Participants In Halted Medical Trials Left Uninformed Of Results Of Tests
When Congress passed a bill in September requiring makers of drugs and medical devices to disclose the results of clinical trials for all approved products, advocates of greater study disclosure applauded the move.
Shorts (left)
The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency that polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.
5 Nuclear Facilities To Miss Upcoming Security Deadline
More than a year after Congress told the Energy Department to harden the nation’s nuclear bomb factories and laboratories against terrorist raids, five of the 11 sites are certain to miss their deadlines, some by many years, the Government Accountability Office has found.
Nasa Extends Shuttle Mission To Repair Rotary Joint On ISS
NASA mission managers will add an extra day to the mission of the space shuttle Discovery so crewmen can do “exploratory surgery” on a malfunctioning part of the International Space Station’s power system, the space agency announced on Monday.
Venezuelans Oppose Subsidy Cuts For Fuel Despite Economic Woes
In a country moving toward socialism, the beneficiaries of government largess here are still people like Nicolas Taurisano, a businessman who dabbles in real estate and machinery imports. He is the proud owner of a Hummer.
Sunny Days Ahead
As the Boston Red Sox return home for their victory parade today, nature will treat them to a beautifully sunny sky and relatively mild October temperatures. Expect a high around 60°F (16°C) today and an even warmer 65°F (18°C) tomorrow. Make sure your Halloween costume is well attached tomorrow evening as it could get rather windy. Look for a chance of a sprinkle on Thursday with a high of 61°F (16°C). Night-time temperatures, as you may have noticed, are beginning to get on the chilly side, so if you plan to be out late a coat and perhaps some gloves or a hat might be a good idea.
Vote on New Version of Vetoed Child Health Care Bill Planned
Sensing a political advantage, Democrats rushed Wednesday to move a health care bill for children back to the House floor after making minor changes to win over more Republicans.
Iraq Should Act Against Kurdish Guerillas, U.S. Ambassador Urges
U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker said Thursday that Iraq should disrupt supply lines and develop a “lookout list” of senior leaders for the Kurdish guerrillas who use the northern Iraqi mountains as a haven for attacks inside Turkey.
Weather and Wildfire
The rapid growth of the wildfires in Southern California early this week was primarily facilitated by the prevailing weather conditions. In particular, there was an intense northeasterly wind and the relative humidity was extremely low, both characteristics of the Santa Ana flow regime. The Santa Ana wind is a regional example of the more general phenomenon of downslope flow. As the name implies, downslope flow occurs when wind is directed down a gradient of surface elevation. In the case of the Santa Ana, the wind blows from the plateau of the Mojave desert (elevation of roughly 1,000 meters) towards the Pacific coast. As the air travels along such a path, it descends and is consequentially compressed, as it adjusts to the higher environmental pressure at lower elevation. The compression results in heating of the air, 18 degrees (10°C) for every 1000 meters of descent. While the temperature of the descending air increases, its water vapor content remains unchanged, such that the relative (to temperature) humidity decreases. Hence, the downslope Santa Ana winds are necessarily accompanied by low relative humidity, setting the stage for explosive wildfire growth.
Shorts (left)
Europe, which once hoped to avoid major fallout from the summer’s credit crisis, is now feeling an autumn chill of slackening economies and warnings of further market upheaval.
Bush Makes California Visit; Wildfire Fatality Count Rises
President Bush toured Southern California on Thursday as investigators got down to the work of determining how one sunny fall day last weekend erupted into a 16-fire storm now in its fifth day.
Bush Says U.S. Will Not Invade Iran Despite Recent Sanctions
In announcing new sanctions against an elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Bush administration officials took pains Thursday to offer assurances on that at least for now, the United States is not going to war with Iran.
Shorts (right)
New commercial satellite photos show that a Syrian site Israel bombed in September no longer bears any obvious traces of what analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor.
Shorts (right)
More women with breast cancer are choosing to have their healthy breast surgically removed along with their affected breast, a new study has found. Almost 5 percent of patients decided to have the radical procedure in 2003, up from just under 2 percent in 1998.
Microsoft Drops Fight Against Antitrust Regulators in Europe
Microsoft has given up its nine-year fight against antitrust regulators in Europe, saying Monday that it would not challenge a court judgment from last month and would share technical information with rivals on terms the software giant had long resisted.
Senator Received Donations From Phone Company Execs
Executives at the two biggest phone companies contributed more than $42,000 in political donations to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., this year while seeking his support for legal immunity for businesses participating in National Security Agency eavesdropping.
Shorts (left)
Energy experts convened by the world’s scientific academies Monday urged nations to shift swiftly away from coal and other fuels that are the main source of climate-warming greenhouse gases and to provide new energy options for the two billion people who still mostly cook in the dark on wood or dung fires.
Thousands of Evacuees Flee Fires, Find Safety in Chargers’ Stadium
At Qualcomm Stadium, to which thousands of evacuees fled throughout the day Monday to escape approaching fires, the hazy and acrid air pinched the throat. Despite those reminders of the nearby inferno, the stadium seemed an oasis of order.
Hoping to Continue Funding the War, Bush Asks Congress for $196 Billion
President Bush asked Congress on Monday to approve $196 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other national security programs, setting the stage for a new confrontation with Democrats over the administration’s handling of Iraq.
Conflict Simmers on a Second Kurdish Front in Northern Iraq
Deadly raids into Turkey by Kurdish militants holed up in northern Iraq are the focus of urgent diplomacy, with Turkey threatening invasion of Iraq and the United States begging for restraint while expressing solidarity with Turkish anger.