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TORONTO - Maybe your doctor should write up a grocery list to help lower your cholesterol, suggests a small study that showed a rigid diet seemed as effective as cholesterol-lowering pills. Of course, sticking to that diet may not be easy. "People interested in lowering their cholesterol should probably acquire a taste for tofu and oatmeal," said study co-author David Jenkins of the University of Toronto. The study, published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was funded in part by almond promoters and a major food company. Jenkins, Canadian research chair in metabolism and nutrition at Toronto,...

DAVOS, Switzerland - Britain said Saturday it hopes to lower the number of troops it has in Iraq, as former President Bill Clinton warned that the United States and its supporters should not leave Iraq prematurely. At the fourth and final day of the World Economic Forum, Iraqi officials urged more time and patience as they struggle to rebuild their country. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said London was looking to withdraw some of its 8,500 troops later this year, but did not provide a timetable. "We hope to do some of that during the course of this year in...

WASHINGTON - Bundle up, kids. It's getting cold inside. As oil and natural gas prices soar, public schools are having to make some tough decisions: turning down the thermostat, finding alternative sources of fuel, even cutting back on the school week. At Menomonie High School in western Wisconsin, principal Tom Wiatr has dropped the temperature a few degrees. Students started wearing zip-up sweatshirts and fleeces to stay warm, raising questions about a school rule against wearing jackets indoors. So the school clarified its policy, even scheduling a fashion show to highlight acceptable clothing. Naturally, it was snowed out. So far,...

DOVER, Del. - In a decision hailed by free-speech advocates, the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court decision requiring an Internet service provider to disclose the identity of an anonymous blogger who targeted a local elected official. In a 34-page opinion, the justices said a Superior Court judge should have required Smyrna town councilman Patrick Cahill to make a stronger case that he and his wife, Julia, had been defamed before ordering Comcast Cable Communications to disclose the identities of four anonymous posters to a blog site operated by Independent Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Delaware State...

Gun control advocates predicted that last year’s end to the federal assault weapons ban would bring a surge in gun crimes and police killings. But murder rates have actually fallen since then, says John R. Lott Jr. of the American Enterprise Institute. According to the FBI, 2004 crime statistics reveal: Nationwide, murders fell by 3.6 percent, the first drop since 1999; the decline continued even after the assault weapons ban expired. States with their own assault weapons bans in place experienced smaller drops in murder rates of about 2.4 percent, while murder rates in states without assault weapons bans dropped...

EPA Testing 150 Lower Manhattan Buildings May 11, 2005 11:53 am US/Eastern (1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) Dust samples from 150 New York buildings in lower Manhattan and part of Brooklyn are to be gathered by the Environmental Protection Agency to find out how much indoor contamination might remain from the collapse of the World Trade Center. EPA officials say the samples will determine what should be cleaned and whether to launch a broader cleanup effort. The EPA says samples will be analyzed for lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, asbestos and manmade vitreous fibers. Residents and workers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn...

Key points • Texting makes you less intelligent, it is revealed • Brains suffer from information overload, apparently • Solution is: switch off! Key quote"The impairment only lasts for as long as the distraction. But you have to ask whether our current obsession with constant communication is causing long-term damage to concentration and mental ability." - Dr Glenn Wilson, psychologist at the University of London Story in fullCONSTANT text messaging and e-mailing causes a reduction in mental capability equivalent to the loss of ten IQ points, according to research. Tapping away on a mobile phone or computer keypad or checking...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A diet rich in whole grains does seem to lower a man's risk of developing heart disease, with the bran component of grains playing a key role, a large study suggests. Researchers found that among nearly 43,000 middle-aged and older men, those who ate the most whole grains -- such as oatmeal, brown rice and some breakfast cereals -- were less likely than men with the lowest consumption to develop coronary heart disease over 14 years. When the investigators looked at two of the major components of whole grains, bran emerged as the lead player....

