■ United states
Actor praised by judge
A judge reinstated actor Tom Sizemore's probation, praising him for making "remarkable" progress in his battle with drugs, but warning that if he slips again he could face 16 months in prison. "I have seen remarkable improvement. ... I believe that you know what you need to do to stay out of prison," Judge Paula Adele Mabrey told Sizemore on Monday. The actor's probation, stemming from an October conviction for methamphetamine possession, was revoked after he admitted using a prosthetic device to fake a drug test. Sizemore has been living at a Pasadena drug treatment facility since July.
■ United States
Anti-war grannies arrested
Eighteen antiwar grandmothers were arrested and face disorderly conduct charges after they tried to enlist at a military recruiting center in Times Square. When the women, including Marie Runyon, who is 90 and blind, tried to enter the station, they found it locked, said Joan Wile, director of Grandmothers against the War. "I saw a head poke up from behind the counter every once in a while. I don't know what they were afraid of," Wile said. Grandmothers against the War joined the New York City Raging Grannies and the Gray Panthers to form the Anti-War Grandmothers coalition.
■ United States
UK aid meals rejected
The US on Friday offered 330,000 packaged meals donated by Britain to feed Hurricane Katrina victims but rejected due to a US ban on British beef to needy countries. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the "Meals Ready to Eat," (MREs), had been held in a warehouse for more than a month after Agriculture officials said they contained British beef products. "We are certainly looking to dispose of them in the spirit of friendship and charity," Ereli told a briefing. The US bans the import of British beef products because of fears of mad cow disease.
■ United States
Video groups sue governor
Two trade groups sued California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday, challenging a law he passed banning the sale of violent video games to children under 18. The Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which represent the US$10 billion a year industry, filed their lawsuit in San Francisco. They claim that the law passed on Oct. 7 violated the US Constitution's First Amendment right of free expression. But Schwarzenegger, himself the star of several violent video games based on his Terminator character, vowed to fight the suit: "I will do everything in my power to preserve this new law and prevent the sale of these games to children."
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