Morning Buzz: July 30, 2007

With his pal Tony Blair out of office, President Bush has to start from scratch with new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Brown is visiting Bush at Camp David this morning, where the two will chat about Iraq, Darfur, and global trade. While the duo will surely be chummy in public, U.S. News reported that in private, Brown “might step on some toes and wouldn't hesitate to disagree with Bush on some issues, including Iraq, Iran, and global warming.” 

The controversial diabetes drug Avandia should be pulled off the market, a federal scientist said today.  The drug, which is supposed to control blood sugar by making the body more responsive to insulin, has been shown to increase the risk of heart attacks in patients. The drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC disputes this claim. U.S. News reported in June that the Food and Drug Administration took heat from Congress for not more closely monitoring Avandia and other medications.

On your mark, get set . . . text! Text messaging on your cellphone hasn’t been around for too long, but it has already become a competitive sport. Participants at the North Dakota State Fair, armed with their phones, entered a competition sponsored by a cellphone company and were given phrases to tap out. Whoever texted the fastest and most accurately won. Thirty-year-old Kevin Taylor finished second after forgetting an exclamation point at the end of the phrase “I hope I win the grand prize of $1,000 so I can buy a new phone. Whoo!" The grand prize of $1,000 went to Beth Brevik, 32, of Minot. Thirty-eight competitors tested their text-tapping skills; the two 30-somethings beat out a handful of cellphone-savvy teenagers.