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, facing political fallout if he vetoes bills helping Californians import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, pressed pharmaceutical industry leaders Thursday for an alternative plan to cut drug costs for California's poorest residents. Schwarzenegger called the heads of several pharmaceutical companies Thursday, aide said, and pushed them to back his cost-cutting alternatives, which have already been rejected by state lawmakers. His proposals would establish group discounts, give poor Californians electronic cards that pharmacists could "swipe" to find the cheapest prices and hire an outside vendor to negotiate other price discounts. Advocates for bills on the...

NEW YORK -- Oil prices fell today as dealers took profits from a rally spurred by a fresh disruption to Iraq's crude exports and the threat of a strike in Nigeria, which could further disrupt flows to the global market. "Speculators were stuck long and were hoping today would bring a short-covering rally. When that didn't happen, they (sold)," said Ed Silliere, analyst at the Energy Merchant. Traders said many market participants squared their books ahead of the release of weekly supply reports from the U.S. government, expected to show that supplies of both crude oil and gasoline in the...

RICHMOND, May 19 -- Virginia's budget will end the fiscal year next month with a considerable surplus, causing legislators who fought ardently against tax increases during the recent General Assembly session to again question the need for them. Anti-tax lawmakers and activists, who argued during the General Assembly session that the state didn't need to increase taxes because the economy was starting to rebound, said the new projections proved their point. Several lawmakers said they don't think Warner and his administration purposely misled them about the strength of the state economy. But they added that the issue was played down...

Sept. 8 — A sense of greater security, unabated anger and steady resolve against terrorism mark the public's mood two years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but so does broader doubt about how the Bush administration is dealing with the issue. Two-thirds of Americans say the country is safer now than it was before the attacks, and 56 percent say the United States is doing all it can to combat terrorism, a critical public demand in the aftermath of 9/11. But 71 percent still worry about further major attacks — and fewer than half, 45 percent, are confident the...

<p>LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada's fiscal crisis and the battle over raising taxes to cover the state budget appears to be taking its toll on the governor's approval rating.</p> <p>Since February, when the legislative session began, Gov. Kenny Guinn's approval rating has dropped 10 points, a new poll shows.</p>

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Federal Reserve (news - web sites) policymakers open a two-day meeting to ponder cutting interest rates to a 45-year low to boost a jobless recovery and ward off deflation. Policymakers, due to begin meeting Tuesday at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT), were widely expected to trim the federal funds target rate, which already lies at a 42-year low of 1.25 percent after 12 cuts since January 2001. Whether they lower by a quarter or a half percentage point, it would take the federal funds rate, which commercial banks charge each other for overnight loans, to the lowest...

<p>HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnamese catfish exporters on Saturday hailed a decision by the U.S. Commerce Department to lower import tariffs on some Vietnamese frozen fillets, calling it a positive step in resolving a trade dispute between the two nations.</p>

<p>A statewide public service campaign to promote a law that allows undocumented immigrant college students to pay lower in-state tuition, was launched Monday.</p> <p>The radio and television campaign by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, is hoping to reach between 10,000 to 12,000 college students who qualify statewide, said Maria Lucero Ortiz, director of MALDEF's program that does outreach to immigrants on higher education issues.</p>

<p>Reports that the Bush administration is developing plans for the possible use of low-yield nuclear weapons in pre-emptive strikes against underground targets in Iraq are raising concerns in Washington. Officials dismiss these worries by saying that such plans merely reflect the need for a full range of military options in an unstable new environment and do not imply a change in the U.S. nuclear doctrine of deterrence.</p>

Coffee drinkers have lower diabetes risk 00:01 08 November 02 NewScientist.com news service Drinking a lot of coffee may give people a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a preliminary study. After analysing over 17,000 Dutch men and women, researchers found that those who drank seven or more cups of coffee a day were half as likely to develop the disease than those who drank two cups or less. The study was led by Rob van Dam while at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and Environment in Bilthoven. A spokesperson for Diabetes UK says that...