Bush spoke at the nation's largest training center for law enforcement.

He chose the get-tough setting as conservative critics blast a Senate proposal as being soft on people who break the law. Hoping to blunt that message, Bush emphasized that any new options for immigrants and foreign workers would not start until tougher security is in place.

The presidential stop came during a congressional recess, with senators back home and facing pressure from the left and right on the immigration plan. Bush's aim is to build momentum for the legislation, perhaps his best chance for a signature victory in his second term. The Senate expects to resume debate on it next week.

"A lot of Americans are skeptical about immigration reform, primarily because they don't think the government can fix the problems," Bush said.

"And my answer to the skeptics is: give us a chance to fix the problems in a comprehensive way that enforces our border and treats people with decency and respect. Give us a chance to fix this problem. Don't try to kill this bill before it gets moving," Bush told students and instructors at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Bush repeatedly cast the matter as one of political courage.

"Those determined to find fault with this bill will always be able to look at a narrow slice of it and find something they don't like," the president said. "If you want to kill the bill, if you don't want to do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it.

"You can use it to frighten people," Bush said. "Or you can show leadership and solve this problem once and for all."

The bill would give temporary legal status to millions of unlawful immigrants, provided they came forward, paid a fine and underwent criminal background checks. To apply for a green card, they would have to pay another fine, learn English, return to their home country and wait in line.

The plan also would create a guest worker program. It would allow foreign laborers to come to the U.S. for temporary stints, yet with no guarantee they can eventually gain citizenship.

Both the new visa plan and the temporary worker program are contingent on other steps coming first. Those include fencing and barriers along the Mexico border, the hiring of more Border Patrol agents and the completion of an identification system to verify employees' legal status.

The legislation would also reshape future immigration decisions. A new point system would prioritize skills and education over family in deciding who can immigrate.

Georgia's senators both played leading roles in producing Bush's deal with the Senate. Yet they have also said they may not support the final bill, depending upon how it is amended.

Bush chastised those who say the proposal offers amnesty to illegal immigrants. He called it empty political rhetoric.

The Supreme Court affirmed the federal appeals court, rejecting Ledbetter's argument that each paycheck issued violated Title VII, triggering a new six-month EEOC filing period. The Court held that "a pay-setting decision is a discrete act that occurs at a particular point in time" and that the statutory period for filing an EEOC claim begins when that discrete act occurs. Read the Court's 5-4 opinion per Justice Alito, along with a dissent from Justice Ginsburg.

CHINA'S former drug regulator has received the death penalty — against a backdrop of growing international and domestic concern over the safety of food, pharmaceutical and other products made in China.

Zheng Xiaoyu, head of the State Food and Drug Administration from 1998 until his sacking in 2005, was convicted yesterday in a Beijing court of taking 6.49 million yuan (more than $1 million) in bribes and for dereliction of duty. Zheng, 62, was arrested last year and accused of accepting kickbacks to speed up drug approvals. In one case under Zheng's watch, a tainted antibiotic approved by his agency killed at least 10 patients last year.

The organisation in charge of ensuring the safety of China's exports recently announced that it would introduce the country's first food recall system after an outcry over tainted pet food and toothpaste.

Exported pet food, spiked with the chemical melamine, has been blamed for dog and cat deaths in the United States. The US has also stopped all imports of Chinese toothpaste after reports that some products sold in Australia, the Dominican Republic and Panama were tainted with diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze and brake fluid. Three southern US states have banned imports of catfish from China.

Zheng's sentence may be reduced on appeal. In 2000, another official of comparable rank was executed for accepting bribes.

China Daily, the English-language Communist Party newspaper, reported that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, responsible for the safety of Chinese exports, said its proposed recall system was a response to recent safety scandals.

The administration's director-general, Wu Jianping, said it would focus on "potentially dangerous and unapproved food products", but cautioned that it would take time to implement. Draft regulations would be ready by the end of the year, Mr Wu said.

Another administration official said some foreign businesses should share the blame because they had imported illegally exported products from China.

Li Yuanping, head of food imports and exports, said more than 56 per cent of the substandard food products imported by the US from China last month had not been approved by China's entry-exit inspection and quarantine officials.

"It is these illegal products that have tarnished the reputation of all Chinese food products," Mr Li said.

In a separate report, the administration revealed that 20 per cent of locally made toys were substandard and injured 10,000 Chinese children every year. China is the world's biggest toy exporter, but industry spokespeople said most exported products were of a better quality than those sold in China.

County school board members have said the books are good tools to encourage children to read and to spark creativity and imagination.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, published by London-based Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (other-otc: BLOOMSBURY.PK - news - people ), tell stories of children with magic powers. They have been challenged numerous times since 2000, making them the most challenged texts of the 21st century, according to the American Library Association.

At Tuesday's hearing, Mallory argued in part that witchcraft is a religion practiced by some people and, therefore, the books should be banned because reading them in school violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

"I have a dream that God will be welcomed back in our schools again," Mallory said. "I think we need him."

