ATTACK A TASTE OF THE CLONES: FDA Approves Franken-Meat For Humans
WASHINGTON – Meat and milk from cloned animals is as safe as that from their counterparts bred the old-fashioned way, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday, but sales still won’t begin right away. “Meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones are as safe as food we eat every day,” said Dr. Stephen Sundloff, FDA’s food safety chief. Regardless, it still will be years before many foods from cloned animals reach store shelves, for economic reasons: At $10,000 to $20,000 per animal, they’re a lot more expensive than ordinary cows, meaning producers likely will use clones’ offspring for meat, not the clone itself. And several large companies , including dairy giant Dean Foods Co. and Hormel Foods Corp. , have said they have no plans to sell milk or meat from cloned animals because of consumer anxiety about the technology. But FDA won’t require food makers to label if their products came from cloned animals, although companies could do so voluntarily if they knew the source. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]
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THIN-NESS IS THE BEST REVENGE: Jobs Unveils Anorexic Laptop-on-Steroids
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the wraps off a super-slim new laptop Tuesday, unveiling a tiny personal computer that is less than an inch thick and turns on the moment it’s opened. At the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Jobs also confirmed the tech giant’s foray into online movie rentals, revealing an alliance with all six major movie studios to offer films over high-speed Internet connections soon after they’re released on DVD. Always a showman, Jobs unwound the string on a standard-sized manila office envelope and slid out the ultra-thin MacBook Air notebook computer to coos and peals of laughter from disbelieving fans at the conference. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]
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ZEDD’S DEAD: Pulp Fiction Writer Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter
Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and driving under the influence after a Ventura County car crash that killed a man and injured Avary’s wife, authorities said. Avary, 42, was the driver in the single-car collision shortly after midnight Sunday in Ojai, said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Killed in the accident was Andreas Zini, 34, a resident of Italy who was apparently visiting the couple. Firefighters cut Zini from the car with Jaws of Life, and he died several hours later at Ventura County Medical Center. Avary’s wife Gretchen, 40, was ejected from the car and found in the road by deputies, Bonfiglio said. She was hospitalized in stable condition. Avary was booked but later released on $50,000 bail, Bonfiglio said. He did not know whether Avary has hired an attorney. Avary won an Academy Award along with Quentin Tarantino for writing “Pulp Fiction,” and was also a co-writer of the recent epic “Beowulf.” [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]
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Bush Threatens To Veto Mine Safety Bill, Turns Out You Can Be Too Safe
WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto a mine safety bill, saying the new regulations proposed by Democrats would interfere with legislation President Bush signed in 2006. House Democrats on Wednesday planned to pass the Supplementary Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, also called S-MINER, which they say is a needed follow-up to the sweeping safety changes in the 2006 MINER Act. That bill was passed after the 2006 Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia that killed 12 people. Democrats now want to pass a bill that would add safeguards to “retreat” mining, the type of mining that was being done at central Utah’s Crandall Canyon, where nine people died in August 2007. They say the bill would improve emergency response to mine sites and reduce long-term health risks facing miners. The bill also would give the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration subpoena authority, increase penalties for safety violations, and create an ombudsman’s office to handle miners’ safety complaints. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]