FDA steps up testing for fungicide in orange juice

  By MARY CLARE JALONICKWASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration says it will step up testing for a fungicide that has been found in low levels in orange juice.

FDA officials said they aren't concerned about the safety of the juice but will increase testing to make sure the contamination isn't a problem. In a letter to the juice industry Monday, the agency said that an unnamed juice company contacted FDA in late December and said it had detected low levels of the fungicide carbendazim in the company's own orange juice and also in its competitors' juice. Fungicides are used to control fungi or fungal spores in agriculture.

Carbendazim is not currently approved for use on citrus in the United States, but is used in Brazil, which exports orange juice to the United States. An FDA spokeswoman said the company's testing found levels up to 35 parts per billion of the fungicide, far below the European Union's maximum residue level of 200 parts per billion. The United States has not established a maximum residue level for carbendazim in oranges.

In the letter to the Juice Products Association, FDA official Nega Beru said the agency will begin testing shipments of orange juice at the border and will detain any that contain traces of the chemical. Because it is not approved for use in the United States, any amount found in food is illegal.

Beru said that because the FDA doesn't believe the levels of residue are harmful, the agency won't remove any juice currently on store shelves. But he asked the industry to ensure that suppliers in Brazil and elsewhere stop using the fungicide.

"If the agency identifies orange juice with carbendazim at levels that present a public health risk, it will alert the public and take the necessary action to ensure that the product is removed from the market," he said.

The discovery comes after the agency said it would also step up testing for arsenic in apple juice. FDA officials said last year that the agency is considering tightening restrictions for the levels of arsenic allowed in the juice after consumer groups pushed the agency to crack down on the contaminant.

Studies show that apple juice has generally low levels of arsenic, and the government says it is safe to drink. But consumer advocates say the FDA is allowing too much of the chemical - which is sometimes natural, sometimes man made - into apple juices favored by thirsty kids.

Patty Lovera of the consumer group Food and Water Watch said the federal government needs to rely on its own testing, not that of the companies.

"The federal government needs to set consistent, meaningful, enforceable standards for all toxins," she said.

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Lawyer: Another Sandusky accuser steps forward

In this Aug. 6, 1999 file photo, Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, right, poses with his defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky during Penn State Media Day at State College, Pa. ((Paul Vathis/AP Photo ))

  By MARYCLAIRE DALE and GENARO C. ARMASSTATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- A 19-year-old man has filed a complaint with state police alleging he was sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky after the former coach gave him liquor on the Penn State campus in 2004, the accuser's lawyer said Tuesday.

Charles Schmidt said the client, whom he did not identify, went to his law firm about three weeks ago, after Sandusky was charged with sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period.

"He suffered one incident of abuse, to use the legal term - involuntary deviate sexual intercourse - allegedly at the hands of Mr. Sandusky," Schmidt said. "That occurred on the Penn State campus, we believe in the area of the football facilities."

Sandusky's lawyer, Joseph Amendola, said he was unfamiliar with the allegations Schmidt was making.

The new claim came the day a lawyer for another young man who accused Sandusky of sexual abuse said he expects his client and at least five other accusers to testify at a preliminary hearing next week.

The lawyer said he has information that the six young men whose testimony before a grand jury contributed to a report detailing allegations against Sandusky will be called to testify next Tuesday. The attorney spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he said he is trying to ensure his client's identity isn't revealed publicly.

Sandusky is charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse, and prosecutors allege he met his victims through a charity he founded in 1977 to help at-risk children, The Second Mile. Sandusky, 67, denies being a pedophile and has vowed to fight the charges. In interviews with NBC and The New York Times, he has said he showered and horsed around with boys but never sexually abused them.

The existence of Schmidt's client was first reported by WHP-TV in Harrisburg.

Schmidt told the AP that his client was 12 years old, dealing with the death of his mother and suffering emotional issues at the time of the campus incident. The lawyer said the two met through The Second Mile and his client claims Sandusky gave him liquor while in the office on campus. The grand jury report did not allege any instances of Sandusky giving boys alcohol.

Schmidt said his law firm is conducting its own investigation into the client's claims.

"We hope to have it wrapped up within another week. We believe him to be credible," Schmidt said. "Everything that we've been able to unearth since has corroborated what he told us, but we'll continue to do our due diligence."

The preliminary hearing, at which a judge would determine if prosecutors have enough evidence to take the case to trial, could last a day or more since the defense has the right to cross-examine the state's witnesses.

The state attorney general's office would not comment on the evidence authorities plan to offer to show probable cause the crimes occurred.

Amendola said Tuesday that a police officer witness should not be able to testify in the place of the accusers, based on evidentiary rules that pertain to hearsay.

"Our position would be that these people have to testify," Amendola said. "And one isn't sufficient, because you have eight separate incidents ... with eight separate alleged victims or accusers."

Prosecutors listed eight victims in the grand jury report but didn't know the identities of two of them when they issued the report in early November. The report said one of those two was a boy seen being sodomized by Sandusky in a Penn State football complex shower in 2002.

