Steven Milloy holds forth about nuclear waste for Fox News.

"Over the past year, there have been several instances of political columnists shilling for the Bush administration," notes Paul Thacker, naming Armstrong Williams and Doug Bandow. "But the trend in paid-for-punditry seems to have spread to the world of science journalism as well." Thacker noted Michael Fumento's undisclosed grant from Monsanto, and Fox News columnist Steven Milloy's long-term, close relationships with corporations, including ExxonMobil and Philip Morris. As the Center for Media & Democracy has written, Steven Milloy is one of the "usual suspects" in fronting for corporate interests, writing columns questioning global warming, clear air regulations and the dangers of secondhand smoke. "But, whereas Scripps Howard fired Fumento and apologized to its readers, Fox News continues to look the other way as Milloy accepts corporate handouts," Thacker writes. Fox's Paul Schur told Thacker, "Fox News is unaware of Milloy's connection with Philip Morris." Steve Milloy began his PR front group career with The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition organizing stunts like their science writing award to the New York Times science reporter Gina Kolata.

As "part of an effort to jump-start the nuclear-power industry," the Bush administration is proposing "a $250 million initiative to reprocess spent nuclear fuel." The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership proposal would allow General Electric and other U.S. companies to sell developing countries "reactors and nuclear fuel on the condition that the U.S. would take back the spent fuel for reprocessing." An Argonne National Laboratory official said a new reprocessing method "would reduce the nation's eventual need for more nuclear-waste storage by 'a factor of more than 100.'" Waste storage is perhaps the nuclear industry's biggest political, environmental and safety problem. The Nuclear Energy Institute just hired Hill & Knowlton to promote Nevada's Yucca Mountain as a waste site. In Britain, where a "national debate" on nuclear power is taking place, officials "have dodged the decision of where to put [reactor waste] for 30 years," reports the Independent.

"In a controversial bid to revive the romance of a habit that's costly, potentially deadly and increasingly on the social fringes, R.J. Reynolds" is launching "a new premium-priced line of smokes" that's only available at "an upscale smoking lounge in a trendy Chicago neighborhood. The lounge has fresh tobacco and a tobacconist who will hand-roll a pack of cigarettes in any of nine flavors." The "exclusivity of the brand ... is creating a buzz," writes AdAge. "And, perhaps a new way of bringing a much-maligned product to market." The creative director at RJR's ad agency, Gyro Worldwide, said the campaign will "create romance." The idea came from company research suggesting "a sizeable group of adult smokers" wanted a "'super-tier' brand" of cigarettes. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' president warned, "The most effective marketing campaigns to kids are those that make cigarettes a part of looking like a successful, virulent young adult."