Chicago offers bonus to cops who get fit

Chicago offers bonusto cops who get fit
CHICAGO -- Police officers here have a new reason to drop the doughnuts.
The Chicago Police Department is offering a $250 bonus to officers if they pass a voluntary physical fitness test. So far most haven't budged -- only about 2,600 of the department's 13,600 officers have taken up the offer, which ends today.
The city is hoping the bonus will save money in the long run by reducing health-care costs for diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses, Camden said.
In past years, the city has rewarded officers with a pin, an incentive that few found compelling. Only 200 to 300 ever bothered to take the test.
Police departments around the country are offering incentive pay for everything from physical fitness to language skills, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, a labor organization with more than 300,000 members.
Chicago's bonus program was part of the department's latest contract with the police union. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley -- a bicycling enthusiast and an optimist -- has proposed allocating about $2.5 million for the program next year, enough for about 10,000 officers.
Panel revises policyon priests' rights
ROME -- After two days of meetings in Rome, a joint American-Vatican commission announced Wednesday that it has agreed on procedures to protect the rights of Roman Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children.
But the Vatican declined to specify what changes the commission is recommending in the zero tolerance policy adopted by U.S. bishops in Dallas in June.
The commission, composed of four U.S. bishops and four Vatican officials, was appointed last week to revise the policy after the Vatican declared that it contained significant flaws. In a brief statement Wednesday, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who led the U.S. delegation, said the commission completed its work Tuesday.
"We believe that the goals of the Dallas decision, i.e. to protect minors and to reach out to victims, have been preserved and that the Dallas documents have been completed in elaborating normative procedures that respect the rights of priests who have been accused," he said.
George said the commission would report its specific proposals at a Nov. 11-14 meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, where the bishops may vote to amend their policy.
October rains easeEast Coast drought
PHILADELPHIA -- A soggy October has eased the drought in several East Coast states.
Rainfall across much of the East has been close to 50 percent higher than normal for the past 30 days, according to the National Weather Service. The rain has swelled Appalachian streams and recharged aquifers from Maine to Georgia.
In some areas, however, months of above-average rainfall will be needed to return groundwater levels to normal.
"Certainly things have been getting better, but the drought isn't over yet," said National Weather Service hydrologist Peter Jung. "Some of these areas have been experiencing below-average precipitation for years."
Still, groundwater levels critical to agriculture and drinking supplies are rising and some states have already begun to roll back water-use restrictions.
New York City, which has operated under a drought emergency since April, said Wednesday it will suspend drought restrictions Friday.
Limited visits
PARIS -- The French division of McDonald's has run ads that included a surprising suggestion: Kids shouldn't eat at McDonald's more than once a week.
The advertisements, quoting information from specialists, aim to show that "McDonald's meals are part of a balanced weekly diet," said Euro RSCG, the agency that came up with the ads, which appeared this spring, mostly in French women's magazines.
Alongside quotes from specialists addressing obesity and diets for children, the ads described how McDonald's hamburgers are made of 100 percent real beef and cooked on a grill free of additional oil.
One ad placed in Femme Actuelle in April quoted a nutritionist who said, "there's no reason to abuse fast food, or visit McDonald's more than once a week."
The McDonald's Corp., based in Oak Brook, Ill., said in a statement Wednesday that it "strongly disagreed" with the nutritionist quoted in the French advertisement.
"The vast majority of nutrition professionals say that McDonald's food can be and is a part of a healthy diet based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety and moderation," the statement said.
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