The Week
Praying for the pope
Pope John Paul II was recovering after flu complications landed him back in the hospital last week, his second visit in a month. Physicians at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital said the pontiff, 84, was doing fine after undergoing a tracheotomy, surgery that involved inserting an outside tube into his trachea, or windpipe, to help him breathe easier. Again dashing speculation, John Paul II, the third-longest-serving pope in history, gave no indication that he planned to step down from what he has said he views as a mission given to him by God that only God can take away. Quite the contrary: Officials said the pope's spirit appeared strong after the 30-minute operation. Millions of followers around the world were praying for the papal patient, who is also suffering from Parkinson's disease; President Bush sent wishes from the road for a "speedy recovery." The pope was rushed to the hospital just two days after publishing a new book about the nature of good and evil that drew protests for some controversial statements. Among them: references to abortion as "legal extermination" comparable to the Holocaust and to gay marriage as part of "a new ideology of evil."
Business: Gas heartburn
Shocked at the high prices every time you stop to gas up these days? Get over it: Unfortunately, they're not going down anytime soon. The reason? Crude oil prices broke the $50 mark for the first time in nearly four months as cold weather descended on much of the United States. But don't expect to pay less when temperatures rise. Recent figures show China's economy defying predictions and continuing its rapid growth, gobbling oil as the standard of living improves for its 1.3 billion people. That translates into higher worldwide prices, says Alaron Research's Phil Flynn, who adds, "I'd like to blame OPEC and the evil gremlins out there, but the real truth is we're seeing explosive demand." The average price per gallon for regular last week reached $1.91, up 22 cents from a year ago and the highest late-February price ever recorded by the federal Energy Information Administration.
The agency anticipates the trend will continue into the summer driving season, so be prepared for a long ride.
Health: Bird Flu taking flight?
Public-health officials last week warned that the deadly bird flu now plaguing Asia could become a global threat. "We at [the World Health Organization] believe that the world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic," said Shigeru Omi, WHO's western Pacific regional leader, during a meeting of health experts in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City. The avian flu has killed at least 45 people in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam since last winter. Humans seem to catch the disease from infected poultry. But researchers fear the virus could morph into one transmitted from human to human. "It is a worrisome situation," said Julie Gerberding, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stressing that the United States "is not immediately on the brink of an avian flu epidemic."
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.
This story appears in the March 7, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.