WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department says it may ban two synthetic additives from organic baby formula, overturning a Bush administration decision to allow them.
The USDA said Tuesday that the department incorrectly interpreted Food and Drug Administration guidelines that appeared to allow the additives, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids also known as DHA and ARA, respectively, to be added to formula.
A Wisconsin organic advocacy group had filed a complaint about the additives because they are extracted using a chemical that is banned in organic production. The USDA is not saying they are unsafe.
Many companies have added DHA and ARA to their infant formulas in recent years, saying they improve brain development and eyesight in babies.
Government will use court to shut down unsafe mines
The government will start going directly to federal court to shut down mines that make a habit of ignoring safety, the nation’s top mine safety official told lawmakers Tuesday. Joe Main, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said his agency has had the power to seek federal injunctions for years, but has never tried to use it. Main also called for a slew of other legal and regulatory reforms to beef up safety enforcement in the wake of this month’s deadly explosion at a mine in West Virginia.
House rejects pay raises
Lawmakers agreed Tuesday that giving themselves a pay raise in an election year with the unemployment rate hovering near 10 percent is a bad idea. The House voted 402-15 to deny its members an automatic cost-of-living raise in fiscal year 2011 beginning in October, depriving them of an estimated $1,600 increase and keeping their salaries at $174,000 a year. The Senate took the same action five days earlier. Lawmakers put a freeze on their salaries last year, resolving that padding their incomes during the depths of the recession would not sit well with voters back home.
Hawaii: Lawmakers to limit Obama document requests
Hawaii legislators passed a measure Tuesdayallowing a state agency to ignore repeated requests from a person or organization for President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Hawaii Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino has issued two statements since 2008 saying she had seen vital records proving Obama is a natural-born American citizen. Obama was born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and an American mother. But state officials say they still get between 10 and 20 e-mails each week seeking verification of Obama’s birth.
Maine: Flight diverted after man claims he had bombs
The former Air Force member who was detained Tuesday on a trans-Atlantic flight after allegedly claiming he had explosives in his luggage and a fake passport lives a “squeaky clean” life and has never been in trouble before, his father said. Officials said his passport was authentic, and there were no explosives found on board the plane. Richard Stansberry said government officials told him the man who was detained after the Paris-to-Atlanta flight was diverted to Maine is his son, 26-year-old Derek Stansberry of Riverview, Fla. There were 235 passengers and 13 crew aboard Delta Air Lines Flight 273. The flight landed safely just after 3:30 p.m. at Bangor International Airport.
France: Noriega back behind bars in money laundering case
Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, fresh out of a Miami prison where he spent two decades, was sent back behind bars in France on Tuesday to await a new legal battle, this time on charges he laundered cocaine profits by buying luxury apartments in Paris. If convicted in France, he could face another 10 years in prison, a daunting prospect for the 72-year-old. Noriega was deposed after a 1989 U.S. invasion and imprisoned in Florida for drug trafficking.
China: Travel ban against people with HIV lifted
China said Tuesday it has lifted a 20-year travel ban that barred people with HIV and AIDS from entering the country. The revised law comes just days ahead of the opening of the Shanghai Expo, which expects to see millions of visitors from overseas.
From Herald news services
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