Cops Seize $28 Million Worth Of Blow; Still Can’t Buy Jay-Z
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police said they found 600 pounds of cocaine and are calling it the largest drug bust in the city’s history. Officers found it at a home along the 2600 block of Federal Street in South Philadelphia Wednesday morning. If it were sold on the street it would be worth about $28 million. “Getting this amount of drugs off of the streets whether it’s the poundage or the kilo count or the street value all of this active is what leads unfortunately to the daily death and destruction on our streets,” Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said. Police also confiscated thousands of dollars in cash. Ricardo McKendrick and his son Ricardo Jr. were arrested in connection with the historic bust, police said.[via NBC10]
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Matthews Vows To Avoid Substantive Discourse In Pursuit of ‘Gotcha’ Headlines
“I want to make news. We create news by asking the right news questions,” Chris Matthews said. Olivia Miller, a junior, may get to ask one of those newsworthy questions. She’ll be one of the students on stage with Matthews [pictured, left] and Obama.”I’m very excited. I waited two hours in the rain for a ticket, so I’m very excited about it,” Miller said.” For little West Chester to have someone so big as Chris Matthews with ‘Hardball’ and Barack Obama, it’s a great experience,” Andrew Taylor, a student, said. Matthews said the Obama campaign handpicked West Chester University. “They picked it, and they were really tough in saying, no we want West Chester,” Matthews said. “I think politically they had to reach into the middle middle. Not rich, not poor, middle middle people.” Obama seems to have plenty of supporters on campus. While Matthews is preparing to make front page news, some students have more modest goals.”I have my camera with me,” Taylor said. The next stop for the “Hardball” college tour will be at Villanova University on April 15, when Matthews will interview Sen. John McCain. NBC 10 was the only local station to sit down with the Illinois senator Wednesday for a one-on-one. Click here to watch the entire interview. [via NBC10]
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Scientists Pinpoint ‘Lung Cancer Gene’; May Explain Keith Richards
Scientists have identified for the first time genetic variations that increase the risk of lung cancer in people who smoke. The finding shows that some people have an inherited susceptibility to the cancer, which makes them more vulnerable to the damaging effects of tobacco. The genetic variations are widespread, affecting up to half the population, and increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers by up to 80 per cent. But scientists stressed yesterday that the discovery did not amount to a “licence to smoke” for people free of the genetic variants. The risk of lung cancer remains high in all smokers, regardless of their genetic make-up. The finding could allow stop-smoking services to be targeted at those at highest risk, who have a one-in-four chance of developing lung cancer. Those without the gene variants who smoke have about a one-in-seven chance. Three separate research groups – in Britain, France and Iceland – which used newly developed methods to scan the human genome independently reached the same conclusion, strengthening confidence in their results. The findings are published in Nature and Nature Genetics. [via THE INDEPENDENT]