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Science
10:01 pm
Tue January 31, 2012

New Silica Rules Languish In Regulatory Black Hole

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Credit U.S. Forest Service / Oregon State University Libraries
Controlling dust from activities like this was on the minds of those in the Department of Labor in the 1930s, as silicosis, a lung disease, was taking a toll on American workers. Above, a worker jackhammers into rock in Lassen National Forest in California in 1934, preparing to shoot explosives.
Credit Bloomberg via Getty Images
A worker sprays water onto a large circular saw as the machine cuts sandstone in Sydney, Australia, in 2005. Applying water can help reduce the amount of dust that makes it into the air.
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Any job that involves breaking up rock or concrete or brick can potentially expose workers to dangerous silica dust, and last year it looked like the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration was about to put stricter controls in place to limit this health hazard.

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Europe
10:01 pm
Tue January 31, 2012

Grumbling, Excitement Build For London Olympics

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Credit AP
The 1948 London Olympics were held when the city, recovering from World War II, was dotted with rubble from Nazi bombardment.
Credit AP
The Transport for London website prepares commuters for the London games.
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The last time the British did this, they had a king: George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth, was on the throne.

George was so often tongue-tied, yet he proclaimed open the 1948 London Olympics flawlessly.

It was late July. The sun shone down on London from a cloudless sky. The BBC had acquired the TV broadcasting rights for just $4,000 and made the most of them.

People packed Wembley Stadium, eager to forget the horrors of the second world war.

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Around the Nation
10:01 pm
Tue January 31, 2012

Monsanto Accused In Suit Tied To Agent Orange

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Credit Jeff Brady / NPR
The town of Nitro has its beginnings in 1917, when the U.S. government created it as a place to locate a munitions plant.
Credit Jeff Brady / NPR
The former Monsanto chemical plant site along the Kanawha River, where for more than 20 years, the plant produced a herbicide that is the principal component of Agent Orange.
Credit Jeff Brady / NPR
A gate into the former Monsanto chemical plant near Nitro, W.Va. A class-action lawsuit filed against Monsanto (and subsequent company Solutia) claims the company improperly polluted the town with dioxin.
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For about two decades, ending in 1971, a former Monsanto chemical plant in West Virginia produced the herbicide 2,4,5-T which was used in "Agent Orange" — the defoliant the military sprayed over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

Now, Monsanto faces a class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of people living where the herbicide was manufactured in Nitro, W.Va.

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Presidential Race
10:01 pm
Tue January 31, 2012

Romney Leads Gingrich In Money; Obama Bests Both

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Millions of dollars have been spent on television ads during this campaign cycle.
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Originally published on Wed February 1, 2012 8:10 pm

As the Republican candidates were rallying their supporters in Florida on Tuesday night, their campaigns were quietly sending disclosure reports to the Federal Election Commission in Washington. The big picture: Mitt Romney had more money than Newt Gingrich. President Obama had more than either of them. And a few of the new superPACs filed donor lists filled with high rollers.

Tuesday's disclosures run only through Dec. 31 but still reveal some essential truths.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:20 pm
Tue January 31, 2012

A Computer Beats A Pen For Getting Prescriptions Right

Credit iStockphoto.com
A study at two Australian hospitals finds computerized prescribing systems cut errors with drugs.
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By Ted Burnham

Drug errors inside hospitals remain a big problem.

By one estimate, 1 in 7 hospitalized patients suffers some form of error in care. Nearly a third of those mistakes are related to drugs. And those mix-ups can lead to longer hospital stays, unnecessary suffering, permanent damage or death.

One way to reduce mistakes is to have doctors enter the prescriptions on a computer instead of with pen and paper. After the switch, hospitals can see error rates drop by a whopping 60 percent.

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