Washington, D.C.

Treasury chief proposes increase to debt ceiling

The United States could face the prospect of not being able to pay its bills this fall unless Congress raises government borrowing authority now capped at $7.4 trillion, Treasury Secretary John Snow said Monday.

In a letter to House and Senate members, Snow said the government was expected to reach the current statutory ceiling on the national debt by late September or October.

Even if Treasury takes steps to juggle accounts to stay just under the limit to avoid defaulting on the debt, “we can finance government operations no longer than mid-to-late November,” Snow wrote. The government has performed such maneuvers in the past.

He urged Congress to raise the debt limit as soon as possible.

Washington, D.C.

FDA approves new AIDS drugs

Two new AIDS drugs, each of which combines two medications within a single tablet, have been approved by federal regulators, the Food and Drug Administration’s acting commissioner said Monday.

The drugs give AIDS sufferers in poor countries a better chance of survival. It received a speedier review to ensure that safe and effective drugs were made available under the government’s $15 billion emergency plan for AIDS relief.

The FDA approval primarily benefits American consumers. By passing FDA muster, however, the drugs now can be bought by the global AIDS coordinator’s office for distribution to AIDS patients in poor countries.

Florida

Abortion notification ballot item challenged

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood sued Monday to block a Florida ballot measure that would pave the way for a law requiring parents to be told when their minor daughters seek abortions.

The lawsuit argues that the ballot summary for the proposed constitutional amendment is misleading.

State lawmakers voted this spring to put the proposed constitutional change before voters. The ballot summary says state lawmakers “shall not limit or deny the privacy rights guaranteed to minors” under the U.S. Constitution.

But the summary doesn’t explain that the state constitution gives Floridians greater privacy rights than the federal Constitution and that the proposed change would limit those state privacy rights for girls under the age of 18, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and several Planned Parenthood chapters.

Massachusetts

Skating rink planned over Puritan graves

Residents whose Puritan forebears are buried in what is now the last remaining section of Worcester’s historic Common are outraged over a city plan to build a skating rink on part of the site, saying it violates a century-old promise to maintain the land with “respect and dignity.”

Civic leaders envisioned the open rink as the centerpiece of a two-year, $5 million overhaul of the park that began in May. But members of the First Congregational Church asked the state Historical Commission to revoke its approval of the project after workers recently uncovered headstones.

The city pledged to maintain the parcel with “respect and dignity,” and church officials argue that a skating rink would violate that agreement.

Dallas

Report: Vitamins don’t stop heart disease

You need to eat your vitamins, not take them.

Heart specialists said Monday that supplements of antioxidants such as C and E do not protect against cardiovascular disease. Despite early, compelling evidence to the contrary, the miracle of antioxidants may be myth.

“It was too good to be true,” said Dr. Alice Lichtenstein of Tufts University School of Medicine. She and her colleagues, at the bidding of the American Heart Assn., recently reviewed all studies on antioxidants.

The conclusion: Available data “do not justify the use of antioxidant supplements” for reducing heart disease risk. The advisory appears in the journal Circulation.

“If for whatever reason they make you feel better, fine,” said Dr. John Keaney of Boston University School of Medicine. “Just don’t take them believing that you’re going to prevent heart disease.”