Illinois: Reagan’s boyhood home designated historic site

Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home in Dixon was designated a national historic site Friday, while the street he walked along as a child was dedicated to the former president.

Hennepin Avenue, where Reagan’s family lived, was renamed Reagan Way. The school and church he attended and the library he frequented also were on the street.

U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, above, whose district includes Dixon, presented a copy of the bill President Bush signed in February declaring the home a historic site.

Reagan, 91, last visited the area in October 1990, four years before he announced he had Alzheimer’s disease and dropped out of public life. No members of his family joined the crowd of about 200 at Friday’s ceremony.

Washington: EPA data show increase in mercury-tainted fish

More American waters than ever before bore warnings against eating their contaminated fish last year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

It’s not that there’s more pollution, most scientists agree. Rather, states are doing a better job of checking for contaminated fish and warning the public.

Because pollutants build up in their bodies, the most likely fish to be affected are big, long-lived ones, especially fish that eat other fish. Among them are bass, grouper, red snapper, pike, swordfish, tuna and king mackerel.

According to data the EPA will announce next week, the number of miles of rivers with health advisories about fish consumption rose 33 percent from 2000 to 2001. Overall, one out of every seven miles of U.S. rivers last year bore a warning against eating one or more species of their fish.

Washington: Government orders review of herb ephedra

Two years after federal health officials wanted warning labels on ephedra, the Bush administration instead is ordering a start-from-scratch safety review of the herb that has been linked to dozens of deaths.

The move prompted outrage from consumer advocates and doctors who want ephedra banned, citing the dietary supplement’s link to heart attacks and strokes.

“This is a black day in medicine,” said Dr. Raymond Woosley, vice president of health sciences at the University of Arizona, who called the risk clear enough that further study would be unethical.

But supplement makers, including leading ephedra marketer Metabolife International, praised the decision.

Minnesota: Disaster area declared in wake of flooding

President Bush declared northwestern Minnesota a disaster area Friday, making federal aid available to a region where up to a foot of rain fell in recent days.

The city of Roseau, about 10 miles south of the Canadian border, was hardest hit. Nearly every building in the town of 3,000 people was damaged by the Roseau River, which remained about 6 feet above flood stage Friday.

The floods also forced Ada and other communities to shore up their dikes, and damaged or destroyed nearly 2 million acres of crops. Severe storms dumped 5 to 12 inches of rain since last weekend, causing flooding in 13 counties.

Ron Sherman, local coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the president’s declaration cleared the way for government grants and loans for people hurt by the floods.