After police kill teen, riots break out in 2 Greek cities

After police kill teen, riots break out in 2 Greek cities

ATHENS, Greece — Hundreds of youths angered by the fatal police shooting of a teenager rampaged through Greece’s two largest cities for a second day Sunday in some of the worst rioting the country has seen in years.

Gangs smashed stores, torched cars and erected burning barricades in the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki. Riot police clashed with groups of mostly self-styled anarchists throwing Molotov cocktails, rocks and bottles. Clouds of tear gas hung in the air, sending passers-by scurrying for cover.

Rioting in several cities, including Hania in Crete and cities in northern Greece, began within hours of the death Saturday night of a 15-year-old shot by police in Exarchia. The downtown Athens district of bars, music clubs and restaurants is seen as the anarchists’ home base.

Scientists: Let more get brain-boosting drugs

NEW YORK — Healthy people should have the right to boost their brains with pills, like those prescribed for hyperactive kids or memory-impaired older folks, several scientists contend in a provocative commentary.

College students are already illegally taking prescription stimulants like Ritalin to help them study, and demand for such drugs is likely to grow elsewhere, they say.

“We should welcome new methods of improving our brain function,” and doing it with pills is no more morally objectionable than eating right or getting a good night’s sleep, these experts wrote in an opinion piece published online Sunday by the journal Nature.

State laws fail to curb teens’ indoor tanning

ATLANTA — State laws meant to keep teens out of indoor tanning booths haven’t made a dent, a new study has found, disappointing doctors hoping to reduce deadly skin cancers.

The researchers say it’s not clear why the laws failed, but pointed to lax enforcement as a factor.

The study is the first to look at the laws’ impact. Some medical experts were disturbed by the findings, saying more needs to be done about the health threat from indoor tanning parlors.

“Basically, these are businesses that are exposing teenagers to carcinogens,” said Dr. Jeffrey Sosman, a melanoma researcher at Vanderbilt University, who was not involved in the new study. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and has been linked to childhood sunburns.

More than 160 U.S., NATO vehicles burned in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Militants torched 160 vehicles, including dozens of Humvees destined for U.S. and allied forces fighting in Afghanistan, in the boldest attack so far on the critical military supply line through Pakistan.

The American military said Sunday’s raid on two transport terminals near the beleaguered Pakistani city of Peshawar would have “minimal” impact on anti-Taliban operations set to expand with the arrival of thousands more troops next year.

However, the attack feeds concern that insurgents are trying to choke the route through the famed Khyber Pass, which carries up to 70 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan, and drive up the cost of the war.

Transit ridership soars

WASHINGTON — The nation’s public transportation systems saw the largest quarterly ridership increase in 25 years as more Americans shunned their automobiles even as gas prices began to ease, according to industry figures to be released today.

Subways, buses, commuter rail and light-rail systems saw a 6.5 percent jump in ridership from July to September, according to the Washington-based American Public Transportation Association. During the same quarter, Americans drove 4.6 percent less on the nation’s highways.

The average price for a gallon of gas peaked at more than $4 in mid-July, then began falling.

New ‘Meet the Press’ host

NEW YORK — David Gregory’s new job as moderator of “Meet the Press” was made official Sunday with an announcement on the long-running NBC interview program that he will take over starting next week.

The 38-year-old chief White House correspondent was introduced by Tom Brokaw, who stepped in as temporary host last June after the death of Tim Russert, the program’s moderator since 1991.

In addition to his “Meet the Press” responsibilities, Gregory will be a regular contributor for “Today” and continue as a backup anchor.

Associated Press