The Californian from Salinas, California • 7

"3SREALTY WORLD- Tuesday, July 10, 2007 PREMIER ASSOCIATES Shelby Grubb 831-905-2877 Cm Shelbysfealestate.com I OPINION ON 4B: Smiles Scowls BUSINESS ON 6B: Google buys e-mail security specialist www.thecalifornian.com WASHINGTON In Brief aipfSGWiiO Q(ao war, an over-whelming majority of Americans say the increase in U.S. forces this year hasn't made the Compiled from wire reports BEIJING Government executes former food-safety chief China earlier today executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog who had become a symbol of the country's wide-ranging problems on product safety. Zheng Xiaoyu's execution was confirmed by state television and the official Xinhua News Agency. "The few corrupt officials of the (State Food and Drug Administration) are the shame of the whole system and their scandals have revealed some very serious problems," SFDA spokeswoman Yan Jiangying said. WASHINGTON George W.

Bush shouldn't have intervened in the case of former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby. A majority said they aren't satisfied with the opportunities for the next generation to live better than their parents or for working-class people to get ahead by working hard. Bush has the distinction of scoring both the highest approval rating in the Gallup Poll's history 90 percent in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks and one of the lowest. Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of US.

forces in Iraq, delivers a promised report in September assessing the "surge" in U.S. forces. In the poll, 55 percent say Congress should wait until then to develop a new policy on Iraq; 40 percent say Congress should act now. Bush's low ratings could make it harder for him to prevent more defections among Republicans. "It makes it much harder for him to hold any Republican in the House or Senate with him," said Dean Lacy, a government professor at Dartmouth.

"They have to run for reelection, and they realize now that Bush can't help them at all and he may hurt them." The telephone survey of 1,014 adults has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. The poll's other findings: Sixty-two percent say the U.S. made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq, the first time that number has topped 60 percent. Two-thirds say Bush 7 in 10 favor Iraq pullout, poll finds By SUSAN PAGE Gannett News Service WASHINGTON President Bush's approval rating has fallen to a record low of 29 percent, according to a USA TodayGallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, and opposition to the war in Iraq has reached a new high. As the Senate opens debate this week on funding for the situation there better.

More than seven in 10 favor removing U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1 except for a limited number involved in counterterrorism efforts. Still, a majority are willing to have Congress wait until NATION NATION Drivers' health over the long haul a concern Anti-addiction pill promising II -m 1 GANNETT NEWS SERVICE U.S. Army fails to meet recruiting goal again The Army failed to meet its recruiting goal in June, raising concern that the unpopular Iraq war and strong economy could wreak even more havoc on enlistments. Army officials acknowledged that the service missed its recruiting target for the second month in a row, but would not provide exact numbers.

LONDON Four men found guilty in London transit plot Four Muslim militants were convicted Monday of plotting to bomb London's public transport system July 21, 2005 an attack with echoes of suicide bombings that killed 52 commuters two weeks earlier. The jury continued to deliberate the cases of two other defendants. The six were accused of plotting to detonate explosives-laden backpacks on subway trains and a bus. The bombs failed to explode. BLACKSBURG, VA.

Virginia Tech students sign up for alerts More than 4,300 students and employees at Virginia Tech have signed up for a new emergency alert system, several months after a student gunman killed 32 people and himself. The sign-up period for the campus emergency alerts by phone, e-mail or instant message began July 2, one week before the school's first freshman orientation session for the fall semester. HOT SPRINGS, S.D. Trucking companies have started initiatives to improve their drivers' health, while the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration considers tightening its rules for conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Drug may curb urge to smoke and drink By ANDREW BRIDGES The Associated Press WASHINGTON Bar-hoppers discovered long ago that smoking and drinking go hand-in-hand.

So, why not a pill that helps curb the two vices? A drug called varenicline may be the answer. The tablets have been shown to make smoking less rewarding for some. Preliminary work, done in rats, suggests they could do the same for drinking. "The biggest thrill is that this drug, which has already proved safe for people trying to stop smoking, is now a potential drug to fight alcohol dependence," said Selena Bartlett, a neuroscientist with the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study. Details appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

That a single drug could work to curb both addictions isn't a given nor is it surprising, said Christopher de Fiebre, associate professor of pharmacology and neuroscience at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. "This is an extremely important paper and hopefully it will convince the major funding agencies that they need to examine the interactions between nicotine and alcohol to a greater extent," said de Fiebre. Pfizer Inc. developed Dangerous trucking Most driving-related work deaths involved truck drivers, accounting for 935 fatalities in 2005. Fatal occupational injuries, truck drivers 1,000 deaths BACKGROUND In the study, researchers trained rats to drink alcohol and measured the effect of varenicline once the animals became the laboratory equivalent of heavy drinkers.

