BLAIR SHAKES UP CABINET

Blair shakes up Cabinet
LONDON -- Stung by an election defeat, Tony Blair shuffled his Cabinet on Friday and replaced Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, above, in an attempt to save his own political future and shore up support to tackle crises in Iran and Iraq. Straw had privately expressed doubts about the Iraq war to his boss and publicly took a different stance on Iran. He described military action against Tehran as "inconceivable," something neither Blair nor President Bush would say, and called reports that the Bush administration has contingency plans for a tactical nuclear strike "nuts." Margaret Beckett, a Blair loyalist who has been serving as environment secretary, takes over the Foreign Office, becoming Britain's first female foreign secretary. Blair's official spokesman said the change did not mean a shift in foreign policy. Two ministers at the center of a series of recent government woes were also fired or demoted. But critics said it is Blair himself who should step aside after voters deserted his Labour Party in local council elections Thursday.
Trapped miners keeptheir sense of humor
BEACONSFIELD, Australia -- Trapped in a tiny steel cage nearly 3,000 feet underground for 10 days, two Australian gold miners still haven't lost their sense of humor. "They call where they are a two-star hotel -- they're the two stars," said Matthew Gill, manager of the century-old Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania state. Rescuers drilling a narrow, 52-foot-long escape tunnel toward Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, passed the halfway stage Friday and were within 16 feet by this morning. The miners were waiting for colleagues to come close enough to use hand tools to delicately chip away the last few inches of rock. "They just said, 'Do it safely,'" Gill added. "They weren't concerned at the time [taken] at all."
Black voter turnout downin New Orleans election
NEW ORLEANS -- Black voter turnout in the city's first election after Hurricane Katrina was down, while white voter turnout was roughly the same, according to statistics released Friday. Thirty-one percent of registered black voters cast ballots in the April 22 primary, compared to 45 percent in the 2002 primary. Roughly half of registered white voters cast ballots in both years, according to figures released by Secretary of State Al Ater. Overall, 110,000 voters, or 37 percent of those registered, cast ballots. Before Katrina struck Aug. 29, wiping out much of the city, New Orleans was roughly two-thirds black, and civil rights activists have said many of those who remain outside the city are black.
Drug companies roll outpromotions to lure patients
WASHINGTON -- In the battle for new patients and greater market share, U.S. drug makers are putting their faith in a time-tested, albeit pedestrian, marketing strategy. Coupons, money-back guarantees, rebates and other supermarket-friendly promotions offering "10 percent off," "free trial offers" or "buy six prescriptions, get one free" are now standard marketing tools for many top-selling prescription drugs. The heartburn drug Prevacid offers patients $25 rebates on their next prescriptions. Lipitor and Crestor, two leading cholesterol-lowering drugs, offer free 14- and 15-day trial periods. And Lotrel, a blood pressure medication, will reimburse consumers' out-of-pocket drug costs for up to four months if the drug doesn't work effectively. Drug industry officials said the offers allow consumers to test and compare medications without bearing the full financial risk. By providing relief from high drug prices, they also can improve interaction between doctors and patients. "In some cases it becomes a tool for them to initiate a potentially difficult conversation, [about topics] such as depression or erectile dysfunction. And that's important," said Paula Garrett, a consumer marketing specialist at Eli Lilly. But as the promotions become more ubiquitous, turning up in magazines, on Web sites and in doctors' offices, they're also creating unease among some in the medical community, including in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Combined dispatches