Sanjay Gupta Chosen for Surgeon General

(NEWSER) - Sanjay Gupta is sticking with CNN and brain surgery. Gupta has withdrawn his name from contention to be the next surgeon general, the network reports. Gupta apparently had reservations over a big pay cut and the idea of reporting to more than one boss, notes Fox News. Gupta will discuss it on Larry King Live tonight. Obama caused a stir when he approached the celebrity doctor about the post. No obvious contenders are in the wings, at least publicly. More»

CNN's medicine man will help push preventive health care message, Park notes

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's choice of CNN's health correspondent as his surgeon general is raising eyebrows, but the pick underlines Obama's plans to focus on preventive care, Alice Park writes in Time. The telegenic Sanjay Gupta, while lacking the government experience most surgeon generals have brought to the job, has anchored specials urging Americans to live healthier lives and seems like a natural choice to bring that message to the nation, Park notes. More»

Clinton a strong secretary, but not yet administration's voice

(NEWSER) - Ask Hillary Clinton or her staff about President Obama and they’ll praise him and tell you the relationship between the two really is strong. But the tensions between the State Department and White House are starting to show, writes Joe Klein . The president’s foreign policy hasn’t yet yielded results, and on her recent Pakistan trip, Clinton gave the first hints that she’d like to assert her independence—and move beyond what Klein calls “the Rodney King ‘Can’t we all just get along?’ phase.” More»

CNN doc, and onetime Surgeon General candidate, falls ill in Afghanistan

(NEWSER) - Now just imagine how embarrassing this would’ve been if he had been Surgeon General: Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s medical talking head, got swine flu on a recent reporting trip to Afghanistan, he writes in a blog post today. “I am not someone who gets sick, really ever,” he writes. “And this was the sickest I have ever been.” More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama and Hu Jintao of China met today at the G20 summit in London and agreed to close cooperation on issues ranging from the economic crisis to global security, Time reports. Obama will travel to China later this year. Meanwhile, high-level representatives will meet in Washington during the summer to launch a "strategic and economic dialogue.” More»