TOKYO (AP) – The Dalai Lama said the situation in his native Tibet is deteriorating and he has little faith that ongoing negotiations with the Chinese government will lead to greater autonomy for the region.

The exiled spiritual leader has followed a “middle way” approach with Beijing in which he seeks some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion. But lately he has grown increasingly frustrated and vocal about the lack of progress, despite the departure of two of his envoys for new talks with China last month.

“Now my faith in the Chinese government is becoming thinner, thinner, thinner,” he told reporters in Tokyo.

The Dalai Lama said conditions in his homeland continue to deteriorate despite his efforts to negotiate with Beijing.

“Inside Tibet, the situation is worse,” he said.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was in Japan to give speeches and visit monks and children throughout the country. He has often visited Japan in the past, but rarely has official meetings with government officials, who are wary of a negative reaction from China.

Student sent home for dressing as Jesus for Halloween

PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) – Children often dress as historical figures for Halloween, but one northern New Jersey school decided a costume of Jesus Christ took it too far.

Alex Woinski, an eighth-grader at West Brook Middle School in Paramus, was sent home from school on Halloween.

Woinski, who has shoulder-length brown hair, wore a white robe, a red sash, sandals, a fake beard and a crown of thorns. His mother said Alex was told he could keep the costume on if he removed the beard and crown of thorns.

Superintendent James Montesano said the district doesn’t want students wearing costumes that could be distracting.

Woinski’s mother is Catholic, while his father is Jewish. She says her son recently celebrated his Bar Mitzvah and is studying Bible scripture.

SC takes orders for Christian license plates

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – South Carolina has begun taking online orders for Christian-themed license plates that are the subject of a lawsuit by a group that tries to keep religion out of government.

The new plates depict a stained-glass window with a cross on the left hand side and the words “I Believe” across the top. The Department of Motor Vehicles said it will begin making the plates after it gets at least 400 prepaid applications.

If the department does not get enough orders, the plates will not be made and those who did send in money will get refunds.

Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued state officials on behalf of two Christian pastors, a humanist pastor and a rabbi in South Carolina, along with the Hindu American Foundation.

The group’s executive director, Barry Lynn, said until the state began taking orders, some could argue his group’s lawsuit was premature.

“Now the court can find a state-produced Christian license plate to violate the Constitution,” Lynn said.

People who want to order the special tag can pay $5 in an online transaction to cover the additional cost of making the “I Believe” plates. The usual annual vehicle registration fee of $24 would also apply.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who helped push the measure through the General Assembly, said: “A lot of people can’t understand what the hype is about. Nobody is mandated to have this tag … it’s an option.”

Crosses on Las Cruces, N.M., logo won’t be contested

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) – Two men have given up their fight to remove crosses from Las Cruces’ logo after appellate judges rejected a request to rehear their lawsuit against the city, whose name means “the crosses” in Spanish.

Paul Weinbaum said he and co-plaintiff Martin Boyd decided not to pursue further action because of the cost and a U.S. Supreme Court he views as conservative.

Weinbaum, who is Jewish, and Boyd, an atheist, have argued that the crosses on the logo violate the constitutional separation of church and state. The city and the Las Cruces school district use logos that include three crosses.

In September, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that dismissed the men’s lawsuit against the city. The judges also rejected another lawsuit by Weinbaum against Las Cruces Public Schools. The appellate court last Friday denied the men’s request to reconsider, leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as their only option.

“We can’t go forward,” Weinbaum said. “We don’t have enough money and it would be a pathetic trip to Washington (to the Supreme Court).”

The city and the schools argued that the crosses on the logos were intended as a secular symbol rooted in the city’s history.

“The JewBerry’: Praying every day on the PDA

NEW YORK (AP) – Thousands of observant Jews around the world are praying three times a day – using their PDA.

A software program for BlackBerries combines Hebrew prayers and technology, the brainchild of two entrepreneurs who attended New York’s Yeshiva University.

They dubbed it “the JewBerry” – a $30 program that provides texts of daily prayers instead of the traditional, printed book.

The program is not linked to Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry.

“Throughout the day, Jews gather in office-building stairwells and conference rooms to pray, and while sometimes you might not remember your prayer book, no one goes anywhere without their BlackBerry,” says co-creator Jonathan Bennett, of Cedarhurst, Long Island.

Among JewBerry users is the president of Yeshiva University, Richard Joel.

“I love it, because now I can not only look how the market is doing, but I can also say my evening prayers,” he says, adding that “at the heart of what Yeshiva is about is the notion that it’s not our technology that informs civilization; it’s our values.”