h How does your garden grow? With water, silly!

h How does your gardengrow? With water, silly!
Eighteen-month-old Charles Lee Johnson, above, waters his grandmother's garden at student family housing at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M. Watering calms him down and relaxes him, said his mother, Kelly Johnson.
Grand jury declinesto indict rep in scuffle
WASHINGTON -- A grand jury declined to indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney on Friday in connection with a confrontation in which she admitted hitting a police officer who tried to stop her from entering a House office building. The grand jury had been considering the case since shortly after the March 29 incident, which has led to much discussion on Capitol Hill about race and the conduct of lawmakers and the officers who protect them. McKinney did not immediately comment.
Wife convicted of murderin stabbing of millionaire
MARTINEZ, Calif. -- A woman was convicted Friday of stabbing to death her millionaire psychotherapist husband, whom she had met as a 14-year-old girl in treatment. Susan Polk's second-degree murder conviction ended a circus-like trial in which Polk, acting as her own attorney, discussed her psychic powers and cross-examined two of her sons. The jury deliberated for four days before finding Polk guilty in the 2002 stabbing of Felix Polk, 70, at their home near San Francisco. The 48-year-old faces a mandatory 15 years to life in prison at sentencing, set for July 14.
FEMA will reduce cash aidfor future disaster victims
WASHINGTON -- FEMA is cutting back on the amount of cash it will give to future disaster victims in a nod to the rampant fraud that followed last year's hurricanes. Instead of using debit cards worth $2,000, FEMA Director R. David Paulison said Friday, victims will be able to withdraw only about $500 for food, clothing, shelter and transportation costs. At least 7,000 people signed up for the Federal Emergency Management Agency debit cards last year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ransacked the Gulf Coast. Recipients got a card and a PIN number that could be used at ordinary cash machines to withdraw money. Congressional auditors said this week that they found up to $1.4 billion in aid to individual hurricane victims was used for bogus expenditures like football tickets. This included questions about whether an estimated 750 debit cards -- worth $1.5 million -- went to Katrina's victims.
Twin girls, once conjoined,seem to be doing well
LOS ANGELES -- The twin girls born attached at their midsections showed no signs of infection Friday, the second of many critical days following their lengthy separation surgery. Ten-month-old Regina and Renata Salinas were in serious but stable condition at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where they were in intensive care cribs. They were on ventilators and were being sedated "for their comfort," spokesman Steve Rutledge said. The twins were born facing each other and joined from the lower chest to the pelvis. The girls' parents, Sonia Fierros, 23, and Federico Salinas, 36, came from Mexico.
Social Security numbergets around, owner finds
DUBLIN, Calif. -- Audra Schmierer's Social Security number really gets around. It has been used by at least 81 people in 17 states, most of them probably illegal immigrants trying to get work. The federal government took years to discover the number was being used illegally, but authorities took little action even then. "They knew what was happening but wouldn't do anything," said Schmierer, 33, a housewife in this affluent San Francisco suburb. Many thieves are able to steal personal information because employers do not have to verify Social Security numbers or other documents submitted by job seekers. The situation has long drawn fire from anti-illegal immigration groups, but Congress has only recently moved to fix it.
Associated Press