants, Bratton is about to launch a wholesale re-engineering of the Los Angeles Police Department. But it's more than a day job for the chief. It was a gig mix that worked well for Bratton in New York, where as police commissioner and gossip column regular from 1994 to 1997 he reduced the city's crime rate almost as dramatically as he raised his personal profile. Creaky information systems will be dumped in favor of a computer program known as CompStat (for compare statistics) that tracks criminal activity street by street, illuminating patterns of crime. Specialized units will be disbanded, and the old HQ-centric model will be "entirely busted down," as one of Bratton's consultants put it. A gifted talker--Bratton once won a medal of valor for talking a gun-toting robber into releasing a hostage--he rose through the ranks of the Boston Police Department but left in 1990 to head New York's Transit Police. In the 27 months he was on the job, Bratton saw a reduction in major crime by 33 percent and in homicide by 50 percent. In Los Angeles, Bratton is the fourth chief in 10 years, and he has inherited a demoralized and underfunded police force (one cop for every 409 residents, compared with New York's one for every 209 residents).

Focuses on the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Significance of the Games for the United States; Number of television viewers; Controversy over the gold-medal choice in pairs skating; Performances, including American downhiller Bode Miller; Topic of endorsements; Mood of the gatherings.

Reports on bioterrorism in the United States. Envelopes containing white power sent to a Microsoft office in Reno, Nevada, National Broadcasting Co. Inc.'s offices in New York, and to American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida; Difficulties in launching biological terrorism attacks. INSET: A once and future scourge.

Examines the United States economy following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Example of Richmond, Virginia; Question of how deep and long the recession will be; The issue of consumer confidence; How the economic slump differs from previous ones; Effects of the attacks on tourism and insurance; Concerns of investors regarding deficits and inflation. INSETS: Holding on to a personal vision;Home plans put on hold for now, by Pamela Sherrid.

Reports on stock market activity following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Reasons for Wall Street's falling markets, including the likelihood of recession and war; Comments of strategists; Efforts to restore consumer confidence; Impact of the attacks on airlines, crude oil prices, retailing, the media, entertainment, and insurance.

Focuses on the economic conditions in the United States, in preparation for the 2000 holiday season. Concerns over the slowdown in the economy, and the decline in value of several stocks; Role of U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan in controlling various economic indicators; Outlook. INSET: Dead cats that didn't bounce, by Paul J. Lim.

Discusses the 2000 United States presidential election. Demonstrations in Florida reflecting the feud between Republican and Democratic parties over the state's close vote that resulted in a recount because of Florida law; Demand for recounts and possible legal action because of the punch-hole, or 'butterfly,' ballots used in Palm Beach County; Scenarios for the outcome; Role of television-network projections in the confusion over whether George W. Bush or Al Gore won the election. INSETS: The county that holds the cards, by C. Ragavan, R. Sobel;Will it stop with Florida?, by David Whitman.