Briefly

New York City: Parents underestimate danger of Ecstasy

While Ecstasy increasingly becomes a favored drug among teens, only 1 percent of U.S. parents believe their child has ever tried the “club drug,” according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s annual report.

The nonprofit group’s survey of parents, released Monday, also found that while 92 percent of parents were aware of the drug, nearly half would not recognize its effects on their kids.

Symptoms of Ecstasy use include blurred vision, rapid eye movement, chills or sweating, dehydration, confusion, faintness, severe anxiety, grinding of teeth and a trance-like state.

The survey reported that only one in 100 parents believed their child might be experimenting with Ecstasy. An earlier Partnership study showed 12 out of every 100 teens reported trying the drug.

Washington, D.C.: Measure urges Sudan to end 20-year-old war

President Bush on Monday signed a get-tough-on-Sudan resolution meant to prod the government of Africa’s largest nation toward ending a 20-year-old war that has killed some 2 million people.

The measure formally condemns human rights violations, alleges the Sudanese government uses food as a weapon and directs the president to impose sanctions against Sudan if he determines its government isn’t negotiating in good faith.

Known as the Sudan Peace Act, the resolution carries a variety of possible penalties against Sudan if it negotiates in bad faith. The sanctions could include a downgrade of diplomatic relations, a United Nations arms embargo and attempts to deny the government use of its oil revenues.

Washington, D.C.: FDA cracks down on contact lenses

The government is cracking down on decorative contact lenses from the wild-eyed Halloween look to lenses imprinted with sports logos that are sold without a prescription, calling them illegal products that could cause blindness.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday began stopping imports of the decorative lenses at U.S. borders, and said it would seize unapproved lenses sold in convenience stores, flea markets and other spots.

The FDA cites dozens of reports of corneal ulcers abrasions that can rapidly lead to vision-threatening infections and other eye injuries linked to the products. The agency said that in some cases corneal transplants were required to save eyesight.