New whooping cough strain in US raises questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have discovered the first U.S. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be resistant to the vaccine.

Health officials are looking into whether cases like the dozen found in Philadelphia might be one reason the nation just had its worst year for whooping cough in six decades. The new bug was previously reported in Japan, France and Finland.

"It's quite intriguing. It's the first time we've seen this here," said Dr. Tom Clark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. cases are detailed in a brief report from the CDC and other researchers in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that can strike people of any age but is most dangerous to children. It was once common, but cases in the U.S. dropped after a vaccine was introduced in the 1940s.

An increase in illnesses in recent years has been partially blamed on a version of the vaccine used since the 1990s, which doesn't last as long. Last year, the CDC received reports of 41,880 cases, according to a preliminary count. That included 18 deaths.

The new study suggests that the new whooping cough strain may be why more people have been getting sick. Experts don't think it's more deadly, but the shots may not work as well against it.

In a small, soon-to-be published study, French researchers found the vaccine seemed to lower the risk of severe disease from the new strain in infants. But it didn't prevent illness completely, said Nicole Guiso of the Pasteur Institute, one of the researchers.

The new germ was first identified in France, where more extensive testing is routinely done for whooping cough. The strain now accounts for 14 percent of cases there, Guiso said.

In the United States, doctors usually rely on a rapid test to help make a diagnosis. The extra lab work isn't done often enough to give health officials a good idea how common the new type is here, experts said.

"We definitely need some more information about this before we can draw any conclusions," the CDC's Clark said.

The U.S. cases were found in the past two years in patients at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. One of the study's researchers works for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which makes a version of the old whooping cough vaccine that is sold in other countries.

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JournaL: http://www.nejm.org

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Armstrong May Testify Under Oath on Doping

Facing a federal criminal investigation and a deadline that originally was tonight to tell all under oath to anti-doping authorities or lose his last chance at reducing his lifetime sporting ban, Lance Armstrong now may cooperate.

His apparent 11th-hour about-face, according to the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), suggests he might testify under oath and give full details to USADA of how he cheated for so long.

"We have been in communication with Mr. Armstrong and his representatives and we understand that he does want to be part of the solution and assist in the effort to clean up the sport of cycling," USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart said in a written statement this evening. "We have agreed to his request for an additional two weeks to work on details to hopefully allow for this to happen."

Neither Armstrong nor his attorney responded to emails seeking comment on the USADA announcement.

The news of Armstrong's possible and unexpected cooperation came a day after ABC News reported he was in the crosshairs of federal criminal investigators. According to a high-level source, "agents are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, witness tampering and intimidation" for allegedly threatening people who dared tell the truth about his cheating.

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The case was re-ignited by Armstrong's confession last month to Oprah Winfrey that he doped his way to all seven of his Tour de France titles, telling Winfrey he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career and then lied about it. He made the confession after years of vehement denials that he cheated.

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If charges are ultimately filed, the consequences of "serious potential crimes" could be severe, ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said -- including "possible sentences up to five, 10 years."

Investigators are not concerned with the drug use, but Armstrong's behavior in trying to maintain his secret by allegedly threatening and interfering with potential witnesses.

Armstrong was previously under a separate federal investigation that reportedly looked at drug distribution, conspiracy and fraud allegations -- but that case was dropped without explanation a year ago. Sources at the time said that agents had recommended an indictment and could not understand why the case was suddenly dropped.

"There were plenty of people, even within federal law enforcement, who felt like he was getting preferential treatment," said T.J. Quinn, an investigative reporter with ESPN.

The pressures against Armstrong today are immense and include civil claims that could cost him tens of millions of dollars.

Armstrong is currently serving a lifetime ban in sport handed down by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and today was the deadline he was given to cooperate under oath if he ever wanted the ban lifted.

READ MORE: 10 Scandalous Public Confessions

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ABC News' Michael S. James contributed to this report.

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Tsunami kills at least five in Solomons after big Pacific quake

(Reuters) - A powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake set off a tsunami that killed at least five people in a remote part of the Solomon Islands on Wednesday and triggered evacuations across the South Pacific as island nations issued tsunami alerts.

The quake struck 340 km (211 miles) east of Kira Kira in the Solomons, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said as it issued warnings for the Solomons and other South Pacific nations including Australia and New Zealand. It later canceled the warnings for the outlying regions.

A tsunami measuring 0.9 metres (three feet) hit near the town of Lata on the remote Santa Cruz island, swamping some villages and the town's main airport as people fled to safety on higher ground.

More than three dozen aftershocks up to magnitude 6.6 rocked the region in the hours after the quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Lata hospital's director of nursing, Augustine Pilve, told New Zealand television that five people had been killed, including a boy about 10 years old, adding that more casualties were possible as officials made their way to at least three villages that may have been hit.

"It's more likely that other villages along the coast of Santa Cruz may be affected," he said.

Disaster officials in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara told the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. that they believed six people were dead and that five villages had suffered damage.

Solomon Islands Police Commissioner John Lansley said it was too early to fully assess the damage or casualty numbers, and said authorities hoped to send aircraft to the region on Thursday to help determine the extent of the damage.

Luke Taula, a fisheries officer in Lata, said he watched the tsunami as it came in small tidal surges rather than as one large wave.

"We have small waves come in, then go out again, then come back in. The waves have reached the airport terminal," he told Reuters by telephone.

The worst damage was to villages on the western side of a point that protects the main township, he said.

"There are reports that some communities have been badly hit, their houses have been damaged by the waves."

About 5,000 people lived in and around the town, but the area was deserted as people fled to higher ground, Taula said.

HOT SPOT

The Solomons, perched on the geologically active "Pacific Ring of Fire", were hit by a devastating tsunami following an 8.1 magnitude quake in 2007. At least 50 people were killed then and dozens left missing and more than 13 villages destroyed.

"It's an area that is very prone to earthquakes," said Jonathan Bathgate, seismologist at Geoscience Australia. "We've had seven 6-plus magnitude earthquakes in this region since January 31, so it has been very active in the past week."

Initial signs were that the tremor was a thrust quake, in which vertical movement in the continental plates generates higher risk of tsunami, Bathgate added.

Authorities in the Solomons, Fiji, Guam and elsewhere had urged residents to higher ground before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled its alerts.

"The earthquake would have to be quite a bit bigger to make a much more sizeable tsunami," said Brian Shiro, geophysicist for the center in Hawaii.

(Reporting by James Grubel in CANBERRA,; Additional reporting by Michael Perry and Lincoln Feast in SYDNEY and Alex Dobuzinskis in LOS ANGELES)

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Cities can be great, given good planning & infrastructure: Khaw

SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan says a major shift in planning and development strategy to invest ahead of demand will ensure Singapore remains a liveable city for future generations.

He was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday as debate continues on the Population White Paper and Land Use Plan.

Mr Khaw gave the assurance that there will be enough affordable homes for Singaporeans and an even better quality living environment.

He also responded to the opposition Workers' Party proposal to freeze the foreign worker population immediately and for eight years.

Mr Khaw said that will affect plans to build the 200,000 homes over the next four years.

He added the Workers' Party's hope that Singaporeans will jump in to augment the pool of construction workers is also not realistic.

In the long term, the government plans to build another 500,000 homes.

Mr Khaw reiterated that he will continue de-linking the prices of new HDB flats from the resale market to keep prices stable.

On concerns about the quality of life and living space, with a projected increase in population, Mr Khaw painted a picture of what the future living environment in the country could look like.

He cited the example of Punggol South, where green, open spaces and recreational facilities are integrated into the estate.

Mr Khaw said Singapore's future will not be a concrete-jungle, but Punggol "multiplied many times" and even better.

For example, improved estate layout, common spaces, with air flow, landscaping and connectivity between spaces.

Mr Khaw added the 6.9 million projected population is a stretched scenario, and it is hoped that Singapore will never reach this level.

But the minister stressed that it is safer to prepare enough land and infrastructure for a larger number.

He said: "That is why we plan long term, anticipate problems and try to nip them in the bud. That is why we put out these two reports, because we know if our demographic challenges are not dealt with properly, our children will suffer.
"We cannot simply pretend these challenges do not exist. We cannot simply pass them to future generations to deal with. That will be irresponsible, and that is not our style."

In the long term, new technology such as going underground is also being explored.

Mr Khaw said he is chairing an inter-ministerial committee to study and coordinate underground developments to ensure authorities can seize opportunities and create the most optimal outcome for Singaporeans.

Mr Khaw said: "This government is and will always be on the side of Singaporeans. The scenarios sketched in the Population White Paper are not blindly pro-business or pro-growth.

"It is you - Singaporeans - who are at the centre of our planning and policies: your well-being, your security, the quality of your lives. People first, not growth first - that is the key thread which runs consistently through the Population White Paper and the Land Use Plan. Please read them closely and see for yourself."

- CNA/ir

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Shanti Asiatic, Udgam students take top honours at Spell Bee contest

AHMEDABAD: The city hosted season five of the city finals of Radio Mirchi and HDFC Life's 'Spell Bee - India Spells 2013'.

In what can be termed as India's biggest and only spelling contest, standard VIII student Kartikey Sharma of Shanti Asiatic School, Ahmedabad emerged as the winner along with the 1st runner-up, standard IX student Dia Majumder from Udgam School. They will now proceed to compete in the semi-finals of the competition. HDFC Life Spell Bee India Spells 2013 is the Indian counterpart of the highly acclaimed Scripps National Spelling Bee, USA.

The initial round of this spelling competition received an outstanding response.

Ahmedabad is one of the 35 cities in which such city-finals were held over the month. The top two spellers from each city will then compete with each other in the next round. Of these, the top 16 scorers across India will battle it out in the grand finals of HDFC Life Spell Bee to be held in Mumbai in February 2013.

As many as 434 spelling enthusiasts from across the city participated in the fifth edition, a remarkable surge in the number of participants. This reiterates the popularity of Spell Bee not only among the school students, but parents as well.

In the initial phase, an on-ground exercise was conducted across 20 schools in Ahmedabad where children were given spelling tests. Top 20 scorers from each school then competed in the city finals round. The culmination of Spell Bee 2013 will see a grueling competition between the top 16 scorers of India to win the title of India's Spelling Champion.

The winner will be felicitated with cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a trip to Washington DC along with a parent to witness the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee live.

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.

With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until there's a ruling on their lawsuit seeking to block it altogether. The measure would bar many eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed Friday.

City lawyers are fighting the lawsuit and oppose postponing the restriction, which the city Board of Health approved in September. They said Tuesday they expect to prevail.

"The obesity epidemic kills nearly 6,000 New Yorkers each year. We see no reason to delay the Board of Health's reasonable and legal actions to combat this major, growing problem," Mark Muschenheim, a city attorney, said in a statement.

Another city lawyer, Thomas Merrill, has said officials believe businesses have had enough time to get ready for the new rule. He has noted that the city doesn't plan to seek fines until June.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials see the first-of-its-kind limit as a coup for public health. The city's obesity rate is rising, and studies have linked sugary drinks to weight gain, they note.

"This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity," Bloomberg said when the measure passed.

Soda makers and other critics view the rule as an unwarranted intrusion into people's dietary choices and an unfair, uneven burden on business. The restriction won't apply at supermarkets and many convenience stores because the city doesn't regulate them.

While the dispute plays out in court, "the impacted businesses would like some more certainty on when and how they might need to adjust operations," American Beverage Industry spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said Tuesday.

Those adjustments are expected to cost the association's members about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses for bottles, Vice President Mike Redman said in court papers. Reconfiguring "16-ounce" cups that are actually made slightly bigger, to leave room at the top, is expected to take cup manufacturers three months to a year and cost them anywhere from more than $100,000 to several millions of dollars, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said in court documents.

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

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Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

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Lance Armstrong Under Criminal Investigation

Federal investigators are in the midst of an active criminal investigation of disgraced former Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, ABC News has learned.

The revelation comes in stark contrast to statements made by the U.S. Attorney for Southern California, Andre Birotte, who addressed his own criminal inquiry of Armstrong for the first time publicly on Tuesday. Birotte's office spent nearly two years investigating Armstrong for crimes reportedly including drug distribution, fraud and conspiracy -- only to suddenly drop the case on the Friday before the Super Bowl last year.

Sources at the time said that agents had recommended an indictment and could not understand why the case was suddenly dropped.

Today, a high level source told ABC News, "Birotte does not speak for the federal government as a whole."

According to the source, who agreed to speak on the condition that his name and position were not used because of the sensitivity of the matter, "Agents are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, witness tampering and intimidation."

An email to an attorney for Armstrong was not immediately returned.

READ MORE: Lance Armstrong May Have Lied to Winfrey: Investigators

AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski, File

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Earlier Tuesday, during a Department of Justice news conference on another matter, Birotte was confronted with the Armstrong question unexpectedly. The following is a transcript of that exchange:

Q: Mr. Birotte, given the confession of Lance Armstrong to all the things --

Birotte: (Off mic.)

Q: -- to all thethings that you, in the end, decided you couldn't bring a case about, can you give us your thoughts on that case now and whether you might take another look at it?

Birotte: We made a decision on that case, I believe, a little over a year ago. Obviously we've been well-aware of the statements that have been made by Mr. Armstrong and other media reports. That has not changed my view at this time. Obviously, we'll consider, we'll continue to look at the situation, but that hasn't changed our view as I stand here today.

The source said that Birotte is not in the loop on the current criminal inquiry, which is being run out of another office.

Armstrong confessed to lying and using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

READ MORE: Armstrong Admits to Doping

WATCH: Armstrong's Many Denials Caught on Tape

READ MORE: 10 Scandalous Public Confessions

Investigators are not concerned with the drug use, but Armstrong's behavior in trying to maintain his secret by allegedly threatening and interfering with potential witnesses.

Armstrong is currently serving a lifetime ban in sport handed down by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He has been given a Feb. 6 deadline to tell all under oath to investigators or lose his last chance at a possible break on the lifetime ban.

PHOTOS: Olympic Doping Scandals: Past and Present

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Mexico says gas leak caused deadly Pemex blast

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican government said on Monday that a gas leak caused a blast that killed at least 37 people at the offices of state oil monopoly Pemex in Mexico City, raising fresh questions about the firm's safety record.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo said no trace of explosives was found at the site of the explosion, the latest in a string of disasters to hit the lumbering oil giant.

New President Enrique Pena Nieto is seeking to overhaul Pemex as part of raft of economic reforms aimed at boosting growth in Latin America's No. 2 economy.

"We have been able to determine that the explosion was caused by an accumulation of gas in the basement of the building," Murillo told a news conference in Mexico City. He said the gas was believed to be methane.

Murillo said the gas may have leaked from containers in a storage facility connected to where the explosion took place by a tunnel. Or it could have leaked from an aging pipeline that passed through the building.

Another possibility is that it emanated from sewage in the ground under the building, he said.

Mexico City is built on a dried-out lake bed, and the stench of sewage often hangs over parts of the city downtown.

Murillo said contractors working on supports under the building needed electricity and used an extension cord, which could have caused a spark that ignited the gas.

Thursday afternoon's blast at a building at the Pemex headquarters complex in downtown Mexico City prompted speculation the incident could have been an act of sabotage.

That raised fears that drug war violence that has killed an estimated 70,000 people in the past six years could have entered a new, more sinister phase, and rattled investors.

REFORM OUTLOOK

The explosion next to Pemex's flagship tower block prompted renewed criticism of the oil giant's safety record.

