STUDY: PERIODONTAL DISEASE INCREASES RISK OF CANCER

Study: Periodontal diseaseincreases risk of cancer
A new study finds that along with smoking, obesity and diabetes, periodontal disease increases a person's risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Cancer of the pancreas, an insulin-secreting gland that is part of the digestive system, is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It is extremely difficult to treat and little is known about what causes it. Tumors of the pancreas are diagnosed in 30,000 Americans each year, and few survive more than five years after diagnosis. "Our study provides the first strong evidence that periodontal disease may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer," said Dominique Michaud, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study, published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "This finding is of significance as it may provide some new insights into the mechanism of this highly fatal disease," added Michaud, whose work has also involved unsuccessful efforts to find dietary clues to pancreatic cancer.
Potential jurors excludedfor their views on officials
WASHINGTON -- Two potential jurors who expressed negative views of Bush administration officials were dismissed on the opening day of the perjury trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The start of jury selection in the CIA leak case provided a potentially crucial victory for Libby's defense lawyers. They were allowed to ask potential jurors in detail about their opinions of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney, a group of high-profile reporters and whether the administration had lied to push the country into war with Iraq. The defense faces a key challenge in picking a jury for this highly political case in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 9-to-1. Cheney is expected to be a defense witness. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald objected repeatedly, but to no avail, that Libby's lawyers were going beyond the more general opinion questions that U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton asked the entire jury pool when the proceedings began Tuesday morning.
Train cars carryingchemicals derail, explode
BROOKS, Ky. -- Several train cars carrying volatile chemicals derailed and exploded Tuesday south of Louisville, shutting down a highway and forcing evacuations of homes, businesses and a school, authorities said. No serious injuries were reported, but at least 11 people near the crash checked themselves into a hospital and were soon released, authorities said. Officials asked residents within a mile to evacuate. The blaze produced a large column of black smoke in the mostly rural area. Television footage showed several blazing cars stacked across the rail lines and flaming liquid flowing down ditches from the mangled tanker cars. The fire continued into Tuesday evening, and officials said they will likely have to let the chemicals burn themselves out.
Probe to focus on Olmert'srole in sale of large bank
JERUSALEM -- Israeli authorities said Tuesday they were opening a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's role in the sale of one of Israel's largest banks, the latest setback for the increasingly unpopular leader. Olmert's public standing has plummeted after last summer's inconclusive war in Lebanon and a series of corruption scandals involving top officials, but there appeared to be no immediate danger to the stability of his government. Olmert took another blow early today when the commander of the Israeli military, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, abruptly resigned over the admitted failures of the war. Officials said the investigation would look into the government's 2005 sale of a controlling interest in Bank Leumi, one of the country's largest financial institutions. The state comptroller, a government watchdog, has alleged that Olmert favored business associates during the sale.
Officials: Russian forceson high alert after threat
MOSCOW -- Russian authorities have ordered security forces on high alert after receiving information from foreign officials pointing to the threat of a terrorist attack on public transportation, officials said Tuesday. Authorities were checking information about the potential threat, they said. A federal anti-terrorism headquarters received information "from foreign partners ... about the possibility a subversive terrorist act could be committed on ground transport and in the metro," according to a statement confirmed by a Federal Security Service official who said he was not authorized to give his name. Federal Security Service chief Nikolai Patrushev, who also heads the anti-terror center, ordered anti-terror forces on high alert and called for stepped-up measures to prevent any attack, the statement said.
Combined dispatches