Jeff Boyd

Jeff Boyd's lifestyle is lively and unique. At 31, he's usually out catching passes or fraternizing with young convicts. A wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, Boyd and a partner operate a Los Angeles home for delinquent youths. In his view, the kids aren't delinquent, they aren't convicts, they aren't criminals--they're unlucky. But they are wards of the court, meaning they have been convicted of something. And so they are in Boyd's charge.

Jeff Boyd's lifestyle is lively and unique. At 31, he's usually out catching passes or fraternizing with young convicts. A wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, Boyd and a partner operate a Los Angeles home for delinquent youths. In his view, the kids aren't delinquent, they aren't convicts, they aren't criminals--they're unlucky. But they are wards of the court, meaning they have been convicted of something. And so they are in Boyd's charge.

A federal judge Thursday cleared the way for Enron Corp. executives and directors to start collecting insurance payments to cover their legal bills arising from the nation's biggest business failure. Opponents had argued it would be improper for payouts to go to people who might have helped destroy Enron. But Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan said the officials are entitled to legal coverage under the company-purchased insurance policies.

The state is not constitutionally obligated to pay for abortions for poor women who may have health complications from their pregnancy, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 8-0 ruling, with one abstention, upheld a state law that prohibits the use of Medicaid money for abortions except in cases of rape or incest or when the mother's life is in danger. It also held that the state has a legitimate interest in promoting childbirth over abortion.

A businessman and six reputed leaders of the El Rukn street gang were convicted by a federal jury Sunday of taking part in a murderous conspiracy to distribute drugs in Chicago. "This trial took out the day-to-day street leaders, the most violent people," Assistant U.S. Atty. William Hogan said. "We eliminated the entire upper echelon of the El Rukn organization."

On a recent trip to Egypt, the coffee table books, pottery and other gifts Lorna Gladstone collected might have turned into a nightmare at the airport baggage check-in. So she packed her belongings into four suitcases and left them with the hotel concierge to ship home through a service called Luggage Free. "I can go through security with my handbag and my book," said Gladstone, a retired resident of McLean, Va., who uses the service whenever she travels.

Eric Dickerson's season is not going well, but it's going better than his contract negotiations. He has not signed a contract extension. Apparently, he is not about to sign one. And he probably won't sign one until after the season, which is ironic. That's when the Rams said they would talk to him about one before he became a holdout. "We have been having some meetings," said Jack Rodri, an advisor for Dickerson. "But there's really nothing to talk about."

WEIGHED down by the heavy-handed airport searches of carry-on luggage? Depressed about time wasted waiting for checked baggage to drop onto the carousel at the end of a flight? Some travelers are lightening up -- physically and mentally -- by using luggage shipping services. Such companies handle baggage, generally picking it up at home or office and delivering it to hotels or other addresses at the passenger's destination.

Amtrak, in "liberalizing" its discount rail fare program for seniors for 1992, has both giveth and taketh away. Overall, there is more giveth than taketh away. First, the senior discount age has been lowered from 65 to 62 years. But now the discount is only available on rail travel Monday through Thursday. Previously it was any day of the week. Also the senior discount has been lowered from 25% to 15%. That sounds bad but works out better for seniors when you get to the fine print.

Adding to a growing legal assault on drug industry marketing practices, California and 28 other states Tuesday charged Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. with illegal efforts to block cheaper generic rivals to its top-selling breast cancer drug Taxol. The states accuse the company, in part, of manipulating the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office process with fraudulent patents, a tactic designed to prevent competitors from entering the market until 2000.