Definition

Thomas Jane, 42, returns Sunday night for the third season of the HBO dramedy "Hung. " He stars as Ray Drecker, a struggling high school teacher and coach who deals with Detroit's crumbling economy by branching out into prostitution. What's coming up this season for Ray? When we started the show we got a lot of play out of the fact that the economy had gone into the [toilet]. Our story was about people trying to make ends meet in unconventional ways. Now by Season 3, the economy is still in the [toilet]

The proposed weight-loss drug Lorcaserin, rebuffed in its bid for Food and Drug Administration approval last October, on Thursday won a recommendation of approval from the agency's advisory committee, a major step toward winning the FDA's go-ahead to enter the U.S. market. If the agency follows the advice of the panel of independent experts--which is common but not routine-- Lorcaserin would become the first new prescription weight-loss drug to go on the U.S. market since Orlistat (now marketed over-the-counter as Alli)

Apparently Kenneth Starr's definition of "independent" is as varied as Bill Clinton's definition of "sex." DANA BAILEY Thousand Oaks

SEATTLE — In a move to improve treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Army is discouraging the use of traditional definitions such as feelings of fear, helplessness and horror — symptoms that may not be in a trained warrior's vocabulary. It also is recommending against the use of anti-anxiety and antipsychotic medications for such combat stress in favor of more proven drugs. The changes are reflected in a new policy document released this month, one that reflects a growing understanding of the "occupational" nature of the condition for many troops.

When the FBI reports statistics on rape in its annual crime report, it includes only incidents that involve "carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will. " But that's too narrow a definition. Most local and state police jurisdictions these days use much broader language. In fact, the FBI definition, which is more than 80 years old, is so outdated that many of the cases that local law enforcement authorities categorize as rape never get listed in the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reports.

Clinton's definition of his tax increases: Contributions. Americans' definition of Clinton's tax increases: Confiscation. DARLA MORTENSEN San Juan Capistrano

There seems to be some confusion as to just what derivatives are, since many knowledgeable people have lost a lot of money on them. I wish to offer an off-beat definition that should help clear up any misunderstanding about what they are. Derivatives are securities that have been cut up, marked up and sold to customers who have been set up and held up by brokers who have been cleaning up while covering up their trading tracks. ARTHUT HUNEVEN Ojai

ITS future is far from certain, but Chicano Art Magazine (www.chicanoartmagazine.com) has reached a milepost many fledgling art magazines never make -- a second issue, which will be out in about two weeks. The magazine, founded and edited by Laura Molina, a painter who lives in the Antelope Valley, premiered in July, priced at $6, aiming to provide a forum for makers and admirers of Mexican Americana art. Three-thousand copies were printed.

Recovery is a beautiful word for people suffering from a mental illness or addiction. But what does it mean? A year-long project by experts nationwide has led to a new definition of the term that is meant to help doctors, counselors and policymakers who oversee the field. And it just might help people who are in recovery, too. The new definition is thoughtful, if not pithy: "A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.

Definition of hypocrisy: politicians who condemn bureaucracy. DON BAER Los Angeles

This year's late winter heat wave over much of the United States, dubbed "March Madness," has been cited as evidence that human-induced global warming is causing the climate system to stray far outside its normal range of variability. The thousands of all-time high temperature records shattered during last month's climate rampage have been likened to home-run records shattered by a baseball player on steroids. It is true that the signature of human-induced global warming is clearly apparent in the increasing number of new high temperature records, which are currently outnumbering low temperature records by a factor of about 3 to 1. Just as a rising tide lifts all ships, a rise in global mean temperature is bound to raise the levels of the highest temperatures.

Kobe Bryant missed his fifth consecutive game Sunday but hinted about his return from a sore left shin, telling ABC sideline reporter Heather Cox he would "definitely" play before the end of the regular season. Bryant spoke briefly to Cox at the Lakers' game against the Dallas Mavericks about his shin, saying he would be back "well before playoffs. " The Lakers have five games left after Sunday and conclude the regular season April 26 against the  Sacramento Kings. Bryant hadn't spoken to reporters in more than a week.

Another day, another game in which the Lakers will have to see if they can manage without Kobe Bryant. He will sit out for the fifth consecutive game Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks because of a sore left shin. Since Friday, Bryant has managed to walk pain-free. But a team spokesman said he has yet to show he can both run and then jump pain-free, two requirements Bryant must pass before the Lakers' training staff will clear him to play. There are plenty of reasons Lakers Coach Mike Brown hardly sounded concerned about Bryant staying on the sideline.

President Obama is a lawyer by training and a former professor of constitutional law, and I am neither. Still, I can't help but think his remarks today about "judicial activism" and the Supreme Court's review of the 2010 healthcare reform law were hyperbolic. At a news conference held jointly with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Obama was asked, "[H]ow would you still guarantee healthcare to the uninsured and those Americans who've become insured as a result of the law" if the measure's individual mandate were declared unconstitutional?

Chauncey Billups is back on the Clippers bench. The savvy veteran sits next to the coaches, watching his teammates with the sharp eye of a player who has been in the league for 14 seasons. When a man is subbed out, he often pulls him aside and offers words of advice. He has told Chris Paul to be more aggressive. He has advised Randy Foye on when to shoot. His suggestions seem to be working. Wednesday marked the fifth game that Billups has attended since suffering a season-ending Achilles' injury early February.

A mental illness that strikes young children suddenly may be caused by a range of factors, including infections, according to a new report. The paper, published in the journal Pediatrics & Therapeutics, reflects a consensus statement on a condition called Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections -- or PANDAS. PANDAS causes the abrupt onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in young children. In many cases, children fell ill after having a simple, childhood streptococcal infection, such as strep throat.

Hollywood celebrated a foreign invasion at Sunday's Golden Globes, as films and television shows with a distinctly international pedigree collected many of the evening's prizes. "The Artist," French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius's ode to silent movies, was the night's top honoree, winning three awards. In the comedy or musical category, the black-and-white movie was named best picture, while Jean Dujardin was named actor for his performance as a silent film star made obsolete by the arrival of talkies.

A few months before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I read a blog post by an Atlantic Monthly correspondent about Chinese wine. Chinese what? I grew up outside New York City, where I ate hundreds of pounds of lo mein and pork-fried rice but didn't see, taste or hear of Chinese wine. Even when I traveled to China in 2009 and 2010, I saw drinkers mostly tossing back beer and baijiu (Chinese liquor). But Western-style wine is attracting the attention of China'srising middle class.