A quick look at the calendar tells me that summer is slipping away. I really enjoy this time of the year with BBQs and great fruit and vegetables in abundance. I hope you have either taken a vacation or plan on taking one. No matter how much your company depends on you it is a proven fact that a vacation helps recharge your battery and makes you a better employee.
By Christine Dell'Amore UPI Consumer Health Correspondent
The proposal to add fruits and vegetables to the federal Women, Infants and Children food assistance program may also provide incentives for local groceries to expand their produce selection, experts said Tuesday.
Acting on science-based knowledge of nutrition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to add fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, to the monthly allowance of available foods. The public will have 90 days -- until Nov. 6 -- to comment on the proposal, which will be the first major overhaul of the WIC program guidelines since 1980.
"The fruits and vegetables in the program help to reinforce nutritional education messages, as well as provide key nutrients lacking in the diets of WIC participants," said the Rev. Douglas Greenway, executive director of WIC Association.
In 2003 the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service commissioned the Institute of Medicine to recommend changes needed to WIC. They relied on current consensus on nutrition science, such as the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics' feeding guidelines.
By Kristin Jensen
Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate passed legislation that lawmakers said will provide the most sweeping changes in ethics rules in a generation, requiring more disclosure of their pet projects and the activities of lobbyists.
The 83-14 vote follows the House's 411-8 approval and sends the measure to President George W. Bush. The White House is reviewing the bill and has concerns about some provisions, said spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore.
Democrats said the new rules on lawmaking, lobbying and fund raising will help end a ``culture of corruption'' in Washington. The party took control of both chambers of Congress in the November 2006 elections in part because of a wave of scandals including one surrounding Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
``There's a lot of good in this bill, and I truly hope and believe that it will change the way we do business in Washington,'' Illinois Senator Barack Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate, said during today's debate. ``It's time to give people confidence in their government again.''
The measure is a compromise worked out by Democrats after the House and Senate passed separate versions. The White House and Republicans including Arizona senator and presidential candidate John McCain objected to parts of the bill, saying it should do more to force disclosure of pet projects, or earmarks.
