Opinion Mixed On Health Care Surveys Say Americans Want Changes, But Tough To Determine What's Preferred Comments 2 Dec. 11, 2007 FDA Weighs Over-Counter Cholesterol Drug FDA Questions If Consumers Can Properly Use Over-The-Counter Cholesterol Drug WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (AP) The government is questioning if too many of the wrong people will take cholesterol-lowering Mevacor if it's sold without a prescription, days before Merck & Co. makes its third try to move the drug over the counter. Merck says selling a low dose of this long-used medication on drugstore shelves, next to the aspirin, could get millions of people at moderate risk of heart disease important treatment that they otherwise may miss. A preliminary Food and Drug Administration review released Tuesday agreed that nonprescription Mevacor would be "a reasonably safe and effective" option _ if consumers used it as directed. But when Merck tested if consumers could judge who was a proper Mevacor candidate, only 20 percent answered all the questions completely correctly _ 50 percent if researchers counted people who said they'd check some things with their doctor before purchasing, concluded FDA's lead medical reviewer. Moreover, about 30 percent of people who already were diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes or had had a stroke wanted to purchase over-the-counter Mevacor, people who need a doctor's care, the FDA documents say. The studies "have not convinced this reviewer that there is adequate consumer comprehension of the proposed product label to ensure safe and effective use of this product," the preliminary assessment concluded. New CEO Will Restore Reputation Investors Watch On As New CEO Pandit And Chairman Bischoff Tackle The Ailing Bank Comment On This Post NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citigroup Inc. named Vikram Pandit, the head of its investment banking business, as its chief executive officer. The banking company named Sir Win Bischoff, who has been Citi's acting CEO, as its chairman. (CBS/AP) Related Timeline Credit Crunch Feeling the squeeze? Here's a look at actions and statements from key players in Washington. Stories Embattled Citigroup CEO Resigns Bank Of America To Write Down $3 Billion (AP) Citigroup Inc. named Vikram Pandit, the head of its investment banking business, as its chief executive officer Tuesday, charging him with restoring the bank's profitability and reputation after missteps in lending and investing left Citi with billions of dollars in losses this year. The banking company named Sir Win Bischoff, who has been Citi's acting CEO, as its chairman, replacing Robert E. Rubin, who had stepped into the role when former CEO and chairman Charles Prince was ousted last month. Pandit, who ran a hedge fund bought by Citi earlier this year, is seen as a careful, decisive investment banker - qualities Citi needs following the revelation that Citi's writedowns of soured mortgages could amount to as much as $17.5 billion by the end of the year. Bischoff, meanwhile, has led Citi's European businesses, answering many shareholders' complaints that Pandit does not have the overseas experience to guide the sprawling bank's operations in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The appointments came after a two-day meeting of Citi's board. Pandit is well known on Wall Street, having worked at Morgan Stanley for two decades until 2005, when he and a few other disgruntled colleagues left the brokerage and founded the hedge fund Old Lane Partners. Earlier this year, Citigroup bought Old Lane for $800 million and put Pandit in charge of Citi's alternative investments. A few months later, Pandit took over the bank's markets and banking unit, too, and then reconfigured the business to mirror the Morgan Stanley structure he was familiar with. His performance as Citi's leader will undoubtedly be scrutinized by investors until they see positive results - including his willingness to challenge the Citi strategy of the past several years. One question on Wall Street is whether Pandit will be beholden to the Citi board, which has remained steadfastly loyal to the Sanford Weill regime. Weill, a board member, built Citigroup through a series of mergers and acquisitions over the past few decades, and many have attributed the bank's failings this year to the Weill culture: Prince was his hand-picked successor. Bischoff was the chairman of the British investment bank Schroders PLC, then joined Salomon Smith Barney Inc., a subsidiary of Citi, when it acquired Schroders. He began his current position in May 2000. Under the circumstances, I can't think of anyone better qualified to untangle Citigroup than Vikram Pandit. Barton Biggs, Stanley's former top strategistUnlike Merrill Lynch & Co., which took just two weeks to find a replacement for Stan O'Neal, its embattled CEO and another casualty of the mortgage crisis, Citi's search dragged on. Merrill's nab of John Thain, a Goldman Sachs alum who turned around the once-troubled New York Stock Exchange, eliminated him as a possibility for Citi. Citi, with all its bad debt - not to mention the hemorrhaging funds known as structured investment vehicles that it manages - appeared to be a beast no one wanted to tame. According to various media reports, Citi's overtures to big names in the banking industry such as Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann and Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Frederick Goodwin were spurned. And Citi board member Rubin, the former Treasury Secretary who led the CEO search committee, decided he did not want to stay chairman. Pandit faces multiple challenges. He must not only attract more cash to offset Citi's debt and bulk up the bank's risk management, but he also needs to strengthen Citi's lackluster consumer-oriented businesses and clean up its reputation. Citi has shed about $120 billion in market capitalization this year, putting its market cap below that of Bank of America Corp. Citi is still the largest U.S. bank by assets, though, so while most major financial companies have seen problems navigating a surge in foreclosures and a freeze-up in credit, Citi's losses have been seen on Wall Street as particularly egregious. Citi's cash levels will get a boost by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which in late November bought a 4.9 percent stake in Citi for $7.5 billion. But the investment, while helpful in offsetting some of Citi's bad debt, is not a panacea. Many analysts and shareholders believe Pandit needs to sell more assets to bring in cash and make the huge conglomerate leaner. Citigroup has said non-essential assets selloffs are in the works, but many shareholders are hoping for more ruthless spinoffs - such as Citi's brokerage arm, Smith Barney. A few analysts have even tossed around the idea of another big bank like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. buying or merging with Citi. But given regulatory obstacles and the credit market problems facing even the best-positioned banks, other analysts say such a deal is unlikely at this time. The board has been adamant about not breaking up the bank. Rubin, who led the search committee, said after Prince's resignation that they were looking for someone to focus on Citigroup's "multiplicity of businesses." "It is very important that whoever we have has a strong international focus - not necessarily enormous international experience, but can relate to the globalization of this institution and Chuck's (Prince's) strategy of having to ever increase that involvement," Rubin said at the time. Pandit, though he spent his childhood in India, has little experience with banking abroad. His strengths are his Wall Street experience and his analytical mind. "Under the circumstances, I can't think of anyone better qualified to untangle Citigroup than Vikram Pandit," said Barton Biggs, who was Morgan Stanley's top strategist and worked with Pandit for two decades. Biggs, now the head of the hedge fund firm Traxis Partners, called Pandit intelligent, and not one to make "lightning-quick decisions." "That doesn't mean he's not decisive - he's thoughtful and careful," said Biggs, who is also a Citi shareholder. "Vikram is a very fair and honest and honorable manager. People do like working for him. A lot of people followed him from Morgan Stanley to Old Lane." Even in the years that Morgan Stanley struggled, the investment banking unit did well, said Punk Ziegel & Co. analyst Richard Bove. "Vikram Pandit was one of the reasons for it," Bove said. "He proved at Morgan Stanley he could build a strong capital markets business." Bove noted that Pandit has no experience in consumer banking, however, which brings in half of the company's profit. Compared to its peers, Citi has seen lackluster results in retail banking, credit cards and consumer finance in recent years. "I don't think any division of Citi is demonstrating above-average success," Bove said. "They're behind the curve. They're utilizing inappropriate sales techniques." Stocks Plunge After Fed Cuts Rates Dow Falls Almost 300 Points As Third Interest Rate Cut Since Sept. Disappoints Investors Comments 45 WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2Trader Tommy Kalikas, foreground, talks into his mobile phone as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. (AP) Related Interactive Inside The Fed A history of the Federal Reserve, glossary of terms and a look at changing interest rates. Stories Anticipation Grows For The Fed's Next Move Got Equity? (CBS/AP) Wall Street plunged Tuesday after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter point, disappointing investors who hoped the Fed would move more aggressively to help the economy overcome the credit and mortgage crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average skidded more than 290 points. Investors had been expecting policymakers would cut rates, though there was debate over the size of the cut. Most economists had been expecting a quarter-point cut in the benchmark federal funds rate to 4.25 percent, but some investors were hoping for a half-point cut in the Fed's last meeting this year, and their disappointment took the market lower. The Fed as expected also cut the discount rate, the rate it charges to lend directly to banks, by a quarter-point to 4.75 percent. This is the third straight rate cut from the Fed and it's a sign that the Fed is really worried about the housing slump, that it could infect the rest of the