2002

Medical castration to treat localized prostate tumors does not prolong survival and its side effects far outweigh any potential benefit for most patients, researchers reported today. The technique, which involves using drugs to block the body's production of the male hormone androgen, is a powerful tool when used in conjunction with surgery or radiation for treating aggressive prostate tumors.

Patients who receive treatment for a minor stroke within 24 hours reduce their risk of a second stroke by 80% compared with those who wait three days or more to see a doctor, according to a new study released today. Many patients who experience the relatively mild and temporary symptoms of a minor stroke -- slurred speech, arm weakness and dizziness -- often forgo seeing a doctor for days or weeks. Some doctors also fail to initiate immediate treatment for such symptoms.

Seventy years ago, Bill Wilson -- the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous -- declared his powerlessness over alcohol in a book by the same name. The failed businessman contended that, as an alcoholic, he had to "hit bottom" before changing his life and that sobriety could only be achieved through complete abstention. For generations, Americans took these tenets to be true for everyone. Top addiction experts are no longer sure. They now say that many drinkers can evaluate their habits and -- using new knowledge about genetic and behavioral risks of addiction -- change those habits if necessary.

As hard as it was to spend 35 years in prison for stealing a black-and-white television, Junior Allen has found freedom frustrating too. Despite extensive prison records in North Carolina, where he spent more than half his life as inmate No. 0004604, Allen has been unable to establish his identity in rural Georgia, where he now lives with his sister, or in Alabama, where he was born 65 years ago to sharecropper parents.

Judy Lewis, a psychotherapist and former actress who wrote a book about her complicated heritage as the illegitimate daughter of Hollywood legends Loretta Young and Clark Gable, has died. She was 76. A longtime resident of Los Angeles, Lewis died of cancer Friday in Gladwyne, Pa., according to her daughter, Maria Tinney Dagit. Brought up in Bel-Air as Young's adopted daughter, Lewis was an adult when she learned that the glamorous leading lady and Gable, the dashing star of " Gone With the Wind," had conceived her during a brief affair in the 1930s.

BAKERSFIELD - Fernando Jara is something of a star in Kern County - and a mystery. From humble beginnings, Jara founded a program to rehabilitate drug addicts and felons on a five-acre farm. He is completing a master's degree at Claremont School of Theology and will soon begin work on a doctorate and a law degree. The energetic 37-year-old and his wife, a Kern County supervisor and rising political star, attended President Obama's inauguration in January at the invitation of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Shari Redstone, taking control of a pet project, has joined with a private equity firm to acquire a Russian movie theater chain from her family-owned National Amusements Inc. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisition of the Rising Star Media circuit, which operates in Moscow and St. Petersburg, comes as National Amusements, run by Shari Redstone and her father, Sumner Redstone, has been selling theaters to help pay down debt. National Amusements recently reached a deal to sell 35 U.S. theaters, including the Bridge Cinema de Lux multiplex in Los Angeles, to Texas-based Rave Cinemas.

A faulty airbag part that can explode and send shrapnel into the passenger cabin is responsible for the global recall of more than 3 million cars manufactured by Honda, Nissan, Toyota and General Motors and will likely lead to more recalls. The problem was reported to Japanese safety regulators late Wednesday night, but since the part manufactured by Takata Corp. is used internationally, it probably affects more automakers. “Takata supplies a lot of U.S. manufacturers too,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with auto information company Edmunds.com.

WASHINGTON -- Federal banking regulators have ordered Capital One Bank to refund $150 million to about 2 million customers for deceptive marketing of payment protection and other add-on products sold with its credit cards. Capital One also must pay $60 million in civil penalties for the practices. The refunds and fines, which the bank has agreed to pay under consent orders, were announced Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.