Nation and world in brief

| New Mexican wire services

7/28/2008 -

McCain has patch of skin removed

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Republican Sen. John McCain said Monday that he had a small patch of skin removed from his face and biopsied as part of a regular checkup with his dermatologist.

"She said that I was doing fine," McCain, a three-time melanoma survivor, told reporters on a presidential campaign visit to an oil rig where he spoke briefly about his proposed energy plan.

The Arizona senator underwent the procedure in Phoenix during a checkup he undergoes every three months.

Police: Gunman described hatred

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church, killing two people, left behind a note suggesting he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday.

A four-page letter found in Jim D. Adkisson's small sport-utility vehicle indicated he intentionally targeted the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church because, the police chief said, "he hated the liberal movement" and was upset with "liberals in general as well as gays."

Adkisson, a 58-year-old truck driver on the verge of losing his food stamps, had 76 rounds with him when he entered the church and pulled a shotgun from a guitar case during a children's performance of the musical Annie.

Study shows rise in mental decline

CHICAGO — A milder type of mental decline that often precedes Alzheimer's disease is alarmingly more common than has been believed, and in men more than women, doctors reported Monday.

Nearly a million older Americans slide from normal memory into mild impairment each year, researchers estimate, based on a Mayo Clinic study of Minnesota residents.

"We're seeing that, in fact, there's a much larger burgeoning problem out there" of people at risk of developing dementia, said Dr. Ronald Petersen, the Mayo scientist who led the study.

Report details food biz advertising

WASHINGTON — The nation's largest food and beverage companies spent about $1.6 billion in 2006 marketing their products, especially carbonated drinks, to children, according to a Federal Trade Commission report obtained by the Associated Press.

About a third of that amount was dedicated to promoting those carbonated drinks.

The report, to be released today, stems from lawmakers' concern about growing obesity rates in children. It gives researchers new insight into how much companies are spending to attract youth to their products. To come up with its estimate, the FTC used confidential financial data that it required the companies to turn over.

Overall, the spending was less than some previous estimates had indicated. Still, it represents a large pot of money that is being used to entice children to foods that are often unhealthy choices, said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who had asked for the study.

Medication error deaths rise sharply

CHICAGO — Deaths from medication mistakes at home, like actor Heath Ledger's accidental overdose, rose dramatically during the past two decades, an analysis of U.S. death certificates finds.

The authors blame soaring home use of prescription painkillers and other potent drugs, which 25 years ago were given mainly inside hospitals.

"The amount of medical supervision is going down and the amount of responsibility put on the patient's shoulders is going up," said lead author David P. Phillips of the University of California, San Diego.

The findings, based on nearly 50 million U.S. death certificates, are published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine. Of those, more than 224,000 involved fatal medication errors, including overdoses and mixing prescription drugs with alcohol or street drugs.

Deaths from medication mistakes at home increased from 1,132 deaths in 1983 to 12,426 in 2004. Adjusted for population growth, that amounts to an increase of more than 700 percent during that time.

Homeland Security urges alert

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security is advising employees to be on increased alert beginning next month through next summer because of a series of upcoming high-profile events including the Olympics, both major parties’ nominating conventions, Election Day and the presidential transition.

A department spokesman said a draft internal document will soon be released citing a “period of heightened alert” between August and roughly July 2009, urging DHS agencies to review emergency response plans and intensify coordination and intelligence analysis.

The move is based on the nation’s increased vulnerability to a terrorist attack, not on any specific or credible new threat information, spokesman Russ Knocke said.

Homeland Security urges alert

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security is advising employees to be on increased alert beginning next month through next summer because of a series of upcoming high-profile events including the Olympics, both major parties' nominating conventions, Election Day and the presidential transition.

A department spokesman said a draft internal document will soon be released citing a "period of heightened alert" between August and roughly July 2009, urging DHS agencies to review emergency response plans and intensify coordination and intelligence analysis.

The move is based on the nation's increased vulnerability to a terrorist attack, not on any specific or credible new threat information, spokesman Russ Knocke said. The department is not raising the national color-coded threat warning level from yellow, or elevated, nor is it changing its security posture or operations, Knocke said.