Illness

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner plans to unveil proposed regulations today to combat the health insurance industry practice of dropping members with costly illnesses. Poizner's draft regulations would require insurers to write applications for coverage in plain English and allow applicants a "not sure" answer to questions about their preexisting medical conditions.

The sick bay at the Metropolitan Opera is reaching a crescendo. A knee injury has forced top Wagnerian soprano Christine Brewer to withdraw from her performances as Bruennhilde in the Met's "Ring" cycle, the company said.

It might have looked as if real progress toward healthcare reform was made last week when leading insurers proposed ending their long-standing practice of charging higher rates to sick people and denying coverage to those with chronic conditions. But not so fast. A closer look at the insurance industry's plan reveals a potentially huge loophole that could short-circuit genuine reform.

Halfway through practice, it looked as if the UCLA basketball team had lost another player, forward Nikola Dragovic heading for the locker room with a trainer in tow. But this wasn't another sprained ankle or sore back. Instead, Dragovic was sick to his stomach, apparently from eating pasta that had been left out too long. That's how bad it has been for injury-riddled UCLA the last few weeks -- gastric distress starts to look pretty good. "Food poisoning, he'll get over," Coach Ben Howland said.

She still has bad days. On Fridays, Lauren Lingle takes the medicine that is supposed to protect her from own body. On Saturdays, she may throw up a half-dozen times before she slips into the pool to play water polo. It is her sport of choice, but is as much her therapy. Lingle, 17, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. She once was laid up for six weeks in a hospital bed because of stiffness, once could get around only in a wheelchair.

Thousands of Southern Californians were no doubt clutching their seats while watching "Cloverfield," last weekend's No. 1 movie at the box office. At least a few of them were clutching their stomachs as well. Since the movie opened last Friday, some patrons said they experienced nausea and dizziness while watching the horror flick, much of which was filmed with a herky-jerky, hand-held cameras.

Larry Gibson first spotted Dennis Golay outside West Hollywood's French Market Place. By the time he was halfway across Santa Monica Boulevard, he'd fallen in love. It was Nov. 14, 1981 -- Golay's 34th birthday. Seven years later, both men tested positive for the AIDS virus, an almost certain death sentence in the days before antiretroviral drugs. Having dreamed of growing old together, they were devastated. "We had something so special," said Gibson, 63, looking back at that dark time.

Federal regulators have proposed relatively minor changes to the popular Family and Medical Leave Act, a relief for advocates who had feared a sweeping rewrite that would have made it difficult for people to take advantage of it. The proposals, released this month by the Labor Department, would give employers more leeway to verify that people taking medical leave were actually sick.

Barack Obama's mother was an adventurous woman who took her son around the globe. His grandmother was a rock of stability, giving him the American roots that would ground his teenage years as well as his career in politics. His mother died too young to see him become a U.S. senator, much less the Democratic nominee in the 2008 presidential election and someone who could become the first African American to win the White House.

Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey was rushed to the hospital Thursday night after collapsing and losing consciousness during a speech on the war on terrorism, a Justice Department official said. Mukasey slumped to the floor near the conclusion of his remarks before the Federalist Society's annual dinner at a northwest Washington hotel, said Peter A. Carr, chief spokesman for the department.