Amendola has said he believes he knows the identity of the boy in the shower and that the person dined with Sandusky this past summer.

Amendola said he's looking forward to questioning the prosecution witnesses - including any accusers.

"We will, for the very first time, have the opportunity to face Jerry's accusers and question them under oath about their allegations," he said in a statement Monday. "We look forward to this opportunity."

Former sex crimes prosecutor Richard DeSipio said prosecutors may have to call the six known accusers for the judge to uphold the 40 counts. Defense lawyers sometimes waive preliminary hearings if they are worried about publicity for their clients, but DeSipio said he is not surprised Amendola is demanding the hearing.

"This is their first and only opportunity before trial to actually see the witnesses ... to hear their tone and demeanor and to question them and see how they respond to questions and also to flush out details," said DeSipio, who is now a criminal defense lawyer in Philadelphia.

Assistant football coach Mike McQueary, who has been identified as the witness to the 2002 shower encounter, could also be called to testify. McQueary's account wasn't immediately brought to the attention of authorities even though high-level people at Penn State apparently were told about an incident in the showers.

In the wake of the scandal, the university last month fired coach Joe Paterno and accepted President Graham Spanier's resignation. Paterno has said he wishes he had done more about allegations against Sandusky.

Athletic Director Tim Curley has been placed on administrative leave, and Vice President Gary Schultz, who was in charge of the university's police department, has stepped down. Schultz and Curley are charged with lying to the grand jury and failure to report to police. They maintain their innocence.

Also Tuesday, Penn State President Rodney Erickson told skeptical faculty members not to worry that school trustees would "whitewash" their own investigation. Erickson pledged to the University Faculty Senate that investigators will have unfettered access to and cooperation from the school. He said the leadership of a committee checking into the allegations should lend confidence "that there will be no whitewash ... no sweeping under the rug."

Trustees have appointed former FBI director Louis Freeh to lead the probe for a committee spearheaded by trustee Kenneth Frazier.

Erickson said he would urge trustees to have the committee members meet with faculty.

Since taking over for Spanier, Erickson has vowed to make Penn State a leader in raising awareness of issues related to child abuse following the scandal that has tarnished the school's image. The effort includes using football bowl revenue that typically goes back to the athletic department to causes related to such issues.

The total revenue, Erickson said Tuesday, will reach at least $2 million, $500,000 more than the amount the school promised last week would be donated for programs at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

The additional revenue will now go toward helping to establish a Penn State institute that would work in the treatment and prevention, as well as research into, child abuse. The first piece to the institute would be a Center for the Protection of Children to be based at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Erickson said.

"We're taking both steps to (create) change immediately as well as a longer-term goal in which our faculty can be very much involved," Erickson said.

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Dale reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writer Mark Scolforo in State College contributed to this report.

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Clinton: Pakistan needs to take 'decisive steps'

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visits Meiji Shrine in Tokyo in this AP file image from Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009. (AP Photo / David Guttenfelder, Pool)

  By ANNE GEARAN and NAHAL TOOSIISLAMABAD -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that relations between the United States and Pakistan have reached a turning point after the killing of Osama bin Laden and she called on Islamabad to take "decisive steps" in the days ahead to fight terrorism.

Clinton made the remarks after meeting with Pakistani leaders on a seven-hour trip aimed at repairing ties badly damaged by the May 2 U.S. raid that killed the al-Qaida chief. A brief portion of the meetings witnessed by reporters was stiff and awkward, with no smiles among the U.S. delegation, and it was unclear how much, if any, progress was made.

Although she stressed that the U.S. won't abandon an alliance it considers critical to success in the war in Afghanistan and that both countries had shared interests, Clinton also criticized Pakistanis for propagating conspiracy theories and anti-American sentiment.

Pakistani officials are angry they were not told in advance of the raid against bin Laden, who was living in an army town not far from the capital, Islamabad. Parliament has passed resolutions condemning the U.S. incursion, and the U.S. has been asked to reduce the number of military personnel it has stationed in nuclear-armed Pakistan, which has become a nexus for Islamic extremism.

In the U.S., suspicions have abounded that elements in Pakistan's security services may have harbored the terrorist mastermind, and some lawmakers have called for a review of the billions in military and humanitarian aid that the U.S. gives to Pakistan.

Clinton and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, were the highest ranking U.S. officials to travel to Pakistan since the raid. They met Friday with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, among others.

Afterward, Clinton said relations "had reached a turning point," but that she thought Pakistan knew the stakes involved. She joked about the tense atmosphere witnessed by reporters at the beginning of the talks, but was serious-faced for the most of the news conference.

"We will do our part, and we look to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead," she said at the U.S.

Embassy, with no Pakistani official present. "Joint action against al-Qaida and its affiliates will make Pakistan, America and the world safer and more secure."

She added that the Pakistanis had mentioned "some very specific actions" they would take in the short term, but did not give any details. She also said the U.S. had been given access to bin Laden's compound Friday, a sign of ongoing cooperation between the nations.

