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Up in Smoke - Firing a shot that could be heard all the way back to Tobacco Road, a San Francisco jury Wednesday awarded a terminally ill cancer patient US$50 million in punitive damages against the nation's largest cigarette maker. The jury, which awarded Patricia Henley $1.5 million in compensatory damages a day earlier, stuck a knife into the guts of Philip Morris Cos. Inc. and twisted it, concluding that the company had deliberately concealed the dangers of tobacco from smokers. It also decided that Philip Morris was guilty of fraud and negligence. It's the largest award of its kind. Henley, 52, who is dying of lung cancer, said she will contribute all the money to anti-smoking programs. "I wouldn't touch a nickel of this blood money," she told the San Francisco Chronicle. [Wired News]
Vatican Rag - While the Senate continues wrestling with his fate, President Clinton will be in St. Louis Tuesday to greet Pope John Paul II, who is fresh from a visit to Mexico where he nudged his straying flock back into the Catholic herd. Clinton won't be going to confession, but the president can still expect to get an earful. The Vatican is unhappy with the Clinton administration for several reasons: the air strikes in Iraq, the continuing embargo against Cuba, and what is perceived as a tepid interest in helping to relieve poverty around the world. The pontiff may also raise the issues of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment -- three other areas where, in his view, the American record is spotty. [Wired News]
Viagra for Women - On the theory that what's good for the goose is good for the gander, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that a drug company in Mountain View, California has patented a rub-on cream that is designed to combat sexual dysfunction in women. With the commercial rights in hand, Vivus Inc. will now ask the US Food and Drug Administration for permission to begin testing the drug, alprostadil, on the female genitalia. The drug is applied topically and enhances orgasm by dilating the blood vessels that feed the clitoris. Vivus also markets a male version of the cream, Muse, which was all but obliterated by the success of Viagra last year. [Wired News]
WWF Wrestler Killed - The World Wrestling Federation trades on absurd, if athletic, physical stunts to attract its crowds, but there are real risks involved. A wrestler was killed Sunday when he fell 50 feet into the ring while being lowered during a stunt at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Owen Hart, 33, known to WWF fans as "Blue Blazer," died after hitting his head against a turnbuckle used to secure the ropes around the ring. Hart, who had performed the stunt before, was worked on by paramedics in the ring before being taken to a local hospital. The show resumed after a 15-minute delay. [Wired News]
War Criminal - If Slobodan Milosevic does manage to emerge unscathed from the current NATO onslaught, the Yugoslavian president still must face the wrath of the International War Crimes Tribunal. CNN reported Wednesday that the tribunal is preparing to indict Milosevic as a war criminal for Serbian atrocities committed against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. It would be the first war-crimes indictment ever handed down against a sitting head of state. Whether Milosevic or the handful of other Serbian leaders expected to be indicted with him actually face trial remains to be seen. The tribunal's rules stipulate that anyone indicted for war crimes must surrender to the tribunal or be handed over by the competent authorities. Milosevic is unlikely to turn himself in, and the Yugoslavian government has already accused the tribunal of an anti-Serb bias. [Wired News]
We Will Bury You - Lenin's mausoleum in Red Square, along with Karl Marx's grave at London's Highgate Cemetery, are probably the two holiest shrines in the communist world (or what's left of it). So if you're Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and you really want to tick off the Bolshies in the Duma who are gunning for your hide, what better way to do it than to announce your intention to remove Vladimir Ilyich from his glass coffin and bury him somewhere? That's the hot rumor in Moscow these days, so Russians -- Communist and non-Communist alike -- are turning up in large numbers for a last look at The Big Goatee. [Wired News]
Weighty Problem - The baby boomers are getting older, and a lot of them are getting fatter, too. Aside from aesthetic concerns, as the waistline expands, so do the odds of contracting heart disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure, and diabetes, among other ailments. According to the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, boomers carrying 25 pounds more than they did in high school are at risk for any of these diseases. The panel urges overweight boomers to get regular check-ups to head off trouble before it starts. Besides, a beer belly protruding from under a tie-dyed T-shirt is not a beautiful thing. [Wired News]
Whaling Scuttled - Less than two weeks after saying that it would resume the commercial hunting of beluga whales, Russia has abruptly reversed itself in the name of living up to its environmental commitments. The decision to stop hunting the beluga delighted environmentalists, who feared that a dangerous precedent was being set by the hunting of smaller whales and dolphins. But even with Russia dropping whaling, perils remain. Japan continues to defy the recognized whaling ban, ostensibly in the name of scientific research, while several other nations, notably Norway, have declared that they would like to resume hunting. [Wired News]
What Midlife Crisis? - A new study reports that Americans are not only enjoying middle age, but many consider it to be the best time of their lives. This flies in the face of many assumptions made about those who are not young, but not old either: that their health is beginning to fail, that their lives are stressful, and that they're suffering the so-called "midlife crisis" and getting ready to bail out as soon as possible. The exhaustive study, which took 10 years to complete, found, in fact, that nine out of 10 midlifers scoff at the notion of any crisis. Two areas where they do feel a little shortchanged: sex and money. But then, who doesn't? [Wired News]
