| Woman pleads guilty to purse thefts
A 23-year-old woman pleaded guilty in Circuit Court yesterday to stealing purses at churches in Makiki and Manoa earlier this year. Kellyn Cabral pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree burglary and second-degree theft in connection with incidents at Makiki Christian Church, St. Pius X Church and St. Francis School. She faces up to 10 years in prison. Circuit Judge Richard Pollack granted Cabral supervised release on the condition that she heads directly to the Salvation Army Addiction Treatment Services from Oahu Community Correctional Center for drug treatment. ATS is a residential program in Nuuanu where Cabral is required to undergo drug treatment for a minimum of nine months. She needs the help that ATS can provide for her, said her attorney, Myles Breiner, outside the courtroom.
Medicare Auditors Blasted
Congressmember Lois Capps and six other members of the California congressional delegation met on August 1 to question the conduct of a private company that's been giving fits to the Rehabilitation Institute of Santa Barbara and other California providers of acute medical care, or short-term treatment for a severe or debilitating illness. Auditing firm PRG-Schultz International (PRG) was hired to examine the Medicare- and Medicaid-funded acute-care cases over the past five years and determine whether the patients should have been authorized for treatment. The pilot program was designed to ensure that limited federal Medicare and Medicaid dollars aren't spent to treat acute-care patients with high-end treatments when cheaper therapies could suffice. Thus far, PRG has reviewed 314 cases at the Rehab Institute and concluded that 99 percent should never have been authorized and that federal reimbursement should have been denied.
Sanjay Dutt no stranger to controversy, jail
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Throughout his life, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has frequently faced adversity, but usually triumphed, with millions of fans solidly behind him. But on Tuesday, the long arm of the law finally caught up with Bollywood's enfant terrible as he was jailed for six years for possessing illegal weapons acquired from gangsters linked to India's worst bombings in 1993. His lawyers said they would appeal against the sentence, which came after a mammoth trial of those blamed for the blasts that killed 257 people in India's financial capital in 1993. "He has the prayers of the entire film fraternity with him," Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty had told reporters before the sentencing. "We believe him completely." The muscular, droopy-eyed screen hero, Bollywood experts say, found it difficult to handle the pressures of being the son of one of India's superstar couples -- Bollywood actors Sunil Dutt, a Hindu, and mother Nargis, a Muslim.
$22m to help develop drug for cystic fibrosis
The Cambridge biotechnology firm FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. will receive $22 million from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to develop and commercialize drugs aimed at treating the fatal genetic disease, a disorder of the lungs and digestive system that afflicts 70,000 people worldwide. The deal, to be unveiled today, is the latest so-called venture philanthropy partnership inked by Boston-area pharmaceutical companies, which increasingly rely on charitable foundations and other nonprofit groups to fund early-stage drug development that is too risky to attract traditional private investors. The money amounts to nearly a third of the total investment capital FoldRx has raised from venture capitalists -- $59 million -- since it was founded in 2003. It will be paid in chunks over five years if the company achieves a series of drug-development milestones.
Brown announces fresh review into cannabis classification
Gordon Brown today announced the second review in two years into whether cannabis should be reclassified, in response to concerns that its current status does not reflect the drug's dangers. Mr Brown announced the review, which will look at whether cannabis should be reclassified as class B again - rather than its present class C - at prime minister's questions. It was his second major policy announcement at PMQs in seven days, after last week announcing a U-turn on supercasinos. .
Amy Winehouse in hiding after being ordered to rest
Amy Winehouse is in hiding after being ordered to rest by doctors. The 'Rehab' singer - who was rushed to hospital last week after allegedly overdosing on a cocktail of ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol - is said to be suffering from "severe exhaustion." Amy's spokesman said, "She is resting under doctor's orders." .
They (almost) killed Kenny!
While most of his teenage peers were bored to tears in school, guitar prodigy Kenny Wayne Shepherd was opening for legends like Aerosmith, B.B. King, Van Halen and the Eagles. While being groomed as an up-and-comer on the blues and rock circuits, the now-27 year old fell victim to drug and alcohol abuse.
After relaxation and rehab following the two-year marathon tour behind 1999's "Live On," Shepherd rolled out some fresh riffs and even started singing (unprecedented thus far in his career). The results are found on the new disc "The Place You're In," which also includes a Kid Rock cameo ("Spank") and guest vocals by longtime collaborator Noah Hunt ("Believe" and "Burdens"). Phoning from Philadelphia, he talks about coming clean, hanging with a new gal, and collecting cars and guitars.
Youth drug center gets $100K
Steven Santilli had stolen his mother's jewelry and blazed through three high schools in four years, but his nadir as a drug addict was this: On his 19th birthday, he passed out in a friend's driveway after mixing alcohol and Ecstasy.
"Not that it was a wake-up call," he said. "I woke up and did drugs the next day."
Santilli, 20, is learning to vanquish addiction at the Phoenix Academy of Long Island, a long-term residential youth drug treatment center in East Hampton.
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