A University of Pittsburgh child psychiatrist who conducted company-sponsored clinical trials on adolescent use of the antidepressant Paxil also conferred with the company on how to respond to press inquiries challenging the safety of the drug for adolescents, reports the BBC investigative program, Panorama. The psychiatrist, Dr. Neal Ryan, sent emails to GlaxoSmithKline dating to 2002 requesting media advice. Ryan interpreted the clinical trial to support the use of Paxil in depressed children, advice that other doctors can follow even when drug regulators do not approve the medication. The emails are among documents turned over to plaintiffs in a California lawsuit against the pharmaceutical maker. In 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Agency issued a warning against prescribing Paxil to children due to elevated suicidical thinking attributed to the drug. The United Kingdom's pharmaceutical review agency is conducting an investigation into the company's clinical trials. GlaxoSmithKline issued a statement denying any improprieties.

Helen Zia, author and board member of the Women’s Media Center, writes about Sarah Olson's victory: "Subpoenas against journalists may be intended to put a damper on their reporting, but in Olson’s case, the overwhelming response has been an outpouring of support for her stand on free speech—for both journalists and for voices of dissent. Such principles brought Olson, a freelancer without the deep pockets of a large news organization, the pro bono legal services of First Amendment Center, the early support of PEN America, the Society of Professional Journalists, and other groups. She garnered broad support from journalists and celebrities at the National Conference for Media Reform in mid-January—and aid from the Center for Media and Democracy, which quickly put up an impressive website for Olson pro bono, complete with an online petition and support boxes. ... Though the subpoena has been dropped, Olson has no intention of slowing her work on behalf of free speech and the First Amendment.”

Four years ago, McDonald's voluntarily announced that it would cut artery-clogging trans fats, the ingredient listed as "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" that is used to cook french fries and many other products throughout the fast food industry. Fast-forward four years--add an $8.5 million legal settlement and the first legislative bans on trans fats--and the company has announced it again. This time McDonald's says it's not spin: "We can confirm that we've got the right oil. We're phasing it in," said a company spokesman of a new mix of canola, corn and soy oils. Like other fast food chains, McDonald's has a special incentive: New York City has banned trans fats in most fried food, effective in July, and other communities aren't far behind. Some restaurant chains, including KFC and Wendy's, had already announced their own phaseouts, but McDonald's told the Chicago Tribune that, until now, it hadn't been able to ensure that its fries would live up to consumer expectations. A Harvard University study estimates that trans fat-driven heart disease kills 30,000 people per year. Health advocates still offer a mixed verdict: ending trans fats commendably may help keep arteries healthier, but won't reduce calories or obesity, notes nutritionist Marion Nestle.

Democracy Now! has an interview with journalist Sarah Olson, following the announcement that the U.S. military has dropped its effort to subpoena her testimony in the court-martial of war resister Lt. Ehren Watada. "I think that this is really a victory for the rights of journalists in the United States to gather up and to disseminate news really free from government intervention," Olson says, but adds, "I’m also a little bit concerned that Lieutenant Watada still faces prosecution for exercising his First Amendment rights during a public presentation. I also think that the preservation of these rights for journalists and for individuals clearly requires vigilance. Journalists are subpoenaed today in the US with an alarming frequency."

"Although the military has dismissed the subpoenas of journalists, Veterans for Peace Seattle Chapter organizers Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes, and Olympia-based anti-war organizer Phan Nguyen remain under order to testify against Lt. Watada. Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes came to the attention of Army prosecutors for their role in organizing the VFP National Convention in August. Phan Nguyen, a member of the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, was the moderator of a number of press conferences and rallies this summer regarding Lt. Watada and the support his stand against illegal war has generated. With Lt. Ehren Watada now formally acknowledging the remaining statements in question, the only rationale the Army could now have for dragging these prominent anti-war organizers into a military court is to intimidate the peace movement." Independent journalist Aaron Glantz first reported on this issue of Army intimidation of citizens in an early January article for Inter Press Service.