Japan seeks US, French expertise

Japan seeks US, French expertise

TOKYO, Japan

Japan is increasingly turning to other countries for help as it struggles to stabilize its tsunami-stricken nuclear plant and stop radiation leaks that are complicating efforts to recover the bodies of some of the thousands swept away by the towering wave.

French, American and international experts — even a robot — are either in Japan or on their way, and French President Nicholas Sarkozy visited Tokyo on Thursday to meet with the prime minister and show solidarity.

Workers are racing to find the source of contaminated water that has been pooling in the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Study: Death risk not cut by prostate test

LONDON

The longest study yet on prostate-cancer testing provides more evidence that getting screened doesn’t cut the chances of dying from the disease.

In a 20-year study of more than 9,000 Swedish men, researchers found no difference in the rate of prostate- cancer deaths between the men who were periodically screened and those who weren’t.

Routine screening for prostate cancer is controversial, and the new results aren’t likely to end the debate about the value of testing.

Russian pays $100M for Calif. mansion

SAN FRANCISCO

The U.S. housing market may be struggling to regain its footing, but the $100 million sale of a single-family home in the heart of Silicon Valley shows that luxury properties still are in demand. Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, a big investor in Facebook, daily deal website Groupon and “Farmville” game maker Zynga, bought the lavish, 25,500-square-foot mansion in Los Altos Hills, Calif. The sale is believed to be one of the largest in U.S. history for a single-family home.

UAW membership increased in 2010

DETROIT

The United Auto Workers union is gaining members after years of declines.

In a filing with the U.S. Department of Labor, the union said Thursday it had 376,612 members in 2010. That’s up 6 percent from last year, and the first time since 2004 that the union has gained members.

UAW President Bob King said the gains were due to more hiring in the auto industry as it recovered from the recession.

Panel: No warnings needed on food dyes

WASHINGTON

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration has recommended that the agency further study the link between food coloring and childhood hyperactivity but said products that contain the dyes do not need package warnings.

The committee, made up of doctors, academics and consumer representatives, narrowly voted 8-6 that food packages don’t need warnings flagging food colorings that could affect attention- deficit disorder in children. Packages now must list the food colorings, but there is no warning about a possible link to hyperactivity.

Missing cobra found in reptile house

NEW YORK

The missing Bronx Zoo cobra has been found.

Zoo officials say the snake was found Thursday morning in the zoo’s reptile house, nearly a week after it went missing. The Egyptian cobra was found coiled in a dark corner of the reptile house, and zoo director Jim Breheny says she is in good health.

The zoo’s reptile house had closed last Friday after the snake disappeared and zoo workers couldn’t find it.

Associated Press