WASHINGTON — More than 200 years after the first Marines fought in the Revolutionary War, the Marine Corps would finally get its name on the door under legislation the House has approved.

The House by voice vote Tuesday agreed to rename the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

The measure’s sponsor, North Carolina Republican Walter Jones, said his effort is merely recognizing the Marine Corps as part of the fighting team that includes the Navy.

While almost every member of the House co-sponsored the legislation, it’s no sure bet to pass Congress. The House has approved similar legislation for eight years running, only to be thwarted by the Senate. This year a companion Senate bill waits to be considered.

FDA found ingredient bacteria in recalled cold medicines

Ingredients used by Johnson &Johnson in some of the 40 varieties of children’s cold medicines recalled last week were contaminated with bacteria, according to a report by the Food and Drug Administration. Agency officials said Tuesday none of the company’s finished products tested positive for the contaminants, though such testing is not definitive. “We think the risk to consumers at this point is remote,” said Deborah Autor, director of FDA’s drug compliance office, on a call with reporters. The recalled products include children and infant formulations of Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl.

Congress criminal laws are vague, report says

A conservative think tank and criminal defense lawyers are forming an unusual alliance to try to get Congress to quit writing criminal laws so loosely that they subject innocent people to unjust prosecution and prison. A new study by the Heritage Foundation and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers finds that nearly two dozen federal laws enacted in 2005 and 2006 to combat nonviolent crime lack an adequate provision that someone accused of violating the laws must have had a “guilty mind,” or criminal intent. Even when Congress includes a “guilty mind” provision in a law, “it is often so weak that it does not protect defendants from punishment for making honest mistakes,” or committing minor transgressions, the report said.

California: Woman in Target stabbing lost custody of child

A brother of the woman who allegedly stabbed four people in a Target store said she started to deteriorate emotionally after she lost custody of her child. Tim Helton, a half brother of Layla Trawick, who authorities say carried out the attack, said Tuesday that she had gotten a divorce about five years ago and lost custody of her son soon after. Investigators are reviewing videotape of Monday’s attack in the West Hollywood store. Trawick was arrested by an off-duty deputy.

Utah: Fire shuts coal mine

A smoldering fire deep inside a coal mine in the Books Cliffs range raised levels of deadly carbon monoxide underground and has brought mining to a halt, but no one was injured, the mine’s operator said Tuesday. St. Louis-based Arch Coal Co. said it planned to extinguish the fire by removing water pumps from a section of the Dugout Mine and letting ground water seepage flood the area. That could take several weeks. The company said it had shut down the mine Thursday.

Illinois: Stomach cancer up in young white adults

Scientists are puzzling over a surprising increase in stomach cancer in young white adults, while rates in all other American adults have declined. Chances for developing stomach cancer are still very low in young adults but the incidence among 25- to 39-year-old whites nonetheless climbed by almost 70 percent in the past three decades, a study by the National Cancer Institute found. Cancer in the lower stomach can be caused by chronic infection with a common bacteria called H. pylori. It also causes stomach ulcers.

Japan: At least part of U.S. base on Okinawa will stay

Japan’s prime minister said for the first time Tuesday that at least part of a key U.S. military base will remain on the southern island of Okinawa, a move that could reduce tension with Washington. Yukio Hatoyama conceded it would be difficult if not impossible to move Futenma Marine Corps airfield facilities off the island, which hosts more than half the 47,000 American troops stationed in Japan under a security pact.

From Herald news services