For years a source of national pride, Pemex has proven stubbornly resistant to change. The company has become a touchstone for Mexico's capacity for economic reform since oil output began to fall behind the performance of other major producers.

A symbol of Mexican self-sufficiency since president Lazaro Cardenas expropriated U.S. and British oil companies in 1938 and nationalized the oil industry, Pemex has also become a byword for inefficiency and graft.

Pena Nieto, who took office in December, has made passing an energy reform to boost crude production a priority this year.

Geoffrey Pazzanese, who co-manages Federated Investors' $523 million Federated InterContinental Fund, said an accident would help the government push its energy reform.

"It's probably going to be positive for the reform, it underlines the need for Pemex to invest in its own capital spending," he said before Murillo spoke. "You have a big explosion in a building that's right in the middle of the city.

"Conspiracy theories aside, people are probably outraged about the situation and that tends to spur action," he added.

Mexico is the world's No. 7 oil producer and a top exporter to the United States. But output has slumped from a peak of 3.4 million barrels per day in 2004 to less than 2.6 million bpd now.

While the company had said it improved safety prior to the blast, fires, explosions and other safety breaches are regular occurrences.

Mexico loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year to theft of oil carried out by drug gangs, petty criminals and corrupt workers. The Mexican government relies on oil revenues to fund nearly a third of the federal budget.

The heavy tax burden has limited Pemex's ability to fund new projects and lift crude output. The government has warned that Mexico could become a net oil importer as early as 2018 if major new oil finds cannot be developed.

The company had pinned its long-term hopes of boosting production on the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where the government estimates there are significant oilfields.

The last conservative administration had helped Pemex by drawing more outside investment into mature oilfields via the auction of private contracts.

(With reporting by David Alire Garcia, Krista Hughes, Ana Isabel Martinez and Anahi Rama; Writing by Simon Gardner and Dave Graham; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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"Promoting marriage & parenthood" central to keeping S'porean core

SINGAPORE: Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu has spoken about what it means by keeping the Singaporean core at the heart of the country's population policies.

She made the comments on day two of the parliamentary debate on the White Paper on Population and Land Use Plan.

Ms Fu said promoting marriage and parenthood is central to maintaining a strong Singaporean core.

And allowing immigration does not mean the government takes its marriage and parenthood objectives less seriously.

But authorities are realistic about how birth rates can improve. Hence the need to supplement the population with a calibrated pace of immigrants.

On concerns over the loss of the Singaporean identity with more foreigners in the midst, Ms Fu said integration efforts are a critical complement to the immigration policy and important in strengthening the Singaporean core.

Ms Fu added that integration efforts are being stepped up.

"In our deliberations on what is the best way forward for Singapore, Singaporeans were at the heart of our considerations, and a strong Singaporean core was our objective. What does this mean?

"In my view, a strong Singaporean core is one where Singaporeans have a sense of well-being and belonging in a place where we can all call 'home'.

"Well-being comes both from the tangibles - having fulfilling jobs and a good quality living environment - as well as the intangibles - strong supportive families, values that connect us and a collective hope for a brighter future."

- CNA/ir

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DMK MLAs evicted from TN assembly

CHENNAI: Opposition DMK MLAs were evicted en masse from the Tamil Nadu assembly following a fiery exchange of words with the treasury benches and the MLAs staging a dharna before the speaker's chair.

The issue of provocation came from housing minister R Vaithilingam, who made some remarks over DMK's participation in the Congress-led UPA Cabinet which prompted angry reaction from the opposition MLAs who demanded that speaker P Dhanapal expunge those remarks.

With the speaker refusing to do so, DMK's legislature party leader MK Stalin warned him that if their demand was not met, the MLAs will be forced to stage a dharna.

Soon DMK members Thangam Thennarasu, N Ramakrishnan, J Anbazhagan and R Sakkarapani moved towards the speaker's chair where they sat down before him and started raising slogans.

Dhanapal subsequently ordered their eviction.

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