All Blog Posts from Primary Source
The Report That Almost Didn't Happen
Today the New York Times reported on a story about the risks of multitasking behind the wheel. The piece details the results of a massive, long-term study looking at among other things the dangers of cell phone use while driving. Bottom line: hands-free headsets don't eliminate serious accident risk and cell phone users at the wheel are 4 times more likely to crash as other drivers. It was back on October 31, 2008 that Myron Levin, CBS News contributor, first broke this story in a piece written for Mother Jones Magazine. Levin reported on the Bush administration's decision to nix a report on the dangers of gabbing at the wheel in 2003, the politics of roadway safety and one Michigan family's plight to prevent the death of their 12-year-old son, killed by a distracted cell phone driver from becoming just another statistic.
Vaccine Watch: Online Report Claims Vaccine Advisor Made Millions
(CBS)
At the time, neither Dr. Offit nor Children's Hospital would provide information regarding the total compensation Offit receives or has received from pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, for speeches, consulting arrangements, studies, and other services. Nor would they provide information on how much compensation Offit has received in connection with the Rotateq vaccine. This report claims to have found the answer.
At the time of our original report, Dr. Offit wouldn't agree to an interview, but a spokesman said he is upfront about the pharmaceutical money he has received, and that it doesn't sway his opinion on vaccine safety issues.
Court Links Hepatitis B Vaccine To A Death
In 1994, the government's Immunization Advisory Committee recommended routine vaccination against hepatitis B virus. It was a widely welcomed strategy to fight a serious and sometimes deadly disease. The CDC currently recommends vaccination for "all infants, beginning at birth," people under age 19, and at-risk adults. But after nearly 15 years, there's debate over who should receive this vaccine and when.
How is Hep B "caught" or transmitted? Through direct contact with infectious blood, semen and/or body fluids through sex, sharing needles, or infected mother to newborn. In my interview several months ago with the former head of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bernadine Healy (who is pro-vaccine), she expressed concern about infants receiving Hep B shots. She and some other medical experts reason that it's unnecessary to expose infants to this vaccine and its potential side effects at such an early age, unless they are at special risk for contracting the disease; most infants have no direct contact with body fluids of someone infected with hepatitis B, so what's the rush in exposing them to the series of vaccinations?
A special Vaccine Court ruled that hepatitis B vaccines caused an MS type illness in an adult woman, a woman who ultimately died.
According to the Vaccine Court: "There is a logical sequence of cause and effect in petitioner's having received the vaccination and then experiencing optic neuritis, the first symptom of her Devic's Disease, a variant of MS. As discussed, the onset after vaccination is appropriate to prove causation, whether the onset is 18 days or two months after vaccination … Not only did decedent have a vaccine injury, but also her death was vaccine-related."
This decision, like others in Vaccine Court, appears to contradict the government's official position. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine (Dr. Healy is a member, but does not agree with all of the group's views) stated: "The epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between the hepatitis B vaccine in adults and multiple sclerosis. Because of the lack of epidemiological data on conditions other than MS in adults, the committee recommends further attention in the form of research and communication. However, the committee does not recommend that national and federal vaccine advisory bodies review the hepatitis B vaccine on the basis of concerns about demyelinating disorders."
It's believed most patients tolerate Hep B shots with no serious ill effects. However, an undetermined number of people suffer serious adverse events after Hep B or other vaccines. The mystery of why most people tolerate vaccines well, but others develop serious illnesses or even die, has not been fully investigated and remains an open question. At least 123 people who have filed cases in Vaccine Court have been paid compensation by the government for injuries or death related to their Hep B vaccine. This is the court's statistics page.
And here is the CDC's official information on hepatitis B and the vaccine.
How is Hep B "caught" or transmitted? Through direct contact with infectious blood, semen and/or body fluids through sex, sharing needles, or infected mother to newborn. In my interview several months ago with the former head of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bernadine Healy (who is pro-vaccine), she expressed concern about infants receiving Hep B shots. She and some other medical experts reason that it's unnecessary to expose infants to this vaccine and its potential side effects at such an early age, unless they are at special risk for contracting the disease; most infants have no direct contact with body fluids of someone infected with hepatitis B, so what's the rush in exposing them to the series of vaccinations?
A special Vaccine Court ruled that hepatitis B vaccines caused an MS type illness in an adult woman, a woman who ultimately died.
According to the Vaccine Court: "There is a logical sequence of cause and effect in petitioner's having received the vaccination and then experiencing optic neuritis, the first symptom of her Devic's Disease, a variant of MS. As discussed, the onset after vaccination is appropriate to prove causation, whether the onset is 18 days or two months after vaccination … Not only did decedent have a vaccine injury, but also her death was vaccine-related."
This decision, like others in Vaccine Court, appears to contradict the government's official position. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine (Dr. Healy is a member, but does not agree with all of the group's views) stated: "The epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between the hepatitis B vaccine in adults and multiple sclerosis. Because of the lack of epidemiological data on conditions other than MS in adults, the committee recommends further attention in the form of research and communication. However, the committee does not recommend that national and federal vaccine advisory bodies review the hepatitis B vaccine on the basis of concerns about demyelinating disorders."
