A lawyer for I. Lewis Libby Jr. tried to portray a former Times reporter as having a ?fuzzy? memory of her conversations with I. Lewis Libby about a C.I.A. agent.
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday unveiled a series of initiatives intended to improve drug safety. While some changes were concrete, such as a pilot program to review the safety of drugs 18 months after they've been approved, many others seemed more vague, involving forming committees to develop new agency procedures. Nonetheless, FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said the changes "will not just be a plan but a pathway to greater drug safety."
The "Gay Sheep" story is a recent example of Internet punditry that caused a much greater stir and circulated worldwide. The blogosphere discovered last summer that a research scientist in Oregon was studying the brains of "gay" rams (male sheep) and erupted in a furor over such questions as whether science should be trying to discover what makes animals (or humans) prefer same-gender sex, whether taxpayer dollars should fund experiments in which animals are slaughtered, and whether the research findings might be used to abort potentially gay human fetuses.
Be sure to read Jason Horowitz's account in the New York Observer of his interview with Sen. Joseph Biden. He's running for president, and he knows he doesn't have much chance to win. Which leaves him willing to say just what he thinks of the front-runners, and it's not all complimentary. Here's Horowitz's summary:
AP - Ten blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. At least one of the devices depicts a character giving the finger.
AP - Several leading Senate Republicans who support President Bush's troop-boosting plan for Iraq say they will give the administration and the Iraqis about six months to show significant improvement.
AP - President Hugo Chavez was granted free rein Wednesday to accelerate changes in broad areas of society by presidential decree a move critics said propels Venezuela toward dictatorship.
A group of electronic light boards featuring an adult cartoon character triggered bomb scares around Boston on Wednesday, spurring authorities to close two bridges and a stretch of the Charles River. Turner Broadcasting Co., the parent company of CNN, said the devices were part of a promotion for the Adult Swim network's cartoon "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."
Iraq's prime minister said today he's sure Iran is behind some attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and he won't allow his country to be a battleground for the two nations. Two U.S. officials theorize Iran may have been involved in a January 20 attack that killed five U.S. soldiers.
Google said Wednesday that profits nearly tripled in the fourth quarter, topping forecasts on Wall Street thanks to robust growth in online advertising.