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Maker
of anthrax vaccine cleared to ship the drug
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The government cleared the nation’s sole maker
of the anthrax vaccine to begin shipping the shots Thursday after
four years of factory violations that have stalled efforts to protect
the military from the bioterrorism bacteria.
Pressure
to approve BioPort Corp.’s factory has grown since last fall's
anthrax outbreak killed five people on the East Coast.
Thursday,
the Food and Drug Administration said BioPort’s factory had
met all federal requirements to resume production and shipments
of anthrax vaccine to the Defense Department, which owns all of
the shots the Lansing, Mich., company makes.
Also,
three batches of previously produced vaccine have passed quality
checks and can be shipped immediately, the FDA said.
Reno
leaves hospital after fainting during speech
ROCHESTER,
N.Y. (AP) — Former Attorney General Janet Reno left a hospital
Thursday morning about 12 hours after fainting during a speech.
Reno,
who has Parkinson’s disease, said she didn’t think the
fainting spell would hurt her campaign for Florida governor.
She
said it had happened before, and besides, “George Bush fainted,”
she said referring to the president’s recent fainting spell
after a pretzel became stuck in his throat.
“I
got hot about when I started speaking because it was hot up on that
corner of the stage,” Reno said. “I just got progressively
hotter, and I then said I had to sit down and I exited gracefully
or ungracefully. I don’t know how.”
Reno
had been speaking for about 45 minutes at the University of Rochester
on Wednesday night when she fainted. She told the audience, “You’re
going to have to excuse me for a minute. I’m going to have
to sit down.” She then collapsed.
Before
the speech, she attended a fund-raiser and a press conference.
Reno,
a Miami native, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1995
but has said it would not prevent her from serving as governor.
Reno
was the first female attorney general in U.S. history, serving during
the Clinton administration. She is one of five Democrats attempting
to unseat Gov. Jeb Bush.
Washington
Monument set to reopen after makeover
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The Washington Monument will reopen in February, almost
a year behind schedule, after a $10 million makeover.
The
National Park Service says the delay occurred because of problems
with a new elevator cab, which took more than a year to install.
Restoration
of the obelisk honoring the nation’s first president began
in 1998. It included cleaning and repairing the exterior marble,
building an expanded observation deck, renovating the elevator and
installing a new climate-control system.
The
monument has been closed to the public several times during the
project, most recently in December 2000. Then, park service officials
said they expected it to reopen in March 2001. When it is open,
the monument draws about 1 million visitors a year.
Visitors
will be required to acquire free tickets at a nearby kiosk. They
will walk through a metal detector at the base of the monument and
all bags will be X-rayed.
Blood
supplies low in some areas, donors not returning
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Parts of the nation have tight blood supplies because
most of the half-million people who donated after the Sept. 11 attacks
have not returned, transfusion specialists said Thursday.
Some
25 percent of Manhattan's blood donor base has been lost, largely
because the destruction and ensuing economic woes mean fewer businesses
holding fewer blood drives, said Dr. Robert Jones, head of the New
York Blood Center. Lost drives are costing between 1,000 and 3,000
units of blood a month.
Around
the country, only about 5 percent of the first-time donors on Sept.
11 are returning to give blood again. Blood lasts only 42 days,
so regular, repeated donations are vital.
It
was quickly apparent that mass donations weren't needed on Sept.
11, Jones said.
There
were too few survivors.
Yet
the public got conflicting messages. That day, thousands simply
showed up wanting to give blood. In the following days, the American
Red Cross headquarters urged donors to continue to come in —
while independent, competing blood centers said banks were overflowing
and would-be donors should make appointments to give later. Ultimately,
the Red Cross had to throw away 49,000 extra units.
The
blood industry has formed a disaster task force to try to avoid
unneeded mass donations following future emergencies, be they terrorism
or natural disasters, and ensure better cooperation by competing
blood banks.
Bush
and Putin set to talk in May in Moscow
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Bush will hold his next round of talks with
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 23 in Moscow and the next
two days in St. Petersburg, Russian officials said Thursday.
Secretary
of State Colin Powell held a planning session at the Russian Embassy
with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
Powell
said they discussed what the two sides hope to achieve in Moscow
and St. Petersburg. Russian officials later provided the precise
dates and said they would be announced later by the White House.
Smiling,
Kasyanov said “relations are good” and that the two sides
would cooperate in several fields.
There
is at least one potential trouble spot. Russia is insisting on a
formal accord to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals and the Bush administration
prefers an informal approach.
The
two sides swapped drafts of proposed agreements Wednesday that are
designed to set relations on a new and friendlier course.
Powell
continued the negotiations Thursday at the Russian Embassy with
Kasyanov.
The goal is for Bush and Putin to announce the agreements.
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