The News in 2 Minutes

From The Associated Press

Kennedy walking halls as recovery begins

RALEIGH, N.C.—Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy emerged from the most precarious period following surgery to treat a brain tumor without any complications, spending Tuesday walking hospital hallways, spending time with his family and “keeping up with the news of the day,” his office said.

Kennedy had a restful night’s sleep after Monday’s operation, a statement said, and the 76-year-old Democrat is expected to stay at the hospital in Durham for about a week before returning home to Massachusetts for further treatment.

All of that is good news. Dr. John Sampson, the associate deputy director of the brain tumor center at Duke University Medical Center, isn’t involved in Kennedy’s care, but the neurosurgeon said that generally, patients