OAKDALE, Calif. - For nearly two years, the warmth of her husband's arms and a little house in the country were intangible realities for Sarah Dudley. They were 2,500 miles away in a different country along an old dirt road in Oakdale.

United by marriage and divided by immigration law, the couple were prevented from living together in the United States until a month ago.After years of fighting red tape, long-distance calls and waiting, Sarah and Matthew Dudley and their 1-year-old son, Jakob, are in that little house in the country.It finally feels right, they say."I didn't know how lonely and depressed I had been until she finally got here," said Matthew.The Dudleys' story was first told in October, when The Modesto Bee published an article about how they married in February 2006 in California and went to Oshawa in Ontario, Canada - where Sarah was born and grew up - for a reception two months later.

Over 60 and heading for rehab

It is not just the young who are binge drinking. Increasing numbers of older people are becoming alcoholic. And as Kate Hilpern reports, it is not always easy for them to get the help they need

Tuesday March 25, 2008
The Guardian

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HAVE A PROBLEM?

Are the casinos creating compulsive gamblers, or are the slots parlors just another tool of destruction for those already afflicted with a disease we are struggling to understand? And why is it most people can play the slots and walk away with nothing but a fun night of entertainment, while others are doomed to the darkness of addiction?