Briefly

Washington, D.C.

Botox approved for armpit sweating

Botox, the drug made famous by millions of unwrinkled brows, won the government’s OK Tuesday to tackle another of the body’s flaws: sweaty armpits.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the therapeutic use of Botox to treat severe underarm sweating, said Caroline Van Hove, senior manager of corporate communications for Allergan Inc., the maker of Botox.

Currently, 1.3 million Americans suffer from a severe sweat gland malady that produces four to five times normal sweating, according to Van Hove. Now, she said, they can get relief from an injection of Botox directly into their sweat glands. The treatment costs $750.

Van Hove described the side effects of the Botox treatment as “temporary and mild in nature,” but may include allergic reactions, neck or back pain and anxiety.

Kentucky

Animal rights group captures chicken abuse

An investigator for an animal rights group captured video of chickens being kicked, stomped and thrown against a wall by workers at a supplier for KFC.

The footage, released online Tuesday, was secretly taken at the Pilgrim’s Pride plant in Moorefield, W.Va., by an investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals who worked there from October to May.

PETA said its investigator also obtained eyewitness testimony about employees “ripping birds’ beaks off, spray-painting their faces, twisting their heads off, spitting tobacco into their mouths and eyes, and breaking them in half — all while the birds are still alive.”

Pilgrim’s Pride spokesman Ray Atkinson said the company was appalled by what it saw on the video, had reopened a previous investigation into complaints of chicken mistreatment and would fire any employees who were found to have violated company policies on animal welfare.

Los Angeles

Napster to expand service to colleges

The company behind the Napster 2.0 online music service has signed agreements with several universities to offer students its digital song subscription program.

Beginning in the fall, students at Cornell University in New York, The George Washington University in Washington, Middlebury College in Vermont, the University of Miami, the University of Southern California and Wright State University in Ohio will have access to the service through the schools, the company said.

As in previous deals struck earlier this year with Penn State University and the University of Rochester in New York, the institutions will receive access to unlimited streaming and song downloads at a discount.

Students must still pay Napster’s regular 99-cent charge for a permanent download if they wish to burn the song to a CD. Full album downloads outside the subscription service start at $9.99.

Washington, D.C.

Education funding for migrants cut

Funding is being eliminated for a federal program that pays the children of migrant workers across the country to stay in school instead of working in fields.

The Department of Labor program pays some young people minimum wage to stay in school while migrating with their parents, who travel across the country looking for seasonal farm work.

Coordinators in 31 states and Puerto Rico were told there was no money to operate the program this year, leaving them to find alternate sources, petition Congress or drop the program.

The Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Youth Program is designed to combat extraordinarily high dropout rates among seasonal migrant youth workers and the children of adult seasonal migrant workers. It also attempts to end cyclical poverty and low socio-economic levels plaguing that population.