WASHINGTON

FDA AIMS TO BAN COW BRAINS, SPINAL CORDS FROM ANIMAL FEED
Seeking to close a gap in the nation’s defense against mad cow disease, the Bush administration yesterday proposed to eliminate cow brains and spinal cords from feed for all animals, including chickens, pigs, and pets. The government already bans virtually all cattle remains from cattle feed. The new proposal from the Food and Drug Administration “will make an already small risk even smaller,” acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said. The new proposal would reduce the risk of infection by 90%, the director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, Stephen F. Sundlof, said. After a public comment period, the rules should take effect sometime next year, he said.

– Associated Press

HURRICANE KATRINA

MAYOR ANNOUNCES UP TO 3,000 LAYOFFS
NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Ray Nagin said yesterday the city is laying off as many as 3,000 employees – or about half its workforce – because of the financial damage inflicted on New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Nagin announced with “great sadness” that he had been unable to find the money to keep the workers on the payroll. He said only non-essential workers will be laid off and that no firefighters or police will be among those let go.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

SHUTTLE’S FOAM LOSS POSSIBLY CAUSED BY WORKER DAMAGE
Workers may have accidentally cut or crushed the section of foam that broke off Discovery’s fuel tank during its launch. That is the leading theory for the cause behind the disturbing loss of foam insulation that cast a cloud over NASA’s return to space, the newly appointed manager of the space shuttle program, Wayne Hale, said. Mr. Hale said the shuttle will not fly again until the foam insulation problem is resolved – no sooner than spring.

– Associated Press

WEST

JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF PATRIOT ACT WARRANT NUMBERS
A federal judge in California has ordered the Justice Department to release data about its use of a “sneak-and-peek” search warrant technique authorized by the Patriot Act.

However, Judge Ronald Whyte concluded that disclosure of the search warrants would violate the privacy of individuals involved in criminal investigations. “The ‘procedure’ here is a matter of common knowledge,” Judge Whyte wrote in ordering disclosure of numbers showing how often federal prosecutors sought to delay notifying property owners and tenants about law enforcement searches. He labeled as “dubious” the government’s arguments that criminals could use the data to evade prosecution. Judge Whyte, who sits in San Jose, called his decision on the privacy issue “a Hobson’s choice.” He noted that the Justice Department’s public relations materials already disclose details about many of the “sneak-and-peek” cases.

The ruling, issued on Friday, came in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought in 2003 by a reporter for The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun