Morning Buzz: July 16, 2007

As you look around the conference table at a meeting this morning, just think that 1 in 12 full-time workers in the United States has admitted to using illegal drugs in the past month, the government is reporting. Restaurant workers and construction workers rate among the highest, and social workers and teachers rank among the lowest. The new study is supposed to be a snapshot of drug use among American workers and not show whether this is a growing problem.

Twin suicide car bombings ripped through a market in northern Iraq on Monday, leaving 80 dead. The attacks occurred in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad. Iraqi officials have said that Sunni insurgents have been moving north to avoid the influx of U.S. troops in Baghdad as part of President Bush’s “surge.” These bombings come about a week after a suicide attack killed 160 people in a village around 50 miles south of Kirkuk. Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, cochairman of the Iraq Study Group, said in a recent nationally televised interview that the Iraqi government was in no way ready to take over and allow U.S. troops to leave anytime soon.

A team of U.N. inspectors has confirmed that Pyongyang has shut down its nuclear reactor. The North Korean government agreed in February to shut down a nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in exchange for oil and political concessions.  After a few snares with the United States in a separate dispute, the North Koreans seem to have adhered to the terms of the agreement.

Lady Bird Johnson was laid to rest Sunday at the family’s ranch in Texas Hill Country.
The widow of former President Lyndon B. Johnson died Wednesday at 94 of natural causes. U.S. News has compiled a list of significant milestones in the former first lady’s life.