Court sides with Bush on military trials
WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court ruled Friday military commissions may resume war crimes trials of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously in favor of the Bush administration, the New York Times reported. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, challenged his military trial on terrorism charges.
The panel rejected a 2004 ruling by District Judge James Robertson, that President Bush overstepped his constitutional authority by setting up military commissions to try detainees at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo. Robertson said the administration improperly disregarded Geneva Convention rules on treatment of prisoners of war.
"The president found that Hamdan was not a prisoner of war under the Convention," Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote for the panel Friday. "Nothing in the regulations, and nothing Hamdan argues, suggests that the president is not a 'competent authority' for these purposes."
Bush has declared Taliban and al-Qaida fighters are unlawful enemy combatants, and not entitled to be treated as prisoners of war.
Hamdan can appeal to the full Court of Appeals or take the case directly to the United States Supreme Court, the Times reported.
FDA warns on pain patch
WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that deaths have been associated with use of the pain management medication transdermal fentanyl.
The Los Angeles Times reported federal regulators are investigating about 120 death that may be associated with Johnson & Johnson's Duragesic patch -- which can provide up to three days' relief from severe chronic pain. Fentanyl, the patch's active ingredient, can put patients into a coma and shut down breathing in too-high doses, the newspaper said.
The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory and an alert to healthcare professionals on what it described as the "potent narcotic medication," identifying safety precautions for its use.
"These safety precautions include but are not limited to patient education regarding signs of overdose, proper patch application, use of other medications while using the patch, safeguards for children and proper storage and disposal," said the FDA in a statement Friday.
FDA investigators are trying to determine whether the deaths were related to inappropriate use of the patch or "factors related to the quality" of the product.
"It is possible that some patients and their health care providers may not be completely aware of the dangers of these potent narcotic drug products and the important recommendations regarding their safe use," said the FDA.
Schwarzenegger quits magazine deal
SACRAMENTO, July 15 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called off an $8 million magazine deal that created a conflict of interest over a nutritional supplement bill.
A consulting contract Schwarzenegger signed just before he took office in 2003 paid him 1 percent of the advertising revenue from Wieder Publications magazines, which primarily comes from makers of nutritional supplements. Schwarzenegger last year vetoed legislation that would have imposed government regulations on the supplement industry.
Records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Schwarzenegger entered into the agreement in November 2003 with a subsidiary of American Media Inc., which publishes Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines. The deal touched off a controversy after it was reported Thursday in the Los Angeles Times, with a spokesman for the governor denying there was a conflict of interest.
Schwarzenegger issued a statement Friday afternoon saying he would call of the deal.
"I don't want there to be any question or doubt that the people have my full devotion," said Schwarzenegger. "Therefore, effective today I will relinquish my title as executive editor and forego any compensation from the magazines."
Schwarzenegger said he would continue to promote weight training, health and fitness.
Mexico preparing for possible hurricane
MEXICO CITY, July 15 (UPI) -- Mexican officials are considering calling for the evacuation of the Yucatan Peninsula as Hurricane Emily approaches.
The nation's weather forecasters said Friday the hurricane could make landfall with Mexico over the weekend, Televisa T.V. reported.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said officials in the Cayman Islands issued a hurricane watch for all of the islands earlier Friday. A hurricane watch still remains in effect for all of Jamaica.
A tropical storm warning remains posted for portions of the southern coast of the Dominican Republic and for the entire southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the Dominican Republic-Haiti border to Port-au-Prince.
