Good news for the nation’s babies: Nearly 90 percent of newborns are getting tested for a host of rare but devastating genetic disorders.
Since 2004, specialists have urged that every U.S. newborn be checked for 29 conditions to detect the few thousand who will need early treatment to avoid death, retardation or other serious problems.
The federal government hasn’t issued national screening guidelines, but more states are following the advice on their own. As of June 1, 40 states required testing for more than 20 of those disorders, says a March of Dimes report issued today.
Additional nation/world news briefs:
SPRINGFIELD, Vt.
“Simpsons” head east for their movie home
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie will make Springfield, Vt., home for a day. The town beat 13 other Springfields – including Colorado’s – in a contest to host the world premiere of “The Simpsons” movie, based in a fictional Springfield.
“To all the other Springfields, I say, ‘Don’t have a cow, man,”‘ Vermont Gov. James Douglas said.
The 14 cities took part in a video contest hosted by USA Today’s website, with readers voting on their favorites.
The Vermont town got 15,367 votes, USA Today reported. Second was Springfield, Ill., at 14,634. Springfield, Colo., was 10th with 3,632 votes. Springfield, Fla., was last with 1,386.
WASHINGTON
Poll: Most oppose Bush action on Libby
President Bush’s commutation of a prison term for a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney did not play well with the public or even Republicans, a survey found.
In a USA Today-Gallup poll released on Tuesday, 66 percent said Bush should not have intervened in the case of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, whose sentence for obstructing justice in the CIA leak case included a 2 1/2-year prison term.
The phone poll of 1,014 adults was conducted from Friday to Sunday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minusthree3 percentage points. For the 394 Republicans surveyed, the margin of samplingerror was plus or minus 5 percentage points.
MADISON, Wis.
Body confirmed to be missing student, 22
A decomposed body found in a densely wooded area is that of a college student who vanished last month, a coroner confirmed late Tuesday.
The body found Monday morning was identified as Kelly K. Nolan, a 22-year-old University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student, Dane County coroner John Stanley said in a statement.
Forensics tests were expected to continue for several weeks. Stanley said no ruling would be made on the cause of death until then. Officials have said previously they were treating the case as a possible homicide.
Nolan vanished early June 23.
