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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another 1 million doses of a nasal spray influenza vaccine will be available in the United States this year, Bush administration officials said on Thursday as they sought to calm concerns about a flu shot shortage. The spray vaccine, called FluMist and made by Gaithersburg, Maryland-based MedImmune Inc., is approved only for healthy people aged 5 to 49. It is not intended for the elderly, very young children and others at high risk of serious flu complications. The United States will have enough vaccine and antiviral medicines "to cope with this year's flu season, even if it...

Something that I've yet to see talked about in any real fashion is the lack of fighting in Afghanistan by any type of "resistance" fighters. I know that to news organizations "blood sells", but where is the vaunted "Arab street" and their resistance to "U. S. occupation" in Afghanistan? Where are the daily reports from entrenched reporters? While there are talking heads aplenty droning on about the "intense" fighting happening in Iraq, there are none talking about the lack of fighting in Afghanistan. Something must be going right. What is it about the Iraqi people that makes them so different...

"Why should I run when Hillary is going to?"

Fox just announced Federal Response Plan activated.

O'Reilly asks us to "go on-line", Our opinions "to opine". He says to "keep it pithy" For those proficient at word smithy. Now I may not get asked to dance, But I guess I'll take a chance. Sending in my point of view, To Mr. Bill, it's nothing new. The Democrats, they are so redundant, The Republicans simply drop back and punt. And what are the People to do? I guess that's up to me and you. It sure seems like a real big mess, But no politician to this will confess. They won't try and find a way out, ...

While in Las Vegas X42 lost a digit while carelessly handling a young, white, tiger cub. He apparently misunderstood the handling instructions he was given and, after inadvertently poking the young cub in a rather sensitive area, the cub bit off one of his digits as X42 dropped the young cub. Trainers were able to retreive the young cub shortly thereafter and it appeared to have sustained no lasting damage. Reports are that milk will no longer be part of its diet as it appears more than capable of handling raw, red meat. Reports are that the damage could ...

The net's warning centre that alerts people to the activities of malicious hackers has itself been attacked. Since Tuesday, the Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert) has been battling to keep its website alive in the face of a flood of bogus data requests. The attack comes as the FBI warns that these types of attacks, known as denial-of-service attacks, look likely to become more prevalent. A recent study of denial-of-service attacks found that over 4,000 per week are being mounted. Data deluge Since 22 May, Cert, the US Government-funded early warning centre based at Carnegie Mellon University, has been struggling ...

GAA calls on Bush to Cancel Debt by World Bank and IMF U.S. Newswire 24 Apr 19:20 Global AIDS Alliance Calls on Bush to Endorse Debt Cancellation by World Bank and IMF to Combat HIV/AIDS Pandemic To: National Desk Contact: Paul Zeitz of the GAA, 267-254-5857   WASHINGTON, April 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) joins today with partners who are calling for immediate cancellation of outstanding debt by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in heavily indebted poor countries who are affected by HIV/AIDS. "With thousands of Africans dying each day -- ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Rwandan militia groups have a quick and fail-proof method of ensnaring children: They slit a vein in their necks and inject them with drugs. After that, child soldiers will shoot, kill, maim or rape, says the former commander of the international peacekeeping force in Rwanda. "They are fanatical. Their brains are fried. On drugs, they will do anything,'' Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire said Tuesday at Canada's U.N. mission. A year after retiring from the Canadian military, Dallaire has re-emerged as a consultant on how war affects children. He is also an outspoken critic against the small ...

China has announced details of what is to become the world's largest social security system. The new system will involve people making contributions to pension or unemployment insurance schemes, unlike the current system in which state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are responsible for their workers for life. Officials say that as the number of elderly people in China grows, the old system is unsustainable in the long term, and stifles the ability of state-owned companies to compete. At the moment, many retired people and laid-off workers have not been paid or are still awaiting payment. The changes come as China attempts to ...

