Nation briefs 4/11/06

RU-486 ruled out in one of two recent deaths

WASHINGTON -- Health officials said Monday they have ruled out the abortion pill RU-486 in one of two recent deaths of women who had taken the drug. The second remains under investigation. The one death was unrelated to either abortion or use of the pill, the Food and Drug Administration said. The second woman showed symptoms of infection. One of the women died weeks after her abortion, although it was not immediately clear which of the two women. Four other women have died of a rare but deadly infection after undergoing pill-triggered abortions. The FDA has warned doctors to watch for infection by the bacterium. However, the drug, also called Mifeprex or mifepristone, has not been proved to be the cause in any of those cases, the FDA has said.

Contact lens solution eyed in fungus outbreak

WASHINGTON -- Bausch & Lomb voluntarily suspended shipment of a contact lens solution after federal health officials linked it Monday to a fungal eye infection that can cause temporary blindness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 109 reports of Fusarium keratitis infection in patients in 17 states since June 2005. Federal and state health officials have interviewed just 30 of those patients. However, of the 28 who wore soft contact lens, however, 26 reported using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu brand contact lens solution or a generic type of solution also made by the Rochester, N.Y., company.

Bush dismisses reports of strike on Iran

WASHINGTON -- President Bush dismissed as "wild speculation" reports that the administration was planning for a military strike against Iran. Bush did not rule out the use of force, but he said he would continue to use diplomatic pressure to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon or the know-how and technology to make one. Several weekend news reports said the administration was studying options for military strikes. The New Yorker magazine raised the possibility of using nuclear bombs against Iran's underground nuclear sites.

Five arrested in Canada in deaths of men

SHEDDEN, Ontario -- Police arrested five people on murder charges Monday for one of Canada's worst mass killings and said the deaths of eight men found on an isolated farm were part of "an internal cleansing" of a motorcycle gang. Police said they made the arrests at a modest, two-story farmhouse about six miles from where the eight men were found shot to death in four vehicles scattered in a wooded field in Shedden, Ontario, about 90 miles northeast of Detroit. Police said investigators do not believe a biker gang war was imminent, calling the murders "an isolated incident" with ties to the Bandidos motorcycle gang.

Italy heads toward split parliament

ROME -- Italy's parliament headed toward an unprecedented split today between Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative coalition and one led by his center-left rival -- the result of a national vote that could stall the formation of a new government. Final results in the two-day vote ending Monday showed Romano Prodi's center-left coalition winning control in the lower house of parliament, with 49.8 percent of the vote compared to 49.7 won by Berlusconi's conservatives. The winning coalition is automatically awarded 55 percent of the seats.

-- From wire reports