Briefing

MALIBU, CALIF.

Another wildfire hits Southern California

ANTARCTICA

Cruise ship sinks in icy waters

GLAMIS, CALIF.

More than 200,000 attend annual off-road rally

WENATCHEE, WASH.

Ski season begins

FORT KNOX, KY.

Army recruits wait to call home on Thanksgiving

VATICAN CITY

Twenty-three prelates are named Cardinals by the Pope

THE MAP

Low-Income Children Left Behind

Geography may really be destiny. According to a new study released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Child Trends that examined factors like health and education, low-income children are better off in poor, rural areas (the Midwest, for example) than in wealthier and more urban locales (the Northeast). "It is surprising," says report co-author William O'Hare about the plight of poor kids in rich states. "There is a crucial sense of community lacking in the metropolitan areas."

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COMPUTER SECURITY

The Biggest Online Threats

"The cyber arms race continues," says the SANS Institute, a noted computer-security group. As attackers have changed their tactics, so has the institute, whose annual report listing the top 20 Internet-security risks shifted its focus this year from vulnerabilities in specific programs to broader concerns.

VULNERABLE WEBSITES

Sites can be "poisoned" if holes exist in the applications they host. SANS recommends using only apps written by experienced programmers.

GULLIBLE USERS

Computer users are sometimes too busy or ill educated to recognize spam e-mail that can drain away personal information. Security-awareness training is only the first step, but it's a good start.

ZOMBIE COMPUTERS

Internet-connected computers that are hacked can be turned into "zombies," which are used to launch further attacks. Tight firewalls and up-to-date antivirus programs will help keep you safe.

UNPROTECTED CHATTING

Instant-messaging applications and peer-to-peer file-sharing programs can leave a system open to compromise. SANS suggests using "tightly secured versions" or even prohibiting them entirely.

LEXICON

castle doctrine

DEFINITION cass-ul doc-trin n. Laws, adopted in 20 states over the past two years, named after the idea that a man's home is his castle. They allow citizens to use deadly force to protect their homes, cars and places of business.

CONTEXT On Nov. 14, Joe Horn, 61, of Pasadena, Texas, killed two men he saw robbing his neighbor's house. On Nov. 22, 19-year-old William Wilkerson Jr. killed a man who was threatening Wilkerson and his girlfriend as they sat in his car in Palm Beach, Fla.

USAGE Both could claim the doctrine as a defense. While Wilkerson might have been able to simply drive off, the 2005 Florida statute removed the "duty to retreat" mandate, establishing the right to stand one's ground. Less clear is whether the Texas law, which went into effect Sept. 1, applies to a neighbor's home. The state senator who wrote Texas' law recently said that it probably does not.

BUSINESS NOTE

Cell Service Simplified

Notorious for restricting the kinds of phones and applications customers can use, Verizon may have liberated its users, serving as a model for the industry. On Nov. 27, the company announced it will let any phone, technology permitting, connect to its network. The plan could push other U.S. carriers to offer the same flexibility, already common in Europe and Asia.

WHY NOW The iPhone launch in June suggested that savvy new devices, not carriers, could dictate the market. Now Google is planning its own mobile operating system. In addition to breaking the carrier monopoly on phone sales, Verizon's move could pave the way for users to connect via cameras and gaming systems.

ARTIFACT

Soft-Shell Shortage

MARYLAND MESS The iconic blue crab has had a tough year. As the Chesapeake's season comes to an end, scientists expect one of the lowest harvests in more than 60 years as a result of pollution and catch allowances that may be too permissive for a population in severe decline. The bay was home to 852 million crabs in 1993, but now there are only 273 million.

THE CATCH Officials say they lack money to curb runoff and revamp sewage plants, and crabbers, who themselves could be extinct because of fuel prices and foreign competition, are wary of proposals to create a large sanctuary.