HEALTH

STUDY: 2 MILLION U.S. ADOLESCENTS HAVE PRE-DIABETES

About 2 million American children ages 12 to 19 have a pre-diabetic condition linked to obesity and inactivity that puts them at risk for full-blown diabetes and cardiovascular problems, government data suggest.

Researchers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health examined the prevalence of abnormally high blood sugar levels after several hours without eating, a condition called impaired fasting glucose. One in 14 boys and girls in a nationally representative sample had the condition. Among the overweight adolescents, it was one in six.

The study appears in November’s Pediatrics, being published today. It is based on data involving 915 youngsters who participated in a 1999-2000 national health survey.

– Associated Press

WASHINGTON

BUSH ADMINISTRATION SHAKE-UP MAY BE IMMINENT

A shake-up may be imminent in the Bush administration, with speculation growing that White House chief of staff, Andrew Card, will replace Treasury Secretary Snow, amid other changes, as President Bush heads into the second half of his second term.

One of Mr. Bush’s original Cabinet members, Mr. Card is one of several top officials who is expected to leave the White House as the president looks to put a fresh face on an administration that has been dogged by low poll numbers and a CIA leak probe, according to a Time magazine article slated for publication today.

Citing current and former administration officials, the article said that the White House is already preparing for the departure of the president’s closest adviser, Karl Rove, as well the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, and, perhaps, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

The departure of some of Mr. Bush’s longest-serving and most trusted advisers could set the stage for a set of new policy proposals as Republicans head into important midterm elections next year. Mr. Bush is expected to release details on a tax simplification effort in his January State of the Union address and could expect the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee, Judge Samuel Alito Jr., around the same time.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

SENATE DEMOCRATS DEFEND CALL FOR RELEASE OF REPORT

A government document raises doubts about claims Al Qaeda members received training for biological and chemical weapons in Iraq, as Senate Democrats yesterday defended their push for a report on how the Bush administration handled prewar intelligence.

“We cannot have a government which is going to manipulate intelligence information. We’ve got to get to the bottom of it,” Senator Kennedy, a Democrat of Massachusetts, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Newly declassified portions of a document of the Defense Intelligence Agency from February 2002 showed that the administration was alerted that an Al Qaeda member in American custody probably was lying about links between the terrorist organization and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

– Associated Press