It's believed most patients tolerate Hep B shots with no serious ill effects. However, an undetermined number of people suffer serious adverse events after Hep B or other vaccines. The mystery of why most people tolerate vaccines well, but others develop serious illnesses or even die, has not been fully investigated and remains an open question. At least 123 people who have filed cases in Vaccine Court have been paid compensation by the government for injuries or death related to their Hep B vaccine. This is the court's statistics page.
And here is the CDC's official information on hepatitis B and the vaccine.
Dr. Phil Highlights CBS Investigation
(CBS/The Early Show)
Dr. Phil Show Dec 19, 2008 "Beyond the Front Lines"
"They come home and have no help, no voice," said the show's host, Dr. Phil McGraw, of veterans who often feel mistreated and neglected when they return to the U.S. after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The system is broken," he added.
Video: Congressman Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, appeared on the show along with the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Tammy Duckworth, and Paul Rieckhoff, the executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).
Filner said the U.S. government was not prepared for the aftermath of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He said the current crisis in the Middle East has generated almost a million veterans and the federal agency charged with taking care of them, the Department of Veterans Affairs, is struggling to keep up with physical and mental wounds. He said there have been cases where suicidal veterans have been turned away from the VA and then kill themselves. And, he said the VA currently has a backlog of approximately 800,000 benefits claims that need to be processed.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's 'Veterans Online Community'
During the show, a clip was also shown of the CBS News story that aired in November of 2007. The report, done by Keteyian, exposed for the first time just how widespread the issue of suicide is among vets. CBS News discovered that young veterans in their twenties commit suicide at a rate that is up to four times what it is for civilians the same age. Keteyian was shown questioning the VA's head of mental health, Dr. Ira Katz, who was, at the time, downplaying the risk.
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My Snowy Day In Shawano
(CBS)
By the time Producer Michael Rey and I arrived in Shawano we'd already interviewed Bob Cameron, the man who says that he was hired to be a "hit man," and conducted a contentious interview with Alan Eisenberg, the Milwaukee attorney who represents SIST, the secretive group at the center of our investigation.
I can't say I've ever interviewed a Hit Man before, alleged or otherwise. Cameron turned out to be serious and edgy. He was highly concerned about the welfare of his family, which he said had already spent several days in protective custody in the wake of his decision to turn over the alleged hit list of 60 names to authorities. That's because, Cameron said, there were actually 63 names on the list. Shortly after he provided the list to authorities a "pretty big rock" went through the window of his motor sports business in Canada. Nothing made sense until, he said, he turned it over.
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A Rare Inside Look at the ATF
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – better known as the ATF – is a federal agency that the public rarely gets to see in action. The reason is simple: the agency has some of the most advanced technical knowledge and expertise in firearms and explosives in the world. That's why CBS News jumped at the chance to get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at how the ATF handles explosives.
The ATF is the federal agency charged with tracking domestic bombings and explosive incidents in the United States. On Tuesday, the agency released the latest data that shows in 2007 there were 2,772 explosive incidents reported to the ATF by some 540 police departments nationwide.
In order to combat the problem, the ATF provides state-of-the-art, hands-on training to local and state law enforcement to teach them how to investigative domestic bombings. CBS News spent two days watching some of the training conducted by the ATF's Atlanta field office.
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Virginia Problems Overblown?
(AP Photo/Al Behrman)
"The Mess" from this morning may have simply been because of the huge surge of voters that the state simply wasn't prepared for.
Some of the machine problems are being ascribed to first time voters who are unfamiliar with the process. Duffel bags with ballots were being used to transport between locations. State officials say it was all proper.
And the Obama and McCain campaigns – while both expressing frustration with various problems in the state – said the problems are not as dramatic now as earlier in the day.
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Is Virginia The NEXT Florida?
(CBS EyeMoblie)
(CBS EyeMoblie)
We saw this one coming.
In a state where the NAACP had already filed a lawsuit (which was dismissed) over problems with early voting, Election Day is now being described by watchdogs as "a mess."
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Indiana, Challenged Absentee Ballots Dealt With After Election
The IndyStar is reporting on a decision about challenged ballot. The Indiana Supreme Court let stand a Marion County judge's ruling directing poll workers to set aside any challenged absentee ballots. The ruling, in line with a GOP lawsuit, means challenges of those ballots based on voters' eligibility will be dealt with AFTER Election Day. There are several thousand such ballots.
Missouri Reports Of Voter Intimidation
4020407The Election Protection Command Center has received reports of law enforcement intimidation in Missouri. Allegedly, police are walking up and down the lines of people waiting to vote outside precincts. This occured at one St. Louis polling location, the Dellwood Recreation Center at 10266 West Florissant Avenue. The attorney for the St. Louis Election Board and local law enforcement are investigating the matter. The CBS News I-Unit is chasing this story.
