California

Juror removed in Peterson case

A juror in the Scott Peterson murder trial who apparently did her own research on the case was removed and replaced with an alternate Tuesday, and the judge ordered the panel to start over again with its deliberations.

“We’re going to send you back. Start all over again and keep in touch,” Judge Alfred A. Delucchi told the panel on the fifth day of deliberations.

It was not immediately clear what the woman specifically did to get kicked off the jury. But a source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that she had apparently disobeyed the judge’s orders to consider only the evidence presented at the trial.

“You must decide all questions of fact in this case from the evidence received in this trial and not from any other resource,” the judge said.

Atlanta

Flu-vaccine maker to increase production

The nation’s sole flu shot supplier said Tuesday it had won a federal contract to move toward year-round vaccine production, a step that should mean faster action if a new killer flu emerges.

The $10 million contract to Aventis Pasteur comes just two days before the world’s vaccine makers gather in Geneva to plan how to respond to a pandemic.

Flu vaccine is made from chicken eggs that are produced on a seasonal basis. The contract will allow Aventis to maintain chicken flocks that are laying eggs year-round. That would ensure a constant supply of eggs that could be used to make a new vaccine if one were needed in a hurry to fight a new deadly strain.

The company also will make a potential pandemic vaccine once a year from a virus identified by federal health officials that can be held in reserve in case a worldwide epidemic emerged.

Washington, D.C.

Airlines to test drinking water

A dozen airlines will monitor and flush out their fleets’ water systems under a costly agreement with the government after tests found coliform bacteria in the drinking water of one in every eight planes tested.

At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would perform random tests on 169 domestic and international passenger aircraft at 14 airports throughout the United States and publish the results by the end of the year.

If bacteria are discovered, the airliners would have to be disinfected within 24 hours unless the agency granted an extension because the plane involved was outside the United States. In the meantime, passengers would find signs posted in the lavatories and galleys of affected aircraft.

The EPA advises passengers with immune system problems to avoid drinking water from airplane galleys or lavatories.

Washington, D.C.

Court asked to block assisted-suicide law

The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to block the nation’s only law allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients die more quickly.

The appeal from Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft had been expected since May, when a lower court ruled the federal government could not punish Oregon doctors who prescribed lethal doses of federally controlled drugs.

Oregon voters approved the law, and since 1998 more than 170 people have used it to end their lives. Most had cancer.

The Bush administration has argued that assisted suicide is not a “legitimate medical purpose” and that doctors take an oath to heal patients, not help them die.

While not as prominent as abortion, the issue is an important one for conservative Christians, who helped President Bush win a second term last week. The government waited until Tuesday, the final day possible, to file paperwork at the high court.