Nation briefs 10/20/05

Drug proves effective against breast cancer

A drug that targets only diseased cells has proved astonishingly effective against an aggressive form of early breast cancer -- a long-sought breakthrough that has doctors talking about curing thousands of women each year in the United States alone. The drug, Herceptin, is already used for advanced cancer. But in three studies involving thousands of women with early-stage disease, it cut the risk of a relapse in half. Several experts used words like "revolutionary," "stunning" and "jaw-dropping" to describe the findings.

Archbishop predicts food catastrophe in Zimbabwe

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- A Zimbabwean archbishop said Wednesday he feared 200,000 of his countrymen could die by early next year because of food shortages he blamed on his government, and called for President Robert Mugabe's ouster. Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube, a frequent critic of Mugabe, spoke at a news conference called to show a new film on "Operation Murambatsvina," a widely condemned government campaign that critics charge has left tens of thousands of Zimbabweans trapped in a spiral of poverty, hunger and displacement. "I think Mugabe should just be banished, like what happened to Charles Taylor. He should just be banished from Zimbabwe," said Ncube, referring to the former Liberian president forced into exile in Nigeria. The archbishop said food security in Zimbabwe was so precarious that unless there is a dramatic change, malnutrition could contribute to the premature deaths of 200,000 people by February.

Senate defeats proposal to raise minimum wage

WASHINGTON -- Senate proposals to raise the minimum wage were rejected Wednesday, making it unlikely that the lowest allowable wage, $5.15 an hour since 1997, will rise in the foreseeable future. A labor-backed measure by Sen. Edward Kennedy would have raised the minimum to $6.25 over an 18-month period. A Republican counterproposal would have combined the same $1.10 increase with various breaks and exemptions for small businesses. The Kennedy amendment to a spending bill went down 51-47, and the GOP alternative 57-42. Under a Senate agreement, they would have needed 60 votes for approval.

Alaska refuge drilling included in budget

WASHINGTON -- A Senate committee voted Wednesday to include drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge in a massive budget proposal, assuring that drilling opponents won't be able to use the filibuster to thwart oil development there. The Senate Energy Committee proposal, approved 13-9, calls for the Interior Department to put up for bid by Oct. 1, 2010 two oil leases in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. By making the issue part of a complex budget reconciliation process, supporters will be able to keep opponents from resorting to a filibuster to block the measure.

-- From wire reports

Lawsuit claims Navy sonar beaches whales, dolphins

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Environmentalists sued the Navy on Wednesday, claiming that a widely used form of sonar for detecting enemy submarines disturbs and sometimes kills whales and dolphins. The sonar "is capable of flooding thousands of square miles of ocean with dangerous levels of noise pollution," according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles. The Navy settled a similar lawsuit two years ago by agreeing to limit the peacetime use of experimental low-frequency sonar. The new lawsuit, by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other plaintiffs, seeks a court order to curb mid-frequency sonar, the most common method of detecting enemy submarines. NRDC attorney Joel Reynolds said the group recognizes the Navy's need to detect enemies, and he noted that the lawsuit seeks limits on sonar during training exercises, not in war.