Free Republic

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Mike Slabaugh doesn't have a stomach. Neither do his 10 cousins. Growing up, they watched helplessly as a rare hereditary stomach cancer killed their grandmother and some of their parents, aunts and uncles. Determined to outsmart the cancer, they turned to genetic testing. Upon learning they had inherited grandmother Golda Bradfield's flawed gene, they had two options: Risk the odds that they might not develop cancer, with a 70 percent chance they would; or have their stomachs removed. The latter would mean a challenging life of eating very little, very often. All the cousins chose...

Plan for U.S. Black Museum Gains Speed By Christina Ling WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Almost a century after an African-American memorial was first proposed for the U.S. capital, a grand vision for a museum encompassing black life in the United States is moving toward realization. Backed by $2 million in federal funds, a special commission appointed by Congress and President Bush (news - web sites) started work this summer on a feasibility study for a national museum of African-American history and culture. "I think it goes without saying that African-Americans have been the major backbone in building and developing America...