They found the drug curbed their drinking. Even when stopped, the animals resumed drinking but didn't binge. varenicline specifically as a stop-smoking aid and has sold it in the United States since August under the brand name Chantix. Pfizer provided the drug for the new study. Varenicline works by latching onto the same receptors in the brain that nicotine binds to when inhaled in smoke, an action that leads to the release of dopamine in the brain's pleasure centers.

Taking the drug blocks any inhaled nicotine from reinforcing that effect. The new study suggests not jtist nicotine but alcohol also acts on the same locations in the brain. But several experts not involved in the study cautioned that there is no such thing as a magic cure-all for addiction and varenicline may find more use in treating diseases like Alzheimer's. Expanding its use as a treatment for alcohol abuse may be the first order of business, though. The researchers and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, are planning the first studies in humans of the drug's effectiveness in curbing alcohol cravings and dependence, Bartlett said.

That the drug is already Food and Drug Administration-approved should speed things along. Truckers told: Put brakes on bad life habits 800 600 400 200 0- '95 '97 '99 '01 '03 Occupational deaths, motor vehicle operators, 2005 5.6 3.4 Other apnea. Half of them smoke. The latest research in an upcoming report drives home those pomts and may help influence government regulations for truck drivers' health, which are under review. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering tightening its rules for conditions including diabetes and high blood pressure.

And many companies are stepping up their own efforts at improving health. "It takes a while to undo years and years and years of unhealthy behavior," said Christie Cullinan of the American Trucking Associa- By EMILY FREDRIX The Associated Press GREEN BAY, Wis. Truck drivers the people who deliver our food, cars and clothing have one of the most dangerous jobs in America accounting for nearly 15 percent of U.S. work-related deaths. And that's only counting the accidents.

They are also more at risk than average Americans for a number of health problems. Obesity is rampant. Many don't bother to wear seat belts because their stomachs get in the way. About one in four have sleep 85 5.6 Driver sales workers Truck drivers ol Labor AP tions, which represents about 2,000 companies and See TRUCKERS Page 2B NATION No tears shed at N-word's burial Rain falls on wildfire that killed homeowner Fire crews hoped for small breaks from the weather to help fight blazes fueled by high temperatures, tinder-dry conditions and gusty winds across the Western region on Monday. The Hot Springs wildfire that killed a man and left more than 30 families homeless spread somewhat to the southwest of the tourist town Monday, but fire officials expected to gain on it in the next day or so.

Light rain early Monday helped calm the blaze. The lightning-sparked fire had spredd through a 14-square-mile area of Fall River County late Monday. Other fires blackened the landscape in California, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Colorado, Montana and Oregon, many of them also started by lightning and fueled by the dry conditions. LATESTNEWS WHAT'S NEXT. 5 Mock funeral shows intolerance for racial epithet rg.

i not only to the derogatory word but other disparaging expressions that have gone tolerated for too long among some black Americans. "Today, we're not just burying the N-word, we are taking it out of our spirit, we are taking it out of our minds," Detroit Mayor Kwame Kil-patrick said to thunderous applause of hundreds who gathered at the Hart Plaza. "To bury the N-word, we gotta bury the pimps and the hos and the hustlers. Let's bury all the nonsense that comes with this." The celebrants, ranging in age from senior citizens in scooters to babies in car- gious leaders delivered eulogies as part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's 98th annual conventioa "Let's say good riddance to this vestige of slavery and racism, and say hello to a society that embraces all its people," Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said.

Leading the procession was a horse-drawn carriage carrying a simple pine casket blanketed in wilted flowers. In 1997, Julian Bond, a professor at American University and the University of Virginia, said that while derogatory, the N-word is also taken as a term of affection among Scheduled speakers at the NAACP convention: Today: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Wednesday: former President Bill Clinton Thursday: presidential candidates some black Americans. Other scholars have said such usage is intended to take the sting out of a slur used for so long to oppress blacks. But Monday, Bond, now the NAACP's chairman, said those days must end. By KELLY BREWINGT0N The Baltimore Sun DETROIT The NAACP held a mock funeral Monday for one of the most inflammatory terms in the English language: the "N-word." With the fervor of a civil-rights-era demonstration and the passion of a rousing church service, NAACP members and their supporters pledged good riddance THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Banners are prepared before the start of the funeral for the 'N-word' at the NAACP Convention in Detroit, Monday.

riages, arrived in droves at the city's Cobo ConferenceExhibition Center and made their way to the riverfront, where politicians, civil-rights activists and reli Turn to The Californian.com for hrpakino natinnal and international news 247. en.