To the Point

Harvest of Shame in America's Breadbasket?

Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is perpetually at odds with the Democrats who control California's state legislature, but they've come to agreement on one thing. After four farm workers died from exposure last month, there was bipartisan support for emergency regulations to require protection from blistering heat. The incidents also cast new attention on the living and working conditions of the men and women who put the food on America's tables, 40 years after Cesar Chavez made the plight of farm workers a national issue. Are generations of undocumented workers becoming a permanent under-class? We hear from journalists, farmers, experts in immigration policy and farm workers, including United Farm Worker co-founder Dolores Huerta. Making News: Mandatory Mental Health Screenings Suggested for Iraq Vets Officials in Massachusetts are considering mandatory mental health checks for National Guardsmen returning from Iraq. It's part of increased concern about post-traumatic stress disorder from exposure to life-threatening events, including combat and terrorism. Maria Cramer reports the story in today's Boston Globe. Reporter's Notebook: Scientists Make Nerve Stem Cells Scientists in Scotland and Italy are claiming a major advance in stem cell research, the creation of pure brain cells. Peter Mountford, CEO of Stem Cell Sciences, says the breakthrough, accomplished at labs in Edinburgh and Milan, could put scientists on the way toward eventual treatment of diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.