Morals

MOSCOW - Prisoners detained without charges. Prisons operating outside the legal system. Limits on free speech and the Internet. Legitimate voters prevented from casting their ballots. Sanctioned kidnappings. Witch hunts and torture. It's all part of life, says the Russian government - in the United States. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a 56-page report in Russian and English titled, " On the Human Rights Situation in the United States . " The report, distributed at hearings held by the International Affairs Committee of Russia's lower house of parliament, was the first such full examination of the U.S. human rights record issued here since the fall of communism in 1991.

As an experienced pilot who has logged about 1,600 hours in the cockpit, director Robert Zemeckis understands stalls, turbulence and dead stick landings. But when it came to making "Flight," his new movie about an alcoholic commercial airline pilot, the "Forrest Gump" filmmaker had to contend with a different set of aerodynamics: Hollywood's reluctance to clear difficult dramas for takeoff. More than a decade in the making, "Flight" marks Zemeckis' first live-action film since 2000's "Cast Away" and an atypical wager for Paramount Pictures, which financed the film's $31-million budget.

Danny Garcia's defense of his World Boxing Assn. and World Boxing Council junior-welterweight belts Saturday was thrown into jeopardy Friday after his opponent, former champion Erik Morales, tested positive for a banned substance. The 36-year-old Morales (52-8, 36 KOs) submitted a drug test Oct. 3 that was found to be positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, which has weight-loss effects. As of Friday afternoon, the bout, headlining the debut fight card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn is still on, promoter Richard Schaefer said.

Politically engaged filmmaking is nothing new for Eugene Jarecki, who has grappled with weighty themes in documentaries that include "The Trials of Henry Kissinger" and "Why We Fight. " With "The House I Live In," a cogent look at America's failed war on drugs, his work reaches new depth and urgency. It's a film as profoundly sad as it is enraging and potentially galvanizing, and it's one of the most important pieces of nonfiction to hit the screen in years. Jarecki lays out a clear and compelling case demonstrating that U.S. policy against mind-altering substances and, more to the point, the people who use or sell them, amounts to a systematic scourge upon those with the least resources in this country - a war based on class and race.

TEHRAN - Iranian ministers have fretted for years about a "marriage crisis" in the country. The average age when people wed has climbed since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, causing concern among officials, as well as family elders, that Iranians may stray from a traditional pious path by staying single too long. Now a government minister says the country needs to legalize matchmaking websites to nudge Iranians to get hitched at younger ages. Mohammad Abbasi, the country's sports and youth minister, recently said he hoped to come up with rules for what may amount to a sort of Match.com or eHarmony suited for the Islamic Republic.

It might have taken awhile, but Albert Pujols' numbers are where the Angels hoped they'd be this time of season. Pujols broke a scoreless tie Sunday with a two-run, sixth-inning double that moved him past the 100-runs-batted-in threshold for the 11th time in 12 seasons, and the Angels completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox, 4-1. Kendrys Morales followed Pujols' double with a two-run home run to right field and Angels ace Jered Weaver...

The Angels, behind another superb effort by resurgent right-hander Ervin Santana, beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2, Friday night for their 82nd victory, assuring them of their eighth winning season in nine years. Whoopee. That might be cause for celebration in Pittsburgh or Cleveland and a ticker-tape parade in Houston, but the Angels had more in mind when they splurged on free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson last winter and acquired Zack Greinke in July. They expected to contend for the World Series title, but their uneven play over six months has left them in need of a miracle - in this case, an Oakland or Baltimore collapse - to reach the one-game wild-card playoff.

Question: On a recent flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, an older woman passenger collapsed on my lap and then on my feet. The flight crew had to bring an oxygen tank to her. It was terrifying, and I didn't know what to do. If this ever happens again, what should I do? Kevin Orbach Nantong, China Answer: The quick answer is to summon help, stay calm and do what you can, which sounds simple but isn't. What you are required to do, what you can do and what you should do are different questions, so we'll start with the easiest one first.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.   - Switch-hitter Kendrys Morales had a .290 average against right-handers and a .209 mark against lefties, so it was no surprise Friday night when Kansas City Manager Ned Yost summoned left-hander Tim Collins to face the pinch-hitter in the eighth inning with the Royals leading by two runs. "It was the right move," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. Must have been the wrong time. Morales, swinging from the right side, drove a first-pitch fastball over the left-field wall for a tying home run, and Torii Hunter's bases-loaded walk plated the go-ahead run, as the Angels came back for a 9-7 victory that moved them to within 2 1/2 games of the second American League wild-card spot.

WASHINGTON -- In a blistering attack on the Democrats' leadership abroad, Paul Ryan charged that President Obama has failed to show “steady, consistent American leadership” in the face of recent violence in the Arab world while accusing his administration of treating Israel with “indifference bordering on contempt.” The Republican vice presidential nominee, known primarily for his role in setting his party's course on domestic fiscal policy,...