Safety review set for flu drug for kids

Washington

A U.S. advisory panel will review the safety the influenza treatment Tamiflu in children, two years after the drug was linked to the deaths of at least 12 Japanese children.

The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Pediatric Advisory Committee will meet Nov. 27 to discuss neurological and behavioral side effects in children who have taken the drug, according to a notice on the agency's Web site. The panel has requested annual updates on Tamiflu safety since suicides, hallucinations and self-injury were reported in 2005.

The committee meets a few times a year to examine the side effects of drugs recently approved for use in children and older medicines linked to potential risks. Drugs may pose risks in children that aren't seen in adult studies, as suggested by last week's withdrawal of 14 over-the-counter cold medicines for children younger than 2.

Richmond, Va.

GOP shuns primary to pick candidate

Virginia Republicans will hold a convention instead of a primary to choose their candidate to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. John Warner, upsetting critics who say it makes the party appear closed off.

The state party's central committee voted 47-37 Saturday in favor of a convention. No date or location was decided.

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore and U.S. Rep. Tom Davis expressed interest in seeking the GOP nomination. Supporters of Gilmore wanted a convention, while Davis backers had argued for a primary.

John Warner, 80, said in August he would not seek a sixth consecutive Senate term next year. Two weeks later, Democrat Mark Warner, a former governor who is not related to the senator, announced his candidacy for the seat.

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Ex-lacrosse coach sues Duke

The former Duke University men's lacrosse coach who resigned last year amid allegations that three of his players raped a stripper has sued the university.

Mike Pressler's lawsuit apparently stems from a financial settlement the school reached earlier this year with him, although school officials did not give details. The players were later cleared of the charges.

The Herald-Sun of Durham reported on its Web site that his lawsuit alleges the university broke the terms of the confidential settlement when university senior vice president John Burness made disparaging comments about him.

The newspaper reported that the lawsuit asks the state court to void the settlement and hold a trial on Pressler's claim of wrongful termination.

Washington

Study: U.S. lags in maternal care

The United States has a sharply higher rate of women dying during or just after pregnancy than European countries, even some relatively poor countries such as Macedonia and Bosnia, according to the first estimates in five years on maternal deaths worldwide.

The report released by various U.N. agencies and the World Bank shows that Ireland has the lowest rate of deaths, while several African countries have the worst.

The United States has a far higher death rate than the European average, the report shows, with one in 4,800 U.S. women dying from complications of pregnancy or childbirth, the same as Belarus and just slightly better than Serbia's rate of one in 4,500.

Only one of every 47,600 women in Ireland die during or just after childbirth, the report found. Bosnia had the second-lowest rate, with one in every 29,000 women dying during pregnancy and childbirth.

The report, published in the Lancet medical journal, places the United States 41st among 171 countries.

Also

Disgruntled Stanford University faculty will meet with Hoover Institution Director John Raisian to question the criteria used in the controversial appointment of Donald Rumsfeld as a "distinguished visiting fellow," a title they say gives undeserved eminence to the former defense secretary.

Seattle Times news services