The Week
Small comfort. But take heart: Gerberding says the government is ready to test a bird flu vaccine and will stockpile it and antiviral drugs as concern mounts.
Defense: Just drop in
The State and Defense departments are battling over a proposed policy change that would permit special operations forces to enter countries abroad without the nod of U.S. ambassadors there. The Pentagon plan, first reported by the Washington Post, would reverse a long-standing policy that gives U.S. envoys the power to decide which government workers to allow into foreign nations. The controversial proposal is part of post-9/11 planning designed to give special ops more leeway to secretly swoop into places to hunt for terrorists. The State Department opposes the plan, which it argues could dramatically undercut its authority with foreign hosts, not to mention do wonders for the United States' already tarnished reputation with allies over the war in Iraq.
So much for diplomacy.
World Trade Center: The unknown victims
The New York City medical examiner's office said it is halting efforts to identify 1,161 of the 2,749 victims of the World Trade Center attacks. "We've exhausted the limits of the technology as it exists today," said an official.
"But doctors have promised they will never officially say, 'case closed.'"
Science: Back to the garden
The vast Mesopotamian marshes of southern Iraq supported a lush ecosystem and unique culture for over 5,000 years. Then came Saddam Hussein; he drained 90 percent of the wetlands to punish the local Marsh Arabs. But there's still hope for the reputed site of the Garden of Eden, says an international team of scientists. They noted serious dips in native fish and bird species, but thanks to wet weather and unofficial dam-busting brigades, water levels have begun to rise.
With some near-pristine areas remaining and water quality higher than expected, says study leader Curtis Richardson of Duke University, "the potential for [the marshes] to be restored is much higher" than previously thought.
Royal Watch: Mummy dearest
Talk about a royal snub. Just when Britain's notoriously dysfunctional royal family was finally getting it together, Prince Charles's mum, Queen Elizabeth, had to go and spoil things, saying that she would not attend his April wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles after all. What's up with that? Take your pick: She's signaling tacit disapproval of the match. Or, maybe, as symbolic head of the Church of England, she's loath to approve the marriage of people who've been divorced, since the church frowns on such unions. Needless to say, London's tabloids were going wild over the latest royal flap. Mind you, while Queen Elizabeth was planning to skip the exchange of vows, she generously agreed to attend the wedding reception.
And you thought your mother-in-law was a fright.
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