Nation briefs 12/23/04

Toned and trim better than fat and fit

Being fit but fat isn't good enough. Excess weight, all by itself, can take years off your life, even if you get plenty of exercise, a study found. "There has been some suggestion that if you are particularly active, you don't have to worry about your body weight, about your diet. That's very misleading," said the report's lead author, Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health. The study of 116,500 women was based on questionnaires used in the Nurses' Health Study, which has followed female nurses since 1976, and on death certificates and medical records.

Visions of good food dance in Stewart's head

NEW YORK -- Martha Stewart, in a Christmas message posted on her personal Web site, called Wednesday for sentencing reform and took a swipe at the "bad food" in prison. Stewart, who is roughly halfway through a five-month sentence for lying about a stock sale, urged fans to think about the women she has met in prison who are "devoid of care, devoid of love, devoid of family." She suggested Americans should push for reforms in federal sentencing guidelines for nonviolent first-time offenders and particularly for drug offenders, who she said would be better served by rehabilitation than prison.

Multiple explosions after tanker crash in Virginia

ARLINGTON, Va. -- A fuel tanker truck crashed near the Pentagon early Wednesday, sparking multiple explosions that sent flames nearly 50 feet in the air and shut down a major highway for several hours overnight. The driver died in the accident, authorities said. The truck apparently struck a guardrail as it drove onto an exit ramp of Interstate 395 about 3:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Virginia State Police. The intense heat charred the roadway and damaged an overpass.

FDA: Cholesterol drug ad is getting nowhere

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration is seeking to block an ad touting the safety of the cholesterol drug Crestor, calling the claims misleading. The agency asked the drug maker, AstraZeneca, to "immediately cease the dissemination" of the ad. AstraZeneca spokeswoman Emily Denney said the ad was intended only to run for a short time and the FDA has been advised that it is no longer being used.

No more uncomfortable patdowns for female fliers

WASHINGTON -- In response to numerous complaints from women, the government has ordered airport security personnel to avoid touching female passengers between their breasts when performing patdowns. Security screeners now will keep their hands to the "chest perimeter" of women unless detection equipment picks up the possibility that they are hiding explosives between their breasts. The new method takes into consideration passenger discomfort while remaining steadfast in mitigating risks, said Transportation Security Administration spokesman Mark Hatfield.