The division, which acts as the state government's law firm on most matters, handled 935 civil cases involving the state as either plaintiff or defendant that were settled or adjudicated last year, according to records obtained by The Star-Ledger through the Open Public Records Act.

The division staff of attorneys -- down to 530 after 110 positions were eliminated because of budget cuts -- won the state about $161.2 million, a 60 percent increase compared with the amount recovered in 2005, when the division secured $98.9 million.

Its losses nearly tripled, to $69.5 million, compared with 2005. That year, according to the records, the state paid out $26.2 million on tort claims, employment claims, NJ Transit lawsuits and tax litigation.

"I'm certainly pleased that the Division of Law under the leadership of the attorney general is doing a better job on civil claims," said Sen. John Adler (D-Camden), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"As for the payouts ... what it really calls into question is whether or not the division is doing a good enough job advising all of the departments and agencies on what is proper conduct," he said. "The best way to not have payouts is to not cause harm."

Division of Law Director Robert J. Gilson said he believes the attorneys have done a good job, despite the layoffs that began last April, handling the legal work generated by the 16 state departments and more than 400 state agencies. Gilson took over the division in November after serving as a partner in the law firm of Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland and Perretti.

"We feel we are addressing the needs of the state," Gilson said, noting the division has 28 different sections to litigate about 40,000 active cases and to provide legal advice. "We are down in numbers (of attorneys) but we don't feel that has reflected on the quality and quantity of the work being done," he said.

Gilson's chief of staff, Peter Traum, pointed to two securities cases last year, in which attorneys put in "an awful lot of work," that paid off to the tune of $119 million.

The first involved a $69 million judgment obtained by the Bureau of Securities against the founder of Wellesley Services LLC for defrauding hundreds of investors over an eight-year period. The second involved a $50 million settlement negotiated with AOL Time Warner by the Division of Investments Pension Security Fraud Recoveries.

Still, Traum was quick to point out a year-to-year snapshot of outcomes in civil litigation can be misleading because cases take years of work to complete.

"It's not that simple," Traum said. "In many cases, that's just how they fell."

In 2006, for instance the state settled 11 cases by agreeing to pay at least $1 million, compared with only four million-plus settlements in 2005, the records show. Those 11 cases cost the state $46.2 million while the four settlements in 2005 tallied $5.7 million.

The largest settlement last year was $12.5 million, which went to three children and a young man who were starved for years by their adoptive parents after being placed in the home by the Division of Youth and Family Services. The abuse was uncovered in 2003, but it took three more years to conclude the civil suit.

Other notable cases included:

A $7.5 million settlement for the estate of 7-year-old Faheem Williams, who was found dead in January 2003 in the basement of a Newark home, and his two siblings after the DYFS overlooked complaints of abuse. The case prompted sweeping changes in the state's child welfare system.

A $6.3 million jury verdict for a child who was diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome after being placed in a foster home in 1999 by the DYFS.

A $4 million settlement for Edward Arena, who was injured July 4, 2004, when an NJ Transit bus rear-ended his vehicle on the New Jersey Turnpike. An economics expert valued his lost wages at $3.5 million.

At the same time, Traum said, just looking at the payouts fails to account for an attorney's ability to whittle down the settlement in a sure loser.

"Sometimes even when there is a payout, we may view it as a win because we brought the claim down substantially," he said. Two lawsuits brought by the American Trucking Association are a good example, he said.

The association sued when the Department of Environmental Protection instituted fees more than a decade ago on truckers who transport hazardous waste. It filed a second lawsuit when the DEP demanded a registration fee to pay for police background checks on hazardous and solid waste businesses.

The state settled the cases last year for $8.25 million, but Traum said it was a win as "the state's exposure was $25 million."

Newark Star Ledger, NJ

Mexico's largest leftist party vowed Monday to defend a landmark Mexico City abortion law with street protests and political pressure in the face of attempts by the conservative federal government to overturn it in court.

The Democratic Revolution Party, which holds power in the capital, called its supporters to block federal government offices later this week in defense of the law, which legalized abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Elsewhere in Mexico, abortion is only allowed in cases of rape, when the mother's life is in danger or if the fetus has severe fetal defects.

On Friday, the federal Attorney General's Office and National Human Right's Commission filed legal challenges with the Supreme Court, arguing the Mexico City law violates a constitutional clause that guarantees the right to life and that city lawmakers cannot legally approve measures related to health.

"It's a political maneuver to satisfy a certain public opinion over this law," said Mexico City's leftist mayor, Marcelo Ebrard. "But legally, it's got no base."

The law's approval by Mexico City's assembly was bitterly opposed by conservative politicians and the Roman Catholic Church. Mexican bishops even argued that lawmakers who voted for the bill were excommunicating themselves from the church.

About 90 percent of Mexicans say they are Roman Catholic, and President Felipe Calderon, of the conservative National Action Party, has spoken out publicly against abortion.

The abortion law is part of a package of socially liberal measures being passed by Mexico City's leftist assembly. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved gay civil unions, and they are debating a bill on euthanasia.

The only other Latin American countries that allow abortion are Cuba and Guyana.