The spectacular success of Indians in the U.S. smashes old stereotypes and adds a dash of spice to the American melting pot By ANTHONY SPAETH When Manoj Night Shyamalan was growing up in suburban Philadelphia, his parents--both immigrants from India, both physicians--didn't hesitate to pile on the pressure. There was simply an assumption that I'd come in first in my class, he recalls. He was also expected to follow them into medicine. When he ...

When the U.S. confronted Pakistan after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there were no discussions of common goals and shared dreams. There was just a very direct threat: you're either with us or against us. Pakistan had to choose between making an enemy of the U.S. and taking a quick and dirty deal sweetened with the promise of a lot of cash. In the end, Pakistan's cooperation was a transaction that satisfied the urgent needs ...

Too many kids are returning to the playing field too soon after a concussion. How many? According to an alarming new study, from 2005 to 2008, 41% of concussed athletes in 100 high schools across the U.S. returned to play too soon, under guidelines set out by the American Academy of Neurology. The 11-year-old guidelines say, for example, that if an athlete's concussion symptoms, such as dizziness or nausea, last longer than 15 minutes, he should be benched until he's ...

On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that has caused anguish in the world of special education and children's mental health. The case, Forest Grove v. TA, centers on the question of whether families with a disabled child have a right to seek reimbursement for private-school tuition from the state if the child did not first receive special-education services in public school. The legal question is a narrow one, but the case raises ...

The United States has formally asked Switzerland to extradite film director Roman Polanski, Swiss authorities said Friday. The Academy Award-winning director was arrested in Switzerland last month on a U.S. arrest warrant stemming from a 1977 sex case involving a 13-year-old girl. He is fighting extradition. The U.S. Embassy in Berne submitted the formal extradition request to Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice on Thursday night, Swiss justice officials said. Swiss justice officials said they will now forward the extradition request ...

A Swiss court has refused a request from director Roman Polanski to be released on bail, saying he poses a high flight risk, according to court documents. The Swiss Criminal Court said measures such as revoking Polanski's travel documents and requiring him to report daily to the police would not reduce the possibility that the director would flee. Polanski was arrested in Switzerland last month on a U.S. arrest warrant stemming from a 1977 sex case. He is fighting extradition ...

The young child known as the "balloon boy" appeared sickly on NBC's "Today" show Friday morning. With his eyes adrift, 6-year-old Falcon Heene leaned his tiny head against his father before he vomited -- right in front of the cameras. The saga of the boy believed to be floating inside a giant silver balloon adrift over Colorado captivated a world audience. And the media spotlight has stayed on him. After the boy was discovered safe and sound in his family's ...

Richard Strandlof said he survived the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon. He said he survived again when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq, killing four fellow Marines. He'd point to his head and tell people he had a metal plate, collateral damage from the explosion. None of it was true. On Friday, the FBI arrested him on the rare charge of "stolen valor." Strandlof, 32, was held "for false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals," an FBI ...

Elizabeth Taylor said Thursday that her heart surgery was successful, adding that "it was like having a brand new ticker." The message on her Twitter page comes two days after she announced she was having heart surgery at an undisclosed hospital to repair a leaky valve. "Any prayers you happen to have lying around I would dearly appreciate," she said Tuesday. In a message Thursday, the Oscar winner thanked fans. "Dear Friends, My heart procedure went off perfectly," she posted. ...

German writer Herta Mueller, whose work has dealt with the hardships and humiliations of life in an oppressive dictatorship, was awarded the Nobel prize in literature Thursday. The Romanian-born Mueller, 56, was recognized by the Swedish Academy as a writer who "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed." She became only the 12th woman to win the prize since its inception in 1901. Mueller made her writing debut at 29 after ...