1.  Any promise of civil rights and equality under the law dies when a nation's criminal justice system acts upon racist assumptions that target members of minority groups.

2.  Any reading under 100 indicates the number of pessimists outweighs the number of optimists.

3.  Defensive lineman Ray Tago of Long Beach Poly High might not be allowed to attend USC because his SAT score is under review.

4.  Dennison broke in as a reserve under Dan Reeves, and his special-teams play led to a starting job.

5.  Dennison found especially annoying the suggestion that the company or Clark should alert investors to those times when he was under restraint.

6.  DeNucci's report comes as the Weld administration's management of the $7.8 billion Big Dig comes under increasing attack.

7.  Defibrillators are small devices that are implanted under the skin of patients with abnormal heartbeats.

8.  Deficit spending has been a fixture of Washington policymaking since the Johnson administration, climbing through each presidency and peaking at $290 billion in 1992 under George Bush.

9.  Deficits are expected to balloon toward the end of the decade, primarily because health expenditures under Medicare and Medicaid will soar.

10.  DeFranco said he didn't know enough about the bill under consideration to take a stand.