ILLICIT DRUGS ADD COUNTRIES TO 'MAJORS LIST'

The "majors list" - which identifies the most problematic illicit
drug-producing and transit countries - has been released by the White
House. It contains many of the usual suspects: Afghanistan, the Bahamas,
Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.

President Bush's report also noted the alarming increase in the quantity of
ecstasy entering the United States; a significant amount is manufactured
clandestinely in the Netherlands. Bush also noted his concern that Canada,
although not on the majors list, is a primary source of pseudoephedrine,
which is exported to the United States and used in illegal drug
laboratories to make methamphetamine.

The report noted Canada increasingly has become a source of high-potency
marijuana exported to the United States.

a.. You probably don't need another study to be convinced that too many
commuters are distracted by talking on cell phones.

But here goes anyhow.

According to the National Safety Council, drivers are often distracted,
whether they are holding a cell phone during a conversation or using a
hands-free cell phone. The conclusion? Local laws requiring hands-free use
only will not help much.

Cell phone stats: About 134 million are in use in this country, and about
75 percent of drivers have used their phone while driving.

Federal officials estimate that 20 percent to 30 percent of all crashes are
caused by some form of driver distraction, with cell phones being just one
of several culprits.

a.. Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry! As if enough hot air hasn't settled over the
Senate, Jerry Springer, the former Cincinnati mayor who hosts one of the
more, uh, flamboyant TV talk shows, is contemplating a campaign. The
Democrat would face off against Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio.

Meanwhile, some folks are hinting that Oprah Winfrey, who soon is expected
to end her longtime Chicago-based talk show, would be the perfect
Democratic candidate to oppose Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill.

As if there isn't enough talk in Washington.

a.. Who favors war with Iraq? Support is highest among Republicans,
conservatives, younger Americans and those with a high school education or
less, says the Gallup organization, which analyzed data from six polls
taken in December and January.

A majority of Democrats, liberals and those with a postgraduate education
oppose an invasion. Men are slightly more likely than women to favor U.S.
action against Iraq.

a.. Maybe President Bush should have let Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and
Randy Jackson occupy the front-row seats at his State of the Union address
instead of the Joint Chiefs.

"American Idol," the lead-in to the president's Tuesday speech on the Fox
network, drew an estimated 23 million viewers, according to the Nielsen
ratings.

But about 13 million fans of the tone-deaf singers getting bashed by a
smarmy Brit found something better to do when president took the podium.
Even so, the 10 million who stuck around, along with those viewing on other
networks, helped make the State of the Union Bush's most watched televised
address ever - 62 million overall.

a.. Alarmed by childhood obesity rates, some Democrats want to use the
upcoming reauthorization of child nutrition programs to bar public schools
from leasing space to vendors selling sugar snacks and sodas.

But the new chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Thad
Cochran, R-Miss., says such decisions should be left up to local schools.
His father was a school superintendent.