Guidelines

New Jersey law enforcement officers will have far more latitude to use stun guns after a policy change announced Thursday that brings the state closer to guidelines followed by police departments nationally. The policy continues to restrict the use of the guns to situations in which officers try to prevent suspects from causing death or serious injury to themselves or others, state officials said. But the new policy eliminates rules - approved last year by then-Attorney General Anne Milgram - that discouraged stun-gun use as an alternative to deadly force in rapidly unfolding crises.

New Jersey law enforcement officers will have far more latitude to use stun guns after a policy change announced Thursday that brings the state closer to guidelines followed by police departments nationally. The policy continues to restrict the use of the guns to situations in which officers try to prevent suspects from causing death or serious injury to themselves or others, state officials said. But the new policy eliminates earlier rules - approved last year by then-Attorney General Anne Milgram - that discouraged stun-gun use as an alternative to deadly force in rapidly unfolding crises.

A THOUSAND pardons. For the game plan, for the execution, for the ever-present "Not putting the guys in the right places" to succeed during Sunday's 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Andy Reid issued his familiar post-loss mea culpas yesterday, vowing to "tighten up" special teams play, execution particularly on offense, and even his play-calling. The only thing he didn't apologize for was how, or why, two of his stars were allowed to re-enter the game after getting concussed Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.

The New Jersey State Police have issued an Amber Alert for an 8-year-old boy who authorities say was abducted by his father in Burlington County today. Terry Dusseault, 38, was last seen taking his son, Terry Jr., from the 300 block of Canal Circle in Lumberton, state police said. Authorities said that Dusseault is a registered sex offender, Terry Jr. is white, 4-foot-8 tall and weighs 80 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes, like his father. Dusseault was driving a black Hyundai Santa Fe, with New Jersey plates reading LXB61U.

A proposed bill would allow charter schools to be authorized more quickly, with more diversity, and in greater numbers in New Jersey. If passed, the bill would grant Rutgers University the power to approve charters and would limit review time for charter applications to five months. Applicants could submit charters on a rolling basis, and charter schools could include single-sex, online, and special-needs schools. The bill would have some powerful allies, notably Gov. Christie.

Kyle Frey didn't give much thought to the small pimple on his biceps before his wrestling match in January. But two days later, the Drexel University heavyweight had developed a grapefruit-size infection. Frey had MRSA, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - a bacterial infection, once limited largely to hospitals, that has become common among student athletes. On Wednesday, the National Athletic Trainers' Association unveiled guidelines to prevent such skin infections.

Re: "Keystone gardens: Deep-rooted sources of food, pride," June 15: As a pediatrician in Philadelphia, I commend you for reporting about Philadelphia's community gardens. These gardens provide clean, safe open space that can be oases in areas of the city that are otherwise devoid of green space. The gardens can also play an important role in the physical health of our community. In her White House Obesity Initiative, first lady Michelle Obama has urged us to become creative in looking for solutions to the obesity epidemic, and community gardens represent the kind of community-based solutions that can work.

WHEN EARLE McNEILL was sentenced in April to 7 1/2 years in a federal prison for his role in a health-care fraud linked to the death of a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, attorneys for defendants in the case who had not yet been sentenced were surprised by the length of the sentence. After all, McNeill, a psychologist, was 72 (fewer than 10 percent of federal inmates are over 50), suffered from prostate cancer, had no criminal history and had been considered among the least culpable of the company's senior managers who were defendants in the case.

The Obama administration's blueprint to revamp the No Child Left Behind law provides a good starting point to fix the law and improve the country's public schools. The plan would largely dismantle the 2002 measure signed by President George W. Bush. But it would also leave intact key tenets like accountability. After dragging its feet for years, Congress needs to figure out what to do about the law. It should be fixed and reauthorized as quickly as possible. With some fine-tuning, the Obama plan merits bipartisan support.

Just when you thought it might be safe to put your house on the market comes this little bombshell from the federal government: The Federal Housing Administration has revised its guidelines for borrowers. Responding to concerns about its capital-reserve ratio, which fell below the 2 percent threshold Congress requires, the FHA is raising mortgage-insurance fees and down payments for borrowers with lower credit scores. It also is cutting the percentage of the sale amount that sellers can pay to help ease the transaction.