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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: immunity

immunity stories: 18 news summaries
tHEY'RE MAGICALLY NUTRITIOUS

 Kellogg's 
 'Immunity' Claim 
 Stokes H1N1 Ire 

Company profiting from parents' swine flu fears, critics charge

Nov 2, 09 12:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Kellogg's claim that its cereal has immunity-boosting powers is a cheap way to capitalize on parents' swine flu fears, critics tell USA Today . "This one belongs in the hall of fame," says the director of Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. The boxes in question announce... More »

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Kellogg • immunity • swine flu • H1N1 virus • breakfast cereal • women's issues

 Germy 
 Kissing 
 Is the 
 Point  

Swapping spit boosts immunity, say scientists

Nov 2, 09 3:28 AM CST
(Newser) - A kiss apparently is not just a kiss. An unromantic team of scientists has determined that the point of kissing is to spread germs and increase lovers' immunity and health. The bug cytomegalovirus, which is dangerous in pregnancy, is passed from smooching men to give a woman time to build... More »

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pregnancy • health • birth • kiss • immunity • French kissing • fetal health • women's issues

h1n1 outbreak

 Swine Flu Parties Unsafe: Doc 

Exposing kids to virus is a bad idea, pediatrician says

Sep 28, 09 4:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Parents who are throwing “swine flu parties” to get kids together in hopes of exposing them to the virus now, while it is in a weaker form, are on the wrong track, says a prominent pediatrician. Responding to a question from a US News and World Report reader, Thomas... More »

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parents • vaccination • immunization • immunity • pediatricians • swine flu • H1N1 virus

Image Rehab: Appendix Is Good for Something After All

Long-neglected organ is far from useless, researchers say

Aug 24, 09 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - The human appendix has been assumed to be useless since Charles Darwin first suggested it was a vestigial organ—an evolutionary remnant from the time when our predecessors ate leaves and other now-indigestible foods. But new research suggests the organ had a much more vital function, LiveScience reports. It stored... More »

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immune system • Charles Darwin • sanitation • immunity • diarrhea • clean water • appendix

 Feds: Older People 
 Safer From Swine Flu  

People born before 1957 found to carry anti-H1N1 antibodies

May 21, 09 1:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - People born before 1957 appear to have some immunity to the H1N1 virus, the New York Times reports. Tests show that older adults have antibodies that attack the virus, probably because they've been exposed to a similar virus. Experts believe the swine flue virus, like seasonal influenzas before 1957, is... More »

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immunity • outbreak • influenza • flu • 1918 pandemic • swine flu • H1N1 virus

Bribed Lawyer Lied to Protect Berlusconi

Italian PM faces calls to resign after court ruling in corruption case

May 20, 09 6:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi is facing calls to resign as Italy's prime minister, reports the Times of London, after an Italian court found his lawyer guilty of accepting a bribe to protect him from corruption charges. In a 400-page verdict released yesterday, the judges said that attorney David Mills—the estranged husband... More »

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Italy • bribery • corruption • perjury • immunity • Silvio Berlusconi • David Mills

(Newser) - With panic over the H1N1 flu virus on the wane, some Americans are pondering allowing themselves to become infected in hopes of building immunity against potentially more virulent strains, the New York Times reports. Doctors are split on the idea. "I think it's totally nuts," says a flu... More »

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • vaccine • infection • virus • infectious diseases • immunity • influenza • pandemic • swine flu • H1N1 virus

 US, Iraq Close to 
 2011 Pullout Pact 

Deal would also allow Iraq prosecutions of US soldiers who commit rape, murder

Oct 13, 08 1:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US and Iraq are close to clinching a new security agreement which would include a targeted 2011 date for troop withdrawal—and a provision to allow US troops to be prosecuted in Iraqi courts. The US military has enjoyed blanket immunity from criminal prosecution, but under the new agreement... More »

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Iraq • United Nations • Nouri al-Maliki • immunity • security agreement • criminal prosecution • Mohammed al-Haj Humood • Ali al-Sistani

Profanity, Tobacco Cases Top Court's New Term

Judges to decide on consumers' right to sue drug, tobacco companies

Oct 6, 08 8:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court and its Bush-era conservative additions launch a second term today, set to consider "pre-emption" cases that determine whether federal regulation makes drug and tobacco companies immune from state-level lawsuits. Other cases will determine penalties against profanity on radio or TV, a major sexual harassment question, and... More »

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drug companies • consumer protection • immunity • Wyeth • tobacco companies • US Supreme Court • federal cases