POUCH COVE, NFLD. - A police inspector in Newfoundland described the horror of trying to rescue one of three teens near Pouch Cove, saying one of the teens gave up his life in a futile attempt to rescue his friend. Police inspector Sean Ryan described how one of the boys had grasped a rope thrown to him, but was swept away to his death. Pouch Cove, Nfld. "This particular boy wrapped the rope around his arm as tightly as he possibly could while the men on the shore tried to pull him in," Ryan told a news conference Friday. "On ...

Bern, March 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Swiss government proposed the legalization of the production, sale and consumption of cannabis, as many Swiss already use the drug without apparent harm, it said. In a proposal to parliament handed out in Bern, the government also said it set into law the practice of giving heroin to long-term addicts to help them quit the drug. In the 1990s, authorities turned to a more liberal drug policy than most other countries to more effectively tackle abuse. It has since handed out heroin while offering treatment. The police also increasingly ignored the production and use ...

WASHINGTON, March 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In trying to expand energy production, Congress could end up lowering environmental standards and increasing the generous subsidies that owners of private hydropower dams already enjoy on federal public lands, American Rivers warned following a hearing today before the House Resources Committee. At the congressional hearing, witnesses representing coal, oil and gas, and hydropower interests testified on ways to expand energy production on federal lands. No witnesses were invited to testify on the environmental impacts of resource extraction and hydropower production on public lands. Hydropower dams, although often portrayed as clean and renewable power, ...

WASHINGTON, March 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Resource Conservation Alliance (RCA) has asked the Bush administration to reconsider a decision, made in the final weeks of the Clinton presidency, that maintains the federal government's ban on the cultivation of the crop industrial hemp. The decision was in response to a petition filed by a coalition of farm, manufacturing, and environmental groups. In March 1998, the coalition petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to adopt regulations permitting American farmers and businesses to obtain licenses to grow industrial hemp in designated areas and subject to federal ...

TONY BLAIR and George Bush are to lead a global crusade against the internet perverts who peddle child porn. The new initiative comes after the News of the World launched a campaign against the internet barons who allow paedophiles to post horrendous images of child abuse on the Net. The Prime Minister and the President sealed the deal during late night talks over dinner at Camp David at the end of their two-day summit. And Mr Blair's government will immediately reinforce the deal with new tough laws on Internet paedophiles, to be announced in the House of Commons on Monday. ...

Copyright © 2001 Nando Media Copyright © 2001 Scripps Howard News Service (February 20, 2001 6:11 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - A California software developer is offering a free Internet service to bring back the halcyon days of anonymous surfing, allowing Net users to evade Web bugs designed to spy on them and to get around programs that employers use to track what workers are doing online. And guess who is helping finance the new generation of technology to keep your Web surfing secret from prying eyes? It's one of Washington's most secretive agencies, the CIA, which has a vested interest ...

By Hinojosa H.B.No. 367 77R389 JMC-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1AN ACT 1-2 relating to the creation of an offense prohibiting certain firearm 1-3 sales at gun shows. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Section 46.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding 1-6 Subdivision (17) to read as follows: 1-7 (17) "Gun show" means a place or an event, other than 1-8 a permanent retail store, at which: 1-9 (A) three or more individuals assemble to 1-10 display firearms or firearm components to the public; and 1-11 (B) a fee ...

© Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Brought to you by the Tampa Bay Online Network Please use Source URL. In part...WASHINGTON (AP) - To cut down on the soda, snacks and sweets children are eating, the government wants to require that all food sold in schools meets nutrition standards. That could mean an end to soda machines in the hall and candy and cookie sales to buy band uniforms. The junk food that kids consume at school is contributing to obesity and other health problems, the Agriculture Department ...

As I have not found outside confirmation yet, please use the Source URL. Since I have a 14 year old daughter and hope to be a grandfather some day, my curiosity was peaked by this article.

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) – The Select Board in this college town is sending a letter to state and federal legislators urging them to repeal laws prohibiting the use of marijuana. Residents urged the board to write the letter and take other measures promoting the legalization of marijuana in a nonbinding referendum 10 months ago. Selectman Carl Sepalla, who drafted the letter approved by the board at its Monday night meeting, said it turned out to be more difficult and time-consuming than he had expected. Still, he said he felt the time had come for the board to take action. “There ...