Where's LA? - The top 10 connected cities in the United States, from a survey by Yahoo Internet Life: 1. San Francisco 2. Austin, Texas 3. Seattle 4. Washington, D.C. 5. Boston 6. San Jose, Calif. 7. San Diego 8. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. 9. Atlanta 10. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas [Wired News]
Wine's Benefits - Medical science has accepted that moderate wine consumption is good for the heart, and now there's more good news about vino: Italian researchers writing in the British journal New Scientist say a glass and a half a day could help stave off neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Apparently the natural chemical reservatrol, produced by vines and concentrated in both grapes and wine, stimulates an enzyme called mapkinase, which regenerates nerve cells. [Wired News]
Wise Guy - Gregory Smith is about the smartest 10-year-old you're ever going to meet. Just ask his physics professor at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, where he began classes this semester. Young Gregory began memorizing books when he was only 14 months old. He was adding numbers four months later, and completed an algebra class in only 10 weeks -- when he was 7. He completed a full high school course in a mere 22 months, even finding time to go to the prom (with his mom). Now he's the youngest of collegiate freshmen, fulfilling his six-year dream of reaching the ivy-covered halls. Gregory enters college already something of a celebrity: He's made appearances on the Late Show With David Letterman, 60 Minutes, the Today show, and NBC Nightly News. Yeah, OK. But what's his GPA? [Wired News]
Words of Mouth - Something to chew on over the weekend: A new survey finds that President Clinton is not alone. Most college students don't believe that engaging in oral sex means they've "done it." In a survey of college kids by the Kinsey Institute, 60 percent did not equate oral-genital contact with having had sex. Maybe America's public education system is worse off than we thought. [Wired News]
Worldwide Slowdown - The global economic growth rate fell by half in 1998, and it will drop further in 1999 -- to 1.3 percent -- a London-based forecasting outfit said Monday. The Economist Intelligence Unit said Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union will perform worst, but Latin American growth was expected to fall by more than a third and North American growth would more than halve to 1.6 percent. The remaining growth hot spots: China, India, and Ireland. [Wired News]
Worm Turns Again - A lot of people thought the Los Angeles Lakers were crazy for signing perennial NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman seven weeks ago. On Thursday, the Lakers finally agreed. They waived Rodman, along with his rainbow-colored hair, his rhinestone bustiers, his lousy attitude, and his penchant for missing practice. Rodman, typically, portrayed himself as the victim and accused the team of cowardice. "They have to have a fall guy and I'm basically the fall guy," he told Fox Sports. Will Rodman surface with another patsy? Well, he always was a pretty good rebounder. [Wired News]
Y2K Buggy - If anybody ought to know a little about 2001, it's science fiction novelist Arthur C. Clarke who, after all, wrote the book. And Clarke says the new millennium begins 1 January, 2001. Period. "Because the Western calendar starts with Year 1 and not Year 0, the 21st century and Third Millennium do not begin until January 1, 2001," he said in a statement issued to the press on Thursday. So just go ahead and guzzle the cheap stuff again this year. [Wired News]
Yanks' Torre Has Cancer - It's been a bad week for the New York Yankees. Joe DiMaggio's death on Monday was followed by the news Wednesday that Yankees manager Joe Torre has prostate cancer. Torre left the team's spring-training camp after telling catcher Joe Girardi, who passed on the news to teammates. There was no report on the extent of the cancer. Torre, who managed the Yanks to two championships in the past three seasons, said he expects to back on the job soon. [Wired News]
Yeltsin Prevails - Boris Yeltsin had a great weekend. Lawmakers failed to impeach the Russian president on Saturday. On Sunday, some of his toughest critics in the Duma said they like his nominee for prime minister. Sergei Stepashin would replace Yevgeny Primakov, whom Yeltsin sent packing on the eve of the impeachment hearings. A close Yeltsin ally, Stepashin advocates tough fiscal reform, including conditions mandated by the International Monetary Fund. The Duma votes on Stepashin's appointment on Wednesday. [Wired News]
You Love, You Lose - An Air Force captain who disobeyed orders to break off his love affair with an enlisted woman has been dismissed from the service and sentenced to prison. A military jury recommended Captain Joseph Belli serve a year behind bars, but he could get up to 22 years. Belli himself said he intended to break things off when he got the order, "but you just can't stop loving somebody." The couple married in March. [Wired News]
You've Been Warned - Sport utility vehicles are handy, if you're hauling the kids to school or bringing a ton of groceries home from the market. But they waddle down the road like fattened geese and don't corner worth a damn. In fact, they're deathtraps if you happen to roll 'em, which happens too frequently for the taste of US government regulators. That's why from now on, all SUVs sold in the United States (with the exception of the Ford Excursion, which is basically a tank anyway) will be marked with large, yellow "roll warning" stickers. Buyers will be warned not to take curves at high speed in one of those pigs. [Wired News]
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