Iraq Security Deal Has US Troops Out of Cities By July

Legal immunity remains sticking point in pact yet to be approved by either side

Aug 20, 08 2:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Negotiators for the US and Iraq have completed a draft security agreement that plans to have US forces out of Iraqi cities by June 30, and out of the country completely by the end of 2011, the AP reports. Negotiators also reached accord on the contentious issue of legal immunity... More »

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Iraq • Nouri al-Maliki • US military • troop withdrawal • deal • immunity • peace deal

 Olsen Demands
 Immunity in
 Ledger Probe 

Olsen twin last to be interviewed in fed investigation

Aug 4, 08 10:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mary-Kate Olsen, the first person phoned after a masseuse found Heath Ledger’s body, won't agree to be interviewed by federal investigators without a guarantee of immunity from prosecution, the New York Post reports. The feds have interviewed everyone else they consider connected to the case, including a “nice... More »

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federal investigation • celebrity • overdose • Drug Enforcement Administration • Heath Ledger • immunity • Michelle Williams

ANALYSIS

Maliki Uses US Politics to Gain Iraqi Leverage

'Let's squeeze them,' the PM is said to have proposed

Jul 21, 08 10:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Iraqi PM’s endorsement of Barack Obama’s withdrawal timetable Saturday (walked back somewhat under pressure) was a calculated maneuver by a man who has figured out how to play US politics for his country's gain, Robert Reid writes for the AP. Nouri al-Maliki started using it as leverage... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Nouri al-Maliki • troop withdrawal • immunity • Iraq exit strategy • George W. Bush • 'general time horizon'

House Rejects Immunity for Telecoms Again

Lawmakers OK surveillance bill, brush off threat of Bush veto

Mar 14, 08 3:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - The House again spurned President Bush today, passing a version of an anti-terrorism surveillance bill that does not grant retroactive immunity to the telecom companies that participated in the government's warrantless-wiretapping program. The vote was 213-197, far less than the two-thirds majority needed to override a promised presidential veto, Reuters... More »

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National Security Agency • FISA • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act • warrantless wiretapping • immunity • telecommunications companies • George W. Bush

US Seeks Iraqi Authority
to Continue War

Agreement would not need ratification

Jan 25, 08 7:10 AM CST
(Newser) - The White House is negotiating with Iraq what critics say is a treaty in all but name and could tie the hands of a future administration, reports the New York Times. The US is insisting on being granted continued authority to conduct the war and calling for legal protection for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Pentagon • Senate • State Department • Blackwater • contractors • immunity • military agreement • UN mandate • Iraq war

Blackwater Probe Hits Roadblocks

DOJ runs up against immunity deal, possible gaps in US law

Jan 16, 08 11:33 AM CST
(Newser) - The Justice Department warned Congress last month that major legal obstacles stand in the way of any prosecution of private security firm Blackwater for a September shooting in Iraq, the New York Times reports. Immunity granted by the State Department to Blackwater employees represents a possible roadblock; Justice also has... More »

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Iraq • Bush administration • Department of Justice • State Department • Blackwater • immunity • private security firm

Democrats Withdraw Spy Bill

Delay vote that would give phone companies immunity in spy scandal

Dec 18, 07 3:20 AM CST
(Newser) - Legislation that would have granted retroactive immunity for phone companies that cooperated in the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program was abruptly withdrawn by Senate majority leader Harry Reid late yesterday. The legislation, favored by the White House, had deeply divided Democrats. Reid said the Senate would deal with the... More »

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Harry Reid • American Civil Liberties Union • Chris Dodd • FISA • FISA Court • warrantless wiretapping • immunity • telecommunications companies

US Ignored Blackwater Warnings

Immunity for guards was 'a bomb that could go off at any time'

Oct 7, 07 8:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - The White House ignored signals about Blackwater and other private mercs for years, rejecting the idea that they were "a bomb that could go off at any time," the Los Angeles Times reports. One official says that contract guards blatantly smashed property and scared Iraqis, then argued that... More »

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Iraq • Green Zone • Condoleezza Rice • State Department • Blackwater • contractors • diplomat • immunity

Blackwater Ban Puts US Military
in a Bind

With a rep for brutality, the security firm has enjoyed 'carte blanche'

Sep 18, 07 7:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Iraqi crackdown on Blackwater, the private security firm implicated in Sunday’s killing of 8 civilians in Baghdad, draws attention to the lack of control the US military exerts over the 20,000 contractors who work for them in the country.  Blackwater guards are the most feared of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • security • Nouri al-Maliki • Blackwater • contractors • immunity

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