The U.S. relies on Pakistan for transit and supply routes for foreign troops in Afghanistan and will need its help if Afghanistan is to broker a peace deal with Taliban militants. The country is believed to have influence over several Afghan insurgent commanders.

Clinton acknowledged this, saying "for reconciliation to succeed Pakistan must be part of this process."

She also repeated that no evidence has emerged that people in Pakistan's highest ranks had any idea of bin Laden's whereabouts.

According to Clinton, Zardari, the Pakistani president, grew emotional when saying that had he known of bin Laden's whereabouts he would have gone after him. Zardari is the widower of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated by suspected al-Qaida-linked militants.

"Our counterparts in the (Pakistani) government were very forthcoming in saying that somebody, somewhere, was providing some kind of support, and they are carrying out an investigation and we have certainly offered to share whatever information we come across," Clinton added.

Zardari's office released a statement after the meeting saying that the two sides agreed to "work together in any future actions against high-value targets in Pakistan," and to cooperate on promoting peace in Afghanistan.

The U.S. visit comes a day after a Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber detonated a pickup truck loaded with explosives near several government offices in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 32 people.

Thursday's blast was the latest in a series of attacks to hit the country since the bin Laden raid, including an 18-hour siege of a naval base in Pakistan's south. Some commentators and elements in the media have tried to blame the siege on "foreign hands" such as archrival India, with some suggesting that it was part of a grand Western conspiracy to destabilize Pakistan and take away its nuclear weapons.

Clinton lashed out at conspiracy theorists and those who spread anti-American views, saying such actions hamper what could be a more constructive relationship, and ultimately "won't make problems disappear."

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Obama announces steps to speed US oil production

  WASHINGTON -- Facing continued public unhappiness over gas prices, President Barack Obama is directing his administration to ramp up U.S. oil production by extending existing leases in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska's coast and holding more frequent lease sales in a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska.

Obama said Saturday that the measures "make good sense" and will help reduce U.S. consumption of imported oil in the long term. But he acknowledged anew that they won't help to immediately bring down gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon in many parts of the country.

The oil industry praised Obama's move as a first step but said much more was needed to boost oil production as part of a broader energy strategy.

"If given access to key shale reserves, if we can get the oil sands pipeline built that will allow us to import more crude from Canadian oil sands, and if we can access areas of the US that are currently off limits, our industry can create over a million new jobs and generate over $194 billion in revenue," said Erik Milito, upstream director for the American Petroleum Institute.

Obama's announcement followed passage in the Republican-controlled House of three bills - including two this week - that would expand and speed up offshore oil and gas drilling. Republicans say the bills are aimed at easing gasoline costs, but they also acknowledge that won't be immediate.

The White House had announced its opposition to all three bills, which are unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, saying the measures would undercut safety reviews and open environmentally sensitive areas to new drilling.

But Obama is adopting some of the bills' provisions.

Answering the call of Republicans and Democrats from Gulf Coast states, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address that he would extend all Gulf leases that were affected by a temporary moratorium on drilling imposed after last year's BP oil spill. That would give companies additional time to begin drilling.

The administration had been granting extensions case by case, but senior administration officials said the Interior Department would institute a blanket one-year extension.

New safety requirements put in place since the BP spill also have delayed drilling in Alaska, so Obama said he would extend lease terms there for a year as well. An oil lease typically runs 10 years.

Lease sales in the western and central Gulf of Mexico that were postponed last year will be held by the middle of next year, the same time period required by the House. A sale off the Virginia coast still would not happen until 2017 at the earliest. But Obama said he would speed up environmental reviews so that seismic studies to determine how much oil and gas lies off the Atlantic Coast can begin.

To further expedite drilling off the Alaskan coast, where such plans by Shell Oil Co. have been delayed by an air pollution permit, Obama said he would create an interagency task force to coordinate the necessary approvals. He also will hold annual lease sales in the vast National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska's North Slope. Officials said the most recent sale was last year, but that they had not been held on any set schedule.

Republicans dismayed by the lack of progress in Shell's drilling have drafted legislation to exempt drilling off Alaska from air pollution laws.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings of Washington, sponsor of the legislation, said it was "ironic" that Obama "is now taking baby steps in our direction" after the White House and congressional Democrats criticized the bills.

"The president is finally admitting what Republicans have known all along, that increasing the supply of American energy will help lower prices and create jobs," Hastings said.

Obama also called on Democrats and Republicans to vote to eliminate billions in taxpayer subsidies to oil and gas companies.

In the weekly Republican message, Alabama Rep. Martha Roby said it's time for Washington to get serious about the challenges facing the country, including straightening out its finances and tackling the gas price issue. She praised the House for passing measures to expand domestic energy production "because when we're talking about energy, we're talking about jobs."

"The greatest threat to our economy, job creation, and the future of our children is to do nothing," Roby said. "We have to act. It is what we were sent to Washington to do."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-05-14-11 1151EDT

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