Word: tougher
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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With the gut-wrenching details of heinous sex crimes making national headlines in the past few years, it's easy to see why cities and states would rush to get tougher on offenders even after they get out of prison. The rape and murder of Jessica Lunsford, 9, in March caused Florida to pass a law in May that mandates lifetime monitoring with ankle bracelets for anyone convicted of a sex crime against a minor. The 2003 abduction of North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin helped spur the creation of a national online registry of sex offenders that began rolling...
...criticism from civil-liberties groups, sex-abuse experts and even some child advocates. Reports of rape and attempted rape have plummeted some 70% since the early 1990s, and reconviction rates of child molesters are estimated at 13%, compared with 47% for all non-sex criminals. Some critics question whether tougher laws are needed--and whether they really work. "By socially ostracizing these people and making it next to impossible for them to find a job or have educational opportunities or otherwise forge necessary social ties, what do we expect is going to happen with them?" asks Bruce Winick, a University...
...idea," such bipartisan--or even intraparty--consensus is eluding leaders in Congress as they head for a fierce debate over the issue this fall. As border-state Democrats start to shift to the right, bucking many members of their own party, the G.O.P. is split between those who want tougher security first and those who seek comprehensive reform. That split is spelled out in two competing Senate proposals: one sponsored by Texas' John Cornyn and fellow Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona would require illegals to leave the country to apply for work visas and would fund 1,250 more customs...
...undermine Hill's efforts and phoned Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in Beijing after North Korea balked at a proposal for future talks. Even if the talks collapse, the Administration's show of support for diplomacy may give the U.S. greater leverage in persuading allies to take tougher measures against Pyongyang. "We've made more progress in the past 30 days than we have in four years," Burns says...
Shifting home-video economics are a problem not just for DreamWorks. Pixar had to lower estimates for The Incredibles. Yet the issue is most acute at DreamWorks, which has had a tougher time finding its animation groove. Pixar is the one pumping out hit after hit, from Toy Story to A Bug's Life to Monsters, Inc., and that has attracted Wall Street's admiring eye. In Hollywood, it's said you're only one hit away from success. DreamWorks has high hopes for Bee Movie, with Jerry Seinfeld, and Shrek 3, both due out in 2007. But by then...