economy, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason. A couple things the Fed cited today is a weakness in consumer spending and a weakness in business spending. Both those things could lead to job cuts ultimately down the line. Fed officials signaled that further cuts are possible if a severe downturn in housing and a crisis in mortgage lending worsen. Investors had sent stocks higher in recent weeks as they grew more confident in the Fed's openness to loosening its policy again. The Fed's accompanying statement also displeased investors, saying "information suggests that economic growth is slowing," but standing firm on a quarter-point cut for now. Fed officials signaled that further cuts are possible if a severe downturn in housing and a crisis in mortgage lending worsen. Despite hints at the chance of further cuts, investors were left unimpressed. Stocks had climbed in recent weeks in part amid expectations that the Fed might be willing to make broad, perhaps paternalistic gestures at its December meeting to help assuage the market's fears. The statement accompanying the Fed's decision said "information suggests that economic growth is slowing," and removed language from prior statements stating that risks to the economy are balanced. But the Fed seemed to stand firm on a quarter-point cut for now. "Expectations may have been for a more meaningful move based on the swirl in the financial markets. But the Fed is acknowledging that maybe things on Main Street aren't as bad as they are on Wall Street," said Bill Knapp, economist and chief investment strategist for MainStay Investments, a division of New York Life Investment Management. In the final minutes before the closing bell, the Dow skidded 295.32, or 2.15 percent, to 13,431.71 after dropping 313.12 in the last half-hour of the session. Expands Aid To Upper-Middle Class Families Earning Well Into 6 Figures To Benefit From New Financial Aid Policy Comment On This Post Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harvard University in Cambridge. (iStockphoto) Related News Tools Best Colleges U.S. News & World Report ranks top national universities, comprehensive colleges and more. Stories Romney Bashes Harvard In New Ad From Unity To Polarized Principles (AP) Families earning well into six figures will see the cost of a Harvard education reduced by thousands of dollars per year under a major financial aid initiative announced Monday that is bound to draw attention far beyond the school's ivy-covered walls. Harvard - whose $34.9-billion endowment is the largest of any university - already offered one of the most generous aid programs for low-income students of any private college, asking nothing from parents earning under $60,000. But its announcement Monday, the latest of several recently by elite colleges concerning financial aid, reflects a shift toward making top schools more affordable to middle- and even upper-middle-class families. Harvard admits its full list price of $45,620, while comparable to other elite private universities, is a burden to all but the most wealthy. The school will now pump more than $20 million in new aid to a group that extends beyond the 90th percentile nationally in income. Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust called the commitment "a response to the enormous stress that a particular group of families feel about the cost of higher education." The announcement comes at a time when higher education as a whole is facing criticism from some in Washington for years of rising tuition prices. The wealthiest colleges have faced the greatest public pressure to either cut prices for all or boost financial aid to a broader range of students. While awards vary based on factors such as number of children in college, Harvard already gave some aid to families earning as much as $200,000. Starting next year, a typical family earning $120,000 would pay about $12,000, down from $19,000 currently. For a typical family earning $180,000, the payment would drop from more than $30,000 to $18,000. Under the new plan, parents earning between $60,000 and $120,000 will pay a percentage of their income, rising to 10 percent. Families with incomes between $120,000 and $180,000 will have to pay 10 percent of their incomes, but no more. Harvard also will no longer count home equity against parents in calculating what they can pay, and will replace all loans with grants - a step that a handful of peers have already taken. Currently, about half of Harvard's 6,700 undergraduates receive financial aid. Faust and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William Fitzsimmons said they had grown concerned that even students far up the income ladder were discouraged from applying by Harvard's list price. Survey data showed those who did enroll were passing on research opportunities and time with friends in order to take paying jobs, Fitzsimmons said, adding he worried about an "Upstairs, Downstairs" experience. Some students believed they couldn't afford to take unpaid internships. "The rich students felt they had very good access to these types of things, but the middle-income and poorer students didn't think they did," Fitzsimmons said. Harvard's plans will be closely noted in higher education - even though most private colleges couldn't possibly match them. Because of Harvard's visibility, colleges will cite it as a high-profile statement that they take seriously middle-class concerns about college affordability. Education lobbyists in Washington are trying to fend off calls that colleges be required to spend more of their money to keep prices down, even if it means dipping further into endowments. "This is big news," said Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, who has criticized the wealthiest schools for their prices. "This could inspire other expensive colleges to make tuition more affordable. Choosing a college should be based more on brain power than bank account size." Yale University said Monday that it has been planning its own announcement about enhancing financial aid, which is scheduled for January. Some schools may be irked by Harvard's plans, particularly those that compete against Harvard for top students. They will likely grumble, at least privately, that Harvard is using its billions to "buy" the best. Until the early 1990s, a group of elite colleges, including Harvard, offered all students the same aid packages, arguing money shouldn't be a factor in students' decisions. But that practice was curtailed by a federal antitrust suit, and now students are more free to play schools against each other for aid. Such a big boost in aid by Harvard could accelerate a kind of spending arms race. Still, that would be the kind of competition - to make college more and more affordable - that financial aid advocates would welcome, saying it's better than colleges competing to build more luxurious dormitories and health club-style gyms. Fitzsimmons said competitive reasons played a "negligible" role in the decision and that a far bigger one was "the increasing pain we've been hearing about" from middle-income students and families. Still, a growing number of top students are being lured by full scholarships to honors colleges at state universities. Fitzsimmons acknowledged Harvard doesn't want to lose the best and brightest. He noted that - compared to the list price, at least - for almost all families Harvard would now cost no more than their state flagship school. Broader indexes also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 38.39, or 2.53 percent, to 1,477.57, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 67.04, or 2.47 percent, to 2,651.91. Declining issues outpaced advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.33 billion shares. Also, Pandit has never run a large public company. And some see his lack of flash and pizazz as a drawback - though to others, a cool, quiet demeanor in the top spot could be just what is needed at a company often criticized as arrogant. Merck argues that most people made the right decision on whether they should buy OTC Mevacor even if they missed some answers. On Thursday, Merck will present its case to the FDA's independent scientific advisers, hoping they will recommend that Mevacor become the first in the family of cholesterol-lowering "statin" drugs to be sold in this country without a prescription. Twice before, FDA has said no (CBS/AP/iStockphoto) Related News Tools Poll Database Search for results from the latest CBS News national polls on the president, the campaign and more. In-Depth 2008 Presidential Hopefuls Profiles and the latest news on the Democrats and Republicans running for the White House. Stories On Health Care, Dems More Alike Than Apart Campaign Blog: New Biden Ad Spotlights Iraq Plan Campaign Manager: Huckabee Will Be Attacked In Debate Starting Gate: The Fog Of Primaries (AP) It's not easy figuring out exactly what voters want when it comes to health care. A Gallup poll released early this fall offered a dozen separate ways to expand health insurance coverage. Each suggestion garnered majority support, including tax breaks for small businesses, 94 percent; requiring large companies to offer health coverage or pay into a pool, 81 percent; and federal subsidies for the poor, 76 percent. The implication was clear: The public wants change. But two weeks ago, Gallup released another poll. That poll showed most Americans are satisfied with their health coverage and with how much they pay for health care. So what gives? The polls demonstrate the long-standing conflict that has dogged every proposed overhaul of the health care system dating back to Harry Truman. Americans support the principle of extending coverage to millions of people, but only so long as they are not negatively affected by the potential trade-offs, namely higher costs or reduced access. And that's the dilemma for the presidential candidates. Expanding health insurance to the 47 million uninsured is projected to cost more than $100 billion annually. The candidates have to find a way to pay for that expense. But it could be a political death knell to suggest that the average voter pay for it. Democratic presidential candidates have found one way to finesse it. Former Sen. John Edwards would raise taxes for those households with incomes exceeding $200,000 a year. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would raise taxes for households with incomes exceeding $250,000 a year. The median household income in the United States is $48,200, so the vast majority of voters would be spared. "If you're in politics you can't go $1 below $200,000 on the income tax or you really start losing people," said Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard University. Sara Collins, an economist at The Commonwealth Fund, which conducts health research, said that bypassing the middle class paying for expanded coverage makes economic sense. U.S. residents already spend more on health care than residents of any other country. If candidates mandate that people buy insurance, many middle-income families will need tax subsidies, not tax increases, to buy that coverage. "What you wouldn't want to do is overburden families already squeezed by health care costs," Collins said. The Democratic candidates don't just ask the wealthy to pay for expanding coverage. They also calculate that widespread adoption of electronic health records will help pay for it. For example, they cite a study by the RAND Corporation, a think tank, claiming that electronic health records could save $77 billion a year. But many health analysts don't buy it. "The Republicans are going to save money that way. The Democrats are going to save money that way. But I don't see any evidence from the literature that's going to happen," said Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute, a liberterian think tank. If those savings don't occur, the ramifications are simple, Tanner said. The candidates will have to find other sources of revenue for their proposals. "To do more health care is going to cost more money," said Tanner. But that's not something that typical voters are thinking about right now, he said. "Right now it's giving away free ice cream and I'm not surprised the public loves it," Tanner said. "Nobody's told them about the spinach yet." Democratic candidates have been hesitant to spell out another potential trade-off. Both Clinton and Obama have called for employers to pay for some of their workers' health insurance, or pay a certain percentage of the company's payroll into a fund. But nowhere do they spell out that percentage. That's an important omission. The additional costs could force some employers to lay off workers, which won't sit well with voters. Edwards said the rate paid into the pool would be 6 percent of payroll. Back in 2003, a team from the Harvard University School of Public Health polled Massachusetts adults on several health care principles. Seventy-six percent supported the concept of employer mandates. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Candidates' Health Care Proposals WebMD Details The Health Care Proposals Of The Presidential Candidates -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But what if they heard the mandate was so expensive that employers would be forced to fire workers? Support in the Massachusetts poll dropped to 35 percent. Meanwhile, the Republican candidates generally rely on tax breaks to make insurance more affordable. All of the Republican candidates reject the idea of employer and individual mandates - even Mitt Romney, who was governor of Massachusetts when that state approved a health plan requiring people to buy health insurance. The concept of tax breaks also sounds good to the voter. Blendon notes that 70 percent of Massachusetts adults surveyed said they would support tax breaks to help the uninsured buy coverage. But what if they heard that the tax breaks would not be enough to cover the cost of a private plan? Support dropped to 36 percent. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., calls for an individual refundable tax credit of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families with insurance coverage. With a tax credit, the amount of taxes owed is reduced by $1 for every $1 in credits. Rudy Giuliani proposes an income tax deduction of up to $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families who purchase insurance in the individual market. Romney, the former government of Massachusetts, supports letting taxpayers deduct the cost of their health insurance and out-of-pocket medical expenses. With a deduction, taxable income is reduced. For example, a $15,000 deduction drops someone's taxable income from $60,000 to $45,000. Ron Pollack, executive director of the advocacy group, Families USA, said tax breaks would help if structured properly, but he believes all of the Republican candidates fall short in helping those who need it the most. "Somebody in a 15 percent tax bracket or who has no tax liability, gets no benefit from a deduction. Somebody in a 30 percent tax bracket is going to get much more relief," he said. "I think tax deductions are a bad thing to do. They're wasteful and spend money in the most cost-ineffective way." Pollack said a tax credit is more likely to help the poor, particularly if it's refundable and if they get it when they pay their premiums. Also, it has to be large enough. If a tax credit is for $4,000, that pays for only about a third of the typical family insurance policy, he said. A refundable credit is one in which the taxpayer gets a certain amount regardless of the amount of taxes they owe - effectively giving them a check from the government if the credit exceeds their tax liability. Collins said another potential trade-off with the tax proposals is that they encourage people to buy their coverage through the individual market. That coverage is much different than the group coverage offered through an employer. Individual health insurance companies are more limited in their ability to spread risk, so they can decide not to cover people with serious health problems. Overall, the candidates are trying to focus broadly on what their plans would accomplish and are content to leave many of the details for later. Blendon said that's understandable. May Predict Heart Risk The Measuring Tape May Beat The Scale At Gauging Heart Disease Threat Comment On This Post Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to the study, the odds of developing heart disease during the study were 55 percent greater for men and 91 percent greater for women with the largest bellies and smallest hips, compared with those with the smallest waists and largest hips. (AP / CBS) Related Interactive Heart Disease In The U.S. A look at state-by-state estimates of the prevalence of heart disease. Stories Staying Slim May Up Breast Cancer Survival Woman Loses 500 Pounds On "Internet Diet" Heart Attack Symptoms: Sex Difference? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cell Help After Heart Attack? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Key Tests After a Heart Attack -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heart Risk Profile: Treatment Motivator -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DVT Tied to Heart Attack, Stroke Risk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (WebMD) Get out the measuring tape. Your waist-to-hip ratio may beat the scale at predicting heart disease, a British study shows. The study is the latest research linking belly fat to heart risk. The take-home message: No matter what size you are, keep your waistline in proportion to your hips. "In other words, a big waist with comparably big hips does not appear to be as worrisome as a big waist with small hips," Dexter Canoy, M.D., Ph.D., MPhil, says in a news release. Canoy - who works at England's University of Cambridge - teamed up with other researchers to track heart disease in some 24,500 British adults. When the study started, participants were 45-79 years old. They got their height, weight, hips, and waist measured. Over the next nine years, some 1,700 men and nearly 900 women developed heart disease. That includes 662 people who died of heart disease during the study. Canoy and colleagues dug through the data to learn which of the following was the best predictor of heart disease: BMI (body mass index , which relates height to weight), waist-to-hip ratio (which relates waist size to hip size), waist circumference alone, or hip circumference alone. Waist-to-hip ratio was the best predictor of heart disease. That pattern was true regardless of other heart disease risk factors. And it wasn't just a good predictor in overweight or obese people. The findings held for people with normal BMI, too. Mormons Offer Heart Disease Clues Study: People Who Fast Monthly Are Less Likely To Be Diagnosed With Clogged Arteries Comments 8 Dec. 10, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (AP / CBS) Related Quiz Health Myths Quiz What do you REALLY know about about flu shots, arthritic pain, nightcaps, antiperspirants, and healing cuts? Interactive HealthWatch Explore health issues including AIDS, cancer and antibiotics. Stories More Young Women Dying Of Heart Disease Nitrites, Nitrates May Cut Heart Damage (AP) Mormons have less heart disease, something doctors have long chalked up to their religion's ban on smoking. New research suggests that another of their "clean living" habits also may be helping their hearts: fasting for one day each month. A study in Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is based, found that people who skipped meals once a month were about 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who did not regularly fast. People did not have to "get religion" to benefit: non-Mormons who regularly took breaks from food also were less likely to have clogged arteries, scientists found. They concede that their study is far from proof that periodic fasting is good for anyone, but said the benefit they observed poses a theory that deserves further testing. "It might suggest these are people who just control eating habits better," and that this discipline extends to other areas of their lives that improves their health, said Benjamin Horne, a heart disease researcher from Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He led the study and reported results at a recent American Heart Association conference. The research was partly funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Roughly 70 percent of Utah residents are Mormons, whose religion advises abstaining from food on the first Sunday of each month, Horne said. Researchers got the idea to study fasting after analyzing medical records of patients who had X-ray exams to check for blocked heart arteries between 1994 and 2002 in the Intermountain Health Collaborative Study, a health registry. Of these patients, 4,629 could be diagnosed as clearly having or lacking heart disease, an artery at least 70 percent clogged. Researchers saw a typical pattern: only 61 percent of Mormons had heart disease compared to 66 percent of non-Mormons. They thought tobacco use probably accounted for the difference. But after taking smoking into account, they still saw a lower rate of heart disease among Mormons and designed a survey to explore why. It asked about Mormons' religious practices: monthly fasting; avoiding tea, coffee and alcohol; taking a weekly day of rest; going to church, and donating time or money to charity. Fast Fact Roughly 70 percent of Utah residents are Mormons, whose religion advises abstaining from food on the first Sunday of each month. Among the 515 people surveyed, only fasting made a significant difference in heart risks: 59 percent of periodic meal skippers were diagnosed with heart disease versus 67 percent of the others. The difference persisted even when researchers took weight, age and conditions like diabetes or high cholesterol or blood pressure into account. About 8 percent of those surveyed were not Mormons, and those who regularly fasted had lower rates of heart disease, too. Howard Wooten and Leonard Hovis are old pals who share a history of heart problems. Now they share a daily walk, logging some 1,400 miles a year. Along with six other friends _ all with similar health problems _ Wooten and Hovis started walking on doctors' orders, and along the way became the poster boys for a push to get people exercising in the least healthy part of the state. In August, the West Virginia chapter of America On The Move distributed 902 pedometers and step-counting charts to residents of five southern counties who signed up for the program. Participants were asked to use the pedometers for six weeks, keep track of their steps and send in the results. The goal was to see if pedometers encourage people to walk more. Of all five counties involved, Logan took to the pedometers with the most enthusiasm _ more than a third of the participants were from there, including about 200 volunteers from Logan Regional Medical Center. "Many of them thought they did a lot of walking, and they didn't," said Carol Cole, the hospital's marketing director. "It was very eye-opening." According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, Logan is the most obese county in West Virginia. "If people here are going to improve their health, we're going to need to do a lot more in terms of prevention," said Shannon Meade, who helped coordinate the program on behalf of the Logan County Family Resource Network. Meade approached businesses, churches, even Girl Scout troops to drum up interest. As the groups involved plan a second phase of the program, they're focusing on Logan as an example of how to get rural residents with severe health problems up and moving. West Virginia On The Move Executive Director Sophia Werning argues that many people aren't aware that something as simple as walking can bring real benefits. Werning leads the state chapter of America On The Move, a Boston-based nonprofit that encourages people to take simple steps to improve their diet and exercise. "A lot of people have the idea that you need to get a personal trainer or you need to devote hours and hours a day to fitness, and they think, 'That's not for me,'" she said. Researchers looking at about 20 studies concluded that pedometers help people walk an additional mile each day, but only if they log their steps, according to the November issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "For a lot of people I've worked with, especially the sedentary and lower activity people, just having it on their hip is encouragement to do more," said Karen Croteau, a professor of exercise, health, and sport sciences at the University of Southern Maine, Gorham, whose research was included in the new report. Two years ago, when Wooten started walking with friends at Chief Logan State Park, his cholesterol level was over 280. Today, it's down to 120 and the 72-year-old insurance agent has lost 20 pounds. "My doctor says walking every day has been like a miracle pill for me," said Hovis, 67, a former Logan County clerk. The friends got pedometers through the program, and learned their daily walk added up to roughly four miles a day. Shows Decline In Teen Drug Use New Study Says Overall Drug Use Declining Among Teens, But Painkillers Remain Popular WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 (AP) (AP) Illicit drug use by teens continued to gradually decline overall this year, but the use of prescription painkillers remains popular among young people, according to a federally financed study released Tuesday at the White House. The survey, by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, looked at the behavior of 8th, 10th and 12th graders nationwide. The proportion of 8th graders reporting use of an illicit drug at least once in the 12 months prior to the survey was 24 percent in 1996. It now has fallen to 13 percent _ a drop of nearly half. Among 10th graders, the rates dropped from 39 percent to 28 percent between 1997 and 2007. Twelfth graders saw a decline from a peak of 42 percent in 1997 to 36 percent this year. "The cumulative declines since recent peak levels of drug involvement in the mid-1990s are quite substantial especially among the youngest students," said Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator of the study, which was financed by the National Institute on Drug Use. It surveyed 50,000 teens. The drugs most responsible for this year's decline in illicit drug use are marijuana and various stimulants, including amphetamines, methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine. "The most encouraging statistic relates to the use of methamphetamine, which has plummeted by an impressive 64 percent since 2001," President Bush said. "One exception to this trend is a rise in the abuse of certain prescription painkillers," Bush said. "This is troubling, and we're going to continue to confront the challenge and the overall direction is hopeful." At least one in every 20 high-school seniors has at least tried OxyContin, a powerful narcotic drug, in the past year, the study said. The popularity of the painkiller Vicodin also remained constant. The percentage of students using Vicodin was 2.7 percent, 7.2 percent and 9.6 percent in 8th, 10th and 12th grades, respectively. While the use of most illicit drugs has shown declines in the past decade or so, most prescription psychotherapeutic drugs did not. A number of them showed steady increases in use outside of their legitimate medical purpose. These include sedatives, tranquilizers and narcotic drugs other than heroin. The study also reported an increase in the use of ecstasy. Ecstasy use among teens dropped dramatically in the early 2000s, as concern about the consequences of use grew. However, the proportion of students seeing great risk in using this drug has been in decline for the past two or three years at all three grade levels, and use has begun to increase, at least in the upper grades. Among 10th graders, annual prevalence has risen from a recent low of 2.4 percent in 2004 to 3.5 percent in 2007, while in 12th grade it has risen from a recent low of 3 percent in 2005 to 4.5 percent in 2007. While none of the one-year increases were statistically significant for 2007, a clear pattern of gradually rising use is discernible in the upper grades; and their cumulative increases over the past couple of years are statistically significant. "These prevalence rates are not very high yet, but there is evidence here of this drug beginning to make a comeback," Johnston said. "Young people are coming to see its use as less dangerous than did their predecessors as recently as 2004, and that is a warning signal that the increase in use may continue." Among the study's other findings: _Amphetamine use peaked in the mid-1990s among eighth and 10th graders, but since then, use has fallen by more than one-half among 8th graders to 4 percent and by one-third among 10th graders to 8 percent this year. Amphetamine use peaked a little later among 12th graders and has fallen by about one-third to 8 percent this year. _Use of methamphetamine, called "meth," has been declining since it was first measured in 1999. Annual prevalence is now down by about two-thirds in all three grade from what it was in 1999. _Marijuana still remains the most widely used of all the illicit drugs. The decline in 2007 in the annual prevalence of marijuana use among 8th graders fell from 11.7 percent in 2006 to 10.3 percent in 2007. Tenth graders showed a modest continuing decline in marijuana use, while 12th graders showed no further change this year after a significant decline in 2006. _The study tracked a fairly sharp increase in the use of anabolic steroids by male teens in the late 1990s, 2000, 2001 and 2002. Since those peak years, the annual prevalence rate has dropped by more than half among the 8th and 10th grade males _ to 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively _ and by 40 percent among 12th-grade males to 2.3 percent this year. _The number of U.S. teens who smoke has shown significant declines in recent years, particularly among those in their early teens. The rate of teens who reported smoking in the 30 days before the survey is now down by two-thirds among 8th graders to 7 percent from the peak level reached in 1996 of 21 percent. The study, titled Monitoring the Future, is in its 33rd year. It tracks smoking, drinking and illicit drug use among the nation's secondary school students, surveying about 50,000 8th, 10th and 12th graders in more than 400 secondary schools every year. But good health is just one of the benefits, the men say. What they really enjoy is the camaraderie, walking through the state park in bad weather as well as good, talking and joking about everything from presidential politics to college football. And there are other motivations to make the daily 8:15 a.m. trip to the park. "He comes because he knows we'll talk about him if he's not there," Hovis laughs, pointing at Wooten. "That's true," Wooten says. "But we talk about each other anyway."Horne speculated that when people take a break from food, it forces the body to dip into fat reserves to burn calories. It also keeps the body from being constantly exposed to sugar and having to make insulin to metabolize it. When people develop diabetes, insulin-producing cells become less sensitive to cues from eating, so fasting may provide brief rests that resensitize these cells and make them work better, he said. But he and other doctors cautioned that skipping meals is not advised for diabetics -- it could cause dangerous swings in blood sugar. Also for dieters, "the news is not as good as you might think" on fasting, said Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the Mayo Clinic, a former heart association president. "Fasting resets the metabolic rate," slowing it down to adjust to less food and forcing the body to store calories as soon as people resume eating, Gibbons said. Want some perspective on the findings? The odds of developing heart disease during the study were 55 percent greater for men and 91 percent greater for women with the largest bellies and smallest hips, compared with those with the smallest waists and largest hips. That is, heart risks were higher for people with apple-shaped builds than for those with pear-shaped bodies. Excess abdominal fat may do more than just pad the waistline. It might tweak the body's hormones, upping heart risk, the researchers note. Their study appears in Circulation. "I believe that the campaign about health care is going to be about fundamental values," Blendon said. "The Democrats will basically say the federal government has a role in guaranteeing coverage. I think the Republicans will come back and say we do not need a new federal plan. What we need are some incentives, more information, more choices." But the focus on values rather than on details also contributes to the two-stage process that damages the prospects for changing the health care system, Blendon said. At first, everybody talks only about the problem. Then when the details finally emerge, everybody talks only about the trade-offs, which leads to media coverage that has turned decidedly negative in all the previous health care debates. "The first cycle doesn't tell you somebody has to pay for this," Blendon said. "And the second cycle doesn't even remember Susan with cancer." Israeli tanks and bulldozers backed by attack aircraft moved into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday in the biggest operation in the territory since Islamic Hamas forces wrested control in June, setting off clashes with militants. An Israeli tank shell fired at a group of Islamic Jihad fighters killed three, while missiles fired from an aircraft killed two unidentified militants, hospital officials said. Schoolchildren ran through the streets of Khan Younis, let out early from school so they could take refuge in their homes. Militants carrying land mines and other weapons dodged among houses and maneuvered behind the tanks to fire at troops. Others took cover behind trees, or covered themselves in leaves to camouflage themselves in open farmlands in the area of the fighting. Tanks and bulldozers were about a mile deep inside southern Gaza, on the main road between the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, and deployed over a 2.5-mile stretch of territory. The military described it as a routine operation "against the terror infrastructure." Militants in Gaza routinely fire crude rockets and mortars at Israeli border communities, and smuggle in weapons from Egypt. Iraqi police inspect the scene of a suicide car bomb attack just outside the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohamed) Week In Iraq Photos A daily diary with scenes of the latest attacks and snapshots from the effort to rebuild a nation. Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos. Suicide Blasts Target Sunni Allies In Iraq $1B In Military Equipment Missing In Iraq (CBS/AP) Growing numbers of Americans think the U.S. is making progress in Iraq and will eventually be able to claim some success there, a poll showed Tuesday in a sign the politics of the war could become more complicated for Democrats. With diminishing U.S. and Iraqi casualties and the start of modest troop withdrawals, the public's mood seems to have brightened a bit, the Associated Press-Ipsos poll showed. That is a rarity in what has been a relentlessly unpopular war. "I still have hopes the people in Iraq will appreciate us being there," said Daniel Laird, 30, a firefighter who leans Republican and was questioned in the survey. "It just seems like we are making a difference." Even so, majorities remain upset about the conflict and convinced the invasion was a mistake, and the issue still splits the country deeply along party lines. About three-fourths of respondents describe themselves as worried about what's happening in Iraq and nearly six in 10 say they are angry - slight reductions since February, but still strong majorities harboring negative feelings on the eve of an election year. Most Democrats and independents - joined by sizable numbers of Republicans - say they are worried, tired, even angry. People are most positive are about recent gains in security in Iraq. The poll showed a nearly even division over whether President George W. Bush's troop increase this year has helped stabilize the country, with 50 percent saying no and 47 percent yes. Just three months ago, only 36 percent said yes. By 52 percent to 41 percent, most said the U.S. is making progress in Iraq. When AP-Ipsos last asked that question in September 2006 - a time when vicious sectarian attacks resembled a civil war - just 39 percent saw improvements under way. While far greater proportions of Republicans than Democrats think progress is being made, even growing numbers of Democrats agree. The portion of Democrats saying the troop increase has helped stabilize the country has nearly doubled since September to 26 percent, and the number saying the U.S. is making progress has shown similar growth. For many Democrats, though, the gains are seen as tentative. "Yes, there's been progress, but I don't think it will be long-term," said Regina Pitts, 51, a Democrat. "We can't stay there forever and babysit." By some measures, peoples' longer-range views of U.S. accomplishments are also becoming more optimistic. By 55 percent to 42 percent, more said they think history will consider the war a failure than a success. While most remain negative about the conflict's legacy, in September only 34 percent predicted success. Just one in five Democrats and four in 10 independents think the war will be a long-range success, well less than the three-fourths of Republicans who think so. Overall, only 38 percent think the 2003 invasion was the right decision, including three-fourths of Republicans, a third of independents and one-seventh of Democrats - a negative perspective that has barely shifted all year. Even so, the slowly improving views about progress raise the question of whether Iraq will give Democrats a major political advantage in the 2008 presidential election that many in the party have long assumed it will. Democratic voters are still strongly against the war and the party's presidential candidates compete for ways to criticize it. Such a tactic, though, might prove less effective when it is time to appeal to the more moderate voters who will participate in next year's general election. So far, the public's improved mood has helped Mr. Bush - slightly. Thirty-six percent now approve of the overall job he is doing - up four percentage points from last month, but still a poor showing for a president. Eight in 10 Republicans, three in 10 independents and one in 10 Democrats approve. His highest marks - 42 percent approval - are for handling foreign policy and terrorism. Congress' approval remains mired at 25 percent - near its January low of 22 percent. Mr. Bush sent 30,000 additional troops to Iraq this year, with most focused on reducing violence in and around Baghdad. U.S. forces in the country exceed 160,000, though Pentagon officials have said that figure could decline to 135,000 next summer - about where it was before the troop increase. The poll involved telephone interviews with 1,009 adults conducted from Dec. 3-5. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. In other developments: A suicide car bomber struck a checkpoint protecting the compounds of Iraq's former prime minister and a Sunni lawmaker Tuesday, killing two guards in a neighborhood bordering the fortified Green Zone. Nuclear Armed World The world's nuclear weapons powers, missile defense and a history of the nuclear weapons age. Stories Slovakia: 3 Men Tried To Sell Uranium Missile Defense Strains Russia-U.S. Ties (AP) Czech authorities, helped by the U.S. Department of Energy, have transferred 176 pounds of highly enriched uranium to Russia, the U.S. Embassy in Prague said Monday. The move took place under a Russian-American program to secure Russian-produced, highly enriched fuel located in often poorly guarded research institutes in one-time Soviet-allied countries. Under the program, the fuel is returned to Russia to be blended down to a less dangerous concentration no longer suitable for weaponry. The uranium, from the Nuclear Research Institute AS in Rez near Prague, was transported through Slovakia and Ukraine by train and reached a secure reprocessing facility in Russia on Saturday, the embassy said in a statement. The spent fuel will be reprocessed over next several years, it said. "These shipments of highly enriched uranium spent fuel represent an important milestone in our campaign to reduce stockpiles of nuclear material worldwide," said Thomas D'Agostino, the administrator of the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. "This is an example of the international community working collectively to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism, and is the kind of concrete international security action that increases both U.S. security and that of our allies," said Richard Graber, the U.S. ambassador to Prague. The shipment is part of a broader effort to reduce the chances of highly enriched uranium being obtained by terrorists. So far, a total of some 1,298 pounds of highly enriched uranium fuel has been transported back to Russia from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Libya, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, the U.S. embassy said. The recent shipment from the Czech Republic was the biggest single shipment so far, it said. It said representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Embassy in Prague, and the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency witnessed its loading and departure. Russia has agreed to retrieve highly enriched uranium it shipped to civilian research facilities in 17 countries. In 2005, nearly 31 pounds of highly enriched uranium from a research reactor at the Czech Technical University in Prague was transported for reprocessing at Russia's nuclear facility in Dmitrovgrad as part of the international initiative financed by the U.S. government. 1 | 2Ramadi's new female police officers demonstrate how they search visitors at the police station in south Ramadi. (AP Photo/Kim Curtis) Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos. Similar to Bill Clinton in some remarkable ways (not including their politics) will he also make it to the White House? Poll: Huckabee Soars Into GOP's Top Tier Romney On Religion, The Competition Sign up to receive The Skinny via e-mail The Skinny is Keach Hagey's take on the top news of the day and the best of the Internet. Just in case there's anyone out there still unsure about the whether nation-building is a bad idea, the Los Angeles Times brings a gem of a story about how you can lead an Iraqi horse to the water of equal-opportunity employment, but you just can't make him drink. Not even when your country is paying the water bill. The Iraqi government has ordered all policewomen to hand in their guns for redistribution to men or face having their pay withheld, the Times reports. The move thwarts a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation's police force. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, issued the order late last month, according to ministry documents, U.S. officials and several of the women. Probably sensing this was going to tick off the Americans, ministry officials refused to pick up the phone or return messages when Times reporter Tina Susman called asking for an explanation. Critics say the move is the latest sign of the religious and cultural conservatism that has taken hold in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein ushered in a government dominated by Shiite Muslims. Other recent signs include a dozen women killed by religious militants in Basra for not covering their hair or dressing modestly. In Baghdad, once a secular metropolis, it is rare to see women without scarves covering their hair. U.S. trainers began recruiting women in early 2004 and were so swamped with applicants they had to turn many away. By the end of that year, about 1,000 women had graduated. Since U.S. authorities handed over responsibility for police recruitment and training to Iraqi authorities in February 2006, the number of female recruits has dropped to virtually zero. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. David Phillips, who has led the effort to recruit female officers, said an official in the Interior Ministry told him: "Females are taken care of by men in our country. They are not out there being police officers." Huckabee Takes Heat For Cuba Flip-Flop Even in his weaker moments, it's easy to see why Mike Huckabee seems to have the word "likable" tattooed across his dimpled face. Yesterday, after getting called out in the last few days for radically changing his stance on the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba in an bald attempt to suck up to Florida primary voters, the Los Angeles Times reports, he stood before a crowd at a Cuban restaurant in Miami and basically admitted as much with startlingly little embarrassment. "Rather than seeing it as some huge change, I would call it, rather, the simple reality that I'm running for president of the United States, not for re-election as governor of Arkansas," he said. "I've got to look at this as an issue that touches the whole country." Of course, cornered men are often candid. In 2002, while Arkansas governor, he wrote a letter to President Bush saying the embargo was bad for his state's rice growers. Now that he's staring down Florida's crucial Jan. 29 Republican primary (in which Cuban exiles make up 10 percent of the voters) he's had a drastic change of heart. He has vowed to come down even harder than Bush on Fidel Castro's regime and pledged to veto any effort to end the sanctions. His far-less-likeable rival, Fred Thompson, still pouting because Huckabee was stealing the social conservative votes he had been banking on, gave reporters quotes from Huckabee's 2002 letter before the GOP debate on Spanish-language network Univision. Yet somehow, Huckabee managed to turn the flip-flop into a comfy pair of beach sandals - the kind that Florida primary voters might themselves wearing. "I really wasn't aware of a lot of the issues that exist between Cuba and the United States," Huckabee said, adding that his flexibility on policy should be viewed as a good thing. "I'll be the first to tell you I'm always subject - and I hope we all area - to learning, to growing, and never being so stubborn and maybe bull-headed." Waterboarding Is Torture, Says Ex-CIA Officer The furor of the missing CIA interrogation videos has brought one former spook out of the shadows to set the record straight: The waterboarding of the al Qaeda terrorist suspect he helped interrogate "probably saved lives," he told the Washington Post, but he now regards the tactic as torture. That seems like a logical conclusion if the story he tells is true. John Kiriakou served as a CIA interrogator in Pakistan and participated in the capture and questioning of Zayn Abidin Muhammed Huseein abu Zubaida, the first high-ranking al Qaeda member captured after Sept. 11, 2001. Abu Zubaida, we can assume from his bio, was one bad dude. But he broke in just 35 seconds after interrogators strapped him to a board, wrapped his nose and mouth in cellophane and forced water into his throat in a technique that simulates drowning. After initially being ideologically zealous, defiant and uncooperative, he told interrogators he'd tell them whatever they wanted. Which, of course, was the problem. In documents prepared for a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, where he is still held, Abu Zubaida asserted that he was tortured by the CIA, and that he told his questioner what they wanted to hear to make the torture stop. Kiriakou says that Abu Zubaida's information averted further attacks, but the added that "Americans are better than that." The CIA has generally supported such coercive techniques as necessary, while the FBI has opposed them as counterproductive and unreliable. Kiriakou's remarks came a day before top CIA officials are to appear before a closed congressional hearing to account for the decision to destroy recordings of the interrogations of Abu Zubaida and another senior captive. A NOTE TO READERS: The Skinny is available via e-mail. Click here and follow the directions to register to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning. ©MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share & Save: Find Related: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments [ + Post Your Own ] Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not CBS News stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement. Page 1 of 12 | First | 1 2 3 4 5 | Last China per capita GDP has risen from $4k/yr in January 2001 to $8.4K/yr. China has had more impact than Bush..... Posted by donbl1 To spell that out for Tucker, the more money the people have the more goods they want and will buy. The more goods they buy the more oil is needed and the higher the demand the higher the price. If you doubt that Tucker, tellme what you think will happen when the citizens of china and india want cars, all of them. will that have no effect either? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by guysdigdirt at 05:19 PM : Dec 11, 2007 + report abuse donbl1 at 05:06 PM : Dec 11, 2007 We strongly disagree. Warmongering in the Middle East is the primary reason oil prices have risen about 400% since Bush came to office. That and the collapse of the US dollar under Bush''s mismanagement. China''s GDP is totally unrelated to the price of oil. Mortar Shells Hit Baghdad Prison 7 Killed In Dawn Attack, 23 Wounded; Brits To Leave Basra In Weeks Comments 18 BAGHDAD, Dec. 10, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4Flames and smoke rises from al Dora oil refinery in South Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) Related Photo Essay Week In Iraq Photos A daily diary with scenes of the latest attacks and snapshots from the effort to rebuild a nation. Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos. Stories Suicide Blasts Target Sunni Allies In Iraq $1B In Military Equipment Missing In Iraq (CBS/AP) Mortar shells slammed into an Interior Ministry prison on Monday in Baghdad, killing at least seven inmates and wounding 23, officials said. Iraq's foreign minister, meanwhile, said a new security pact with the United States would set a time limit on the American troop presence. The government's eventual goal was "to reach a level of preparedness that leaves us with absolutely no need for foreign forces to remain in the country," he said. The mortar rounds hit a prison made up of several cell blocks, each containing prisoners accused of terrorism-related crimes or civil offenses, police said. Police said American troops sealed off the area and were investigating the bombardment, which took place about 6:30 a.m. The U.S. military said it had no immediate information, and Iraqi Interior Ministry officials could not be reached for comment. A hospital official said the inmates were still asleep when the mortars hit, one landing directly on a cell and two others nearby. In Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, an oil refinery went up in flames Monday morning, but U.S. military officials said the blaze was not the result of enemy action, as initially reported. The military initially blamed the fire on a rocket or mortar attack. The military said the fire was the result of an "industrial accident". Assim Jihad, a spokesman for Iraq's Oil Ministry, said no casualties were reported and the plant was still operating. "The fire is under control and within a few hours it will be extinguished. This will not affect production," Assim told The Associated Press. A police official said earlier the fire was caused by a 120 mm mortar round. The police and hospital officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details of the incidents. Iraq's oil industry has come under repeated attack since the war began, including on Friday when a bomb exploded beneath a key pipeline outside the northern city of Beiji, home to the country's largest refinery. According to Oil Ministry figures from July, the industry suffered 159 attacks in 2006 by insurgents and saboteurs, killing and wounding dozens of employees and reducing exports by some 400,000 barrels a day. Such attacks have cost Iraq billions of dollars since the 2003 U.S. invasion. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Monday Iraq had formally requested U.N. authorization for the U.S.-led presence in Iraq. "We left an underline that the Iraqi government hoped that this would be the last extension of the mandate," he said, adding the negotiations for a new pact with the Americans would be "the most important that Iraq has ever entered." Fast Fact Iraq's government has formally requested U.N. authorization for the U.S.-led military presence. Iraqi officials say it's the last time they will request such an extension. He said the deadline for reaching an agreement was July: "There will be negotiations about the conduct of these (U.S.) troops and their rights, privileges and also questions of command and control." Zebari also said U.S. and Iranian experts would meet Dec. 18 to discuss security issues ahead of an expected round of formal talks on Iraq's stability. He said both sides agreed to a fourth round of ambassador-level talks in Baghdad, but the timing was under discussion. Previous sessions ended inconclusively with Iran rejecting U.S. allegations that it supports Shiite insurgent groups in Iraq by providing bomb-making materials responsible for the deaths of American troops. Zebari's comments came a day after Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, warned Washington that a strategy of aligning its Sunni Gulf allies against Iran would only exacerbate tensions in the region. "The United States, until they seriously engage with Iran ... the long-term regional security will be in doubt," al-Rubaie said on Sunday, the final day of a regional security summit in the Bahraini capital, Manama. In other developments: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed Sunday that Iraqi forces will take command of the last region under British control in mid-December. Brown made the announcement during a surprise visit to British troops in Basra. "There are now 30,000 police and armed forces trained up as a result of our work and the work of other people, and so, as a result of that, we can move to provincial Iraqi control over the next few weeks," Brown told servicemen and women at Basra air station. On Monday, a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in eastern Baghdad killed one policeman and injured five other people, police and hospital officials said. On Sunday, in a Shiite region about 60 miles south of Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying a popular police chief with a reputation for leading crackdowns against militias. The death of Brig. Gen. Qais al-Maamouri, chief of Babil's provincial capital of Hillah, was the latest in a series of assassinations of provincial leaders in the mainly Shiite region. Hundreds marched along dusty roads in Babil to mourn al-Maamouri, chanting and firing guns into the air. © MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share & Save: Find Related: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments [ + Post Your Own ] Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not CBS News stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement. Page 1 of 2 | First | 1 2 | Last I haven''t seen an article on the young woman who was drugged and gang-raped by her Halliburton co-workers but, I certainly hope that they will be identified, their pictures posted on the internet and that our soldiers will hunt these contractors down like dogs and ''do the right thing by them''. When she was rescued from a shipping container by US embassy people and saw a doctor, the rape kit was turned over to KBR security officers and it, of course, disappeared. This is intolerable! HUNT THESE RAPISTS DOWN AND DESTROY THEM!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by Prinzowhales at 08:06 AM : Dec 11, 2007 + report abuse Of course it will be shown that clandestine black ops were responsible for the mortar attacks in Baghdad. Everyone ''''knows'''' that "ONLY" Americans kill Iraqis or anyone else in the world. If you don''''t believe me, just ask zootalures2 or feelfree1. ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------ Posted by ToolMangler at 10:46 AM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse You know I don''t think those Citizens or anyone else other than that pathetic piece of Human Trash YOU call a President sent our kids out into a desert to look for Weapons that NEVER existed. You freaks can''t accept the fact that your Fuhrer didn''t just screw up and attack the WRONG country but the REAL enemy used that stupidity to completely rebuild. That''s right Kool Aid Breath... not only have we spent 6 years and a Trillion Dollars handing Iraq over to radicals who are pals with Iran but we allowed the real bad guys to gain back their strenght. Just what part of the word "Whoopin" don''t you fools understand. It''s hard to imagine anyone getting a bigger Azz Whoopin than your fuhrer... very hard indeed. Sieg Heil Bush!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by MCVet at 06:55 AM : Dec 11, 2007 + report abuse Good article in NYT about Iraq no longer being in the top echelon of election subjects of either the Democrats or Republicans. In fact, the article claims that one of the reasons for Hillary''''s decline is the decline in the Iraq war and the focus of voters on DOMESTIC issues. So, for you still trying to pencil whip the success of the surge, move on. The war has left you behind. America now needs your energies on domestic subjects. ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------ Posted by donbl1 at 11:20 AM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse LOL Now I hate to throw cold water on a fascist when they are attempting to cover up the worst blunder in American History but what poll are you referring to there sparky. Everyone I know and every poll I''ve seen ranks Iraq as the top issue... Now you fools have been spouting this "Mission Accomplished" trash for what 6 years and the Resistence in Iraq just keeps kicking your fascist butts. MAYBE if you start thinking for yourselves you''d understand that WE can not continue the "Surge" for to much longer AND there still isn''t a Government in that Country...that was the PURPOSE of the Surge now wasn''t it? But you fools will not understand until you start seeing, every day, more killing, bombing and the civil war heating up again. Sieg Heil Bush!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by MCVet at 06:51 AM : Dec 11, 2007 + report abuse Good article in NYT about Iraq no longer being in the top echelon of election subjects of either the Democrats or Republicans. In fact, the article claims that one of the reasons for Hillary''s decline is the decline in the Iraq war and the focus of voters on DOMESTIC issues. So, for you still trying to pencil whip the success of the surge, move on. The war has left you behind. America now needs your energies on domestic subjects. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by donbl1 at 11:20 AM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse Is the surge working? Of course it works, but only in the minds of the mindless politicians and the heap of manure in the White House. As long as a lid (the surge)is put on a pressure cooker (Iraq), everything "seems" nice and dandy. Lift off the lid and see what happens! The surge is a band-aid solution. It does not treat the cause but temporarily takes care of the symptoms. Iraq will go the way of Iran, when the US supported the Shah until he was systematically kicked out by his own people. Any "leader" that aligns with the US in any part of the world, will ultimately be displaced. For the uninitiated, US foreign policy since the 30s has never been bringing democracy, freedom, liberty, and all those mindless rhetoric that the American public buys into. It is about securing America''s strategic interest (read: corporate interests)globally, even if it means sleeping with the devil himself. Well, the devil is alive and welding his influence that leads to and from the White House. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by klifton2 at 10:52 AM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse (Sarcasm) Of course it will be shown that clandestine black ops were responsible for the mortar attacks in Baghdad. Everyone ''knows'' that "ONLY" Americans kill Iraqis or anyone else in the world. If you don''t believe me, just ask zootalures2 or feelfree1. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by ToolMangler at 10:46 AM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse New CIA interrogation method at work here seems like they screwed up again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by antoniof123 at 10:30 AM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse ISRAEL AND TOP ZIONIST LEADERS ATTACK INTELLIGENCE James Petras December 8, 2007 http://tinyurl.com/3ba2zy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by NOWARFORZION at 09:27 AM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse When you see an Iraqi state security vehicle on fire, or an American military vehicle. I want you to realize that those vehicles were purchased with American taxpayer dollars, and that the replacement vehicles will be paid for by American taxpayer dollars. Everytime an Iraqi police station is attacked, you will be footing the bill for reconstruction. There is no Iraqi income tax system, your paying for everything! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lybian leader Moammar Gadhafi, center, reviews an honor guard with French Interior Minister Michele Alliot Marie, right, on his arrival at Paris Orly airport, Monday Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere/Pool) Related Fast Facts Libya Learn about the people, economy and history. Interactive Pan Am Flight 103 Follow a timeline of the Lockerbie disaster, read about the bombers and the trial and revisit the fateful day in 1988. Stories Libya Goes From Pariah To Participant Libya Frees Medics In HIV Case (AP) Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi received encouraging words from France - and cut deals for $14.7 billion in contracts for armaments and a nuclear reactor - on his first official visit Monday to a Western country after renouncing terrorism and doing away with weapons of mass destruction. President Nicolas Sarkozy described the contracts as rewards for Tripoli's improved behavior. "We must encourage those who renounce terrorism, who renounce the possession of nuclear arms," Sarkozy said after a meeting with Gadhafi. He did not elaborate on the accords for a civilian nuclear reactor for a desalination plant and armaments. A signing ceremony was scheduled for Monday evening. Libya also agreed to buy 21 Airbus planes - 10 A350s, four A330s and seven A320s - but the value of the deal was not immediately given. One of Gadhafi's sons told French daily Le Figaro that the Airbus deal was worth $4.4 billion. Gadhafi was long known as the champion of armed struggle and a sponsor of state terrorism. But his country started moving back into the international fold with its 2003 decision to dismantle its clandestine nuclear arms program. The same year it paid $2.7 billion to families of the victims of the 1998 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, then agreed to pay $170 million in compensation to the families of the 170 victims of the 1989 bombing of a French UTA passenger jet. Sarkozy is the first Western leader to extend an invitation to the flamboyant "guide of the Libyan revolution" since his falling out with the West in the 1980s. "France must speak with all of those who want to return to the road of respectability and reintegrate the international community," Sarkozy said. Gadhafi's visit brought protests and complaints, including from Sarkozy's own minister for human rights. Gadhafi was castigated by French politicians, philosophers and others before his plane landed on Monday - International Human Rights Day. Police detained a group of nearly 30 protesters at Paris' human rights plaza, according to AP Television News. Up to 80 were arrested around Paris, both foes and partisans of Gadhafi, the Web site of the daily Le Figaro reported. Human Rights Minister Rama Yade expressed disgust with the symbolism of the chosen date of International Human Rights Day. "It would be indecent, in any case, that this visit be summed up with the signing of contracts," she said in an interview published Monday in the daily Le Parisien. For France to avoid "the kiss of death," it must ensure respect for human rights in Libya, she said. "Col. Gadhafi must understand that our country is not a doormat." Sarkozy said later that he had stressed to Gadhafi the need "to progress on the road to human rights." As for Yade, the president said that as human rights minister her convictions were "perfectly normal" and he shared them. Yade's boss, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, suggested he was resigned to the visit, calling it a way to "return to normal relations" with Libya. We must encourage those who renounce terrorism, who renounce the possession of nuclear arms. French President Nicolas SarkozyThe trip "will, I hope, allow us to highlight this country's return to the international community," Kouchner told France Inter radio. Sarkozy wants to keep France in the running for hefty contracts in oil-rich Libya but also to send a signal to countries such as Iran, involved in a standoff over its disputed nuclear program, that benefits await those who abide by international rules. Gadhafi last visited France in 1973. He took his first step toward ending years as an outcast in a meeting with European Union officials in Brussels in 2004, a year after announcing he was dismantling Libya's clandestine nuclear weapons program. His visit follows his decision in the summer to free five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who had spent eight years in Libyan jails on allegations that they had contaminated more than 400 children with the AIDS virus. The release was the final obstacle to normalizing ties. The six were released after mediation by the EU and Cecilia Sarkozy, the president's former wife who negotiated with Gadhafi. Sarkozy then traveled to Libya. The Sarkozys have since divorced. Last week, France signed a nuclear cooperation accord with Algeria, Libya's neighbor in North Africa. There, Sarkozy said sharing civilian nuclear technology with Muslim nations "will be one of the foundations of a pact of trust" the West must conclude with Muslim nations. © MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share & Save: Find Related: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments [ + Post Your Own ] Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not CBS News stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement. Good politics France! This is the way to keep an eye on things responsibly - work with your "enemies"... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by neoconRcrazy at 04:16 AM : Dec 11, 2007 + report abuse I really think Moamar Ghadaffi/Qadafi is a changed man. You can see it in his countenance, his dress-from swaggering military dictator to humble bedouin (although he is still a dictator). I''m not 100% on board with saying forgive and forget on the lockerbie bombing, but I think he and Libya are actually an example of the successful carrot and stick approach. They sponsored terrorism, so the U.S. bombed their terror training camps in the 80s. Something major happend to Qadafi during all this-a true major personal event/life changing experience, and I really percieve that he and Libya are on a totally different path than they were back in the good old 1980s. Posted by mrleon69 at 09:17 PM : Dec 10, 2007 + report abuse Maybe they should sell him some false flag terror video equipment from the Naudet brothers too. Forces Retake Town From Taliban Real Test Will Be For Coalition To Keep Control Of Key Helmand Town This Time Comments 18 KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 10, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | 3An Afghan policeman at a check point on the outskirts of the troubled Musa Qala district of Helmand province south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Abdul Khaleq) Related Interactive Rebuilding Afghanistan Learn about the nation's geography, history and people and find out what is being done to rebuild. Stories Taliban, Children Dead In NATO Operation 15,000 More To Go To Iraq, Afghanistan (CBS/AP) Hundreds of Taliban fighters retreated in trucks and motorbikes Monday from a southern Afghan town they overran last February - the only important territory the militants controlled - as Afghan and international troops closed in on the town's center. Visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the victory in Musa Qala will have positive long-term results for the Afghan campaign. It also gives NATO a symbolic triumph in the deadliest year of fighting in Afghanistan since 2001 and boosts hopes the Afghan government can expand into a poppy rich area where it now wields little influence. But Musa Qala has bounced back and forth between government and Taliban control, falling into militant hands in February despite the presence of British troops nearby, and the question remained whether overstretched Afghan and NATO troops can hold the town in the long-term. Some 7,000 British troops have faced fierce battles throughout northern Helmand this year - in Kajaki, Sangin, Gereshk and Musa Qala - the world's largest opium poppy growing region, from which the Taliban derive tens of millions of dollars. CBS News' Fazul Rahim, reporting from Kabul, said winning back Musa Qala was a highly symbolic blow to the country's Islamic militants. "It was the only big town where the Taliban had put in place their own way of government and courts," said Rahim, adding that the extremists had even set up their own radio station in the town, broadcasting Taliban leadership messages and Jihadi songs. President Hamid Karzai said the decision to enter Musa Qala followed reports of brutality there by the Taliban, al Qaeda and foreign fighters. But Karzai also said local Taliban commanders had committed to switch their allegiance to the Afghan government. Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said Afghan, British and U.S. forces had "completely captured" Musa Qala, a town in the opium poppy growing belt of northern Helmand province, and a Taliban spokesman said its forces had retreated. Azimi told Rahim that "several dozen" militants had been killed fighting for the town, including some "foreigners", an likely reference to Taliban from across the border in Pakistan, or al Qaeda militants from other countries. Azimi said a more exact death toll would only be possible once the town had been secured. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said ISAF and Afghan troops had entered the outskirts of the main part of Musa Qala but would now proceed cautiously into the town center because of improvised explosive devices. An Afghan army commander, Brig. Gen. Gul Agha Naebi, said Musa Qala was surrounded and that troops were 500 yards from the town center. Both sides are still exchanging fire. There is still resistance from the Taliban. I think these are foreign fighters, al Qaeda members that we are facing. Brig. Gen. Gul Agha Naebi, Afghan National Army commander"The bombing continues. The area is big. (Tuesday) we will carefully clear the streets from the mines," he said. "Both sides are still exchanging fire. There is still resistance from the Taliban. I think these are foreign fighters, al Qaeda members that we are facing. They are trying to create ways for retreat." A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said militant fighters left Musa Qala as a strategic decision to avoid Taliban and civilian casualties. A resident of Musa Qala, Haji Mohammad Rauf, said he saw Taliban fighters leave the town in trucks and motorbikes around noon. Two hours later, hundreds of Afghan soldiers streamed into town and established security checkpoints, he said. "I was standing on my roof and saw hundreds of Afghan soldiers drive into town," Rauf said. "All the shops are closed and families are staying inside their homes." Speaking at a news conference in the capital alongside Brown, Karzai recalled a story of a 15 year-old boy accused of spying that Taliban militants hanged from a ceiling. The militants lit two gas cylinders on fire underneath him, roasting the teenager to death. The next morning the militants told the boy's mother she could pick up her son. "When she entered the room she found the charcoaled dead body of her son," Karzai said. "Some of the Afghan Taliban who also witnessed atrocities like that, they came and they met with me and they asked me to intervene and (said) that they will switch sides and that is what's happened," Karzai said Taliban militants overran Musa Qala in February, four months after British troops left the town following a contentious peace agreement that gave security