It took a general to end America's war on drugs. That doesn't mean the government's anti-drug crusade is over, but Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the nation's drug czar, refuses to use war imagery to describe the national strategy to control illegal drug use. In a visit to Austin on Monday, McCaffrey, a retired four-star general whose official title is director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, avoided drug war rhetoric and promoted drug prevention and education, along with a big dose of community involvement, during a speech before a standing-room-only crowd at the University of Texas' Lyndon B. Johnson School Public Affairs. [continues 286 words]
Judge Still Must Rule On Whether Suspects Are Public Nuisances Officer Bruce Thompson's knuckles rapped three times on Shang Yahoshua's apartment door Thursday, and moments later, the 21-year-old stepped outside into a semicircle of police and news cameras. "Shang," Thompson said, "I'm going to serve you with some papers -- they're just civil papers, don't worry about it." When Thompson placed a subpoena in his hand, the puzzled Yahoshua became the first of eight Austin residents to learn he was a target of a law enforcement tool never before tried in Texas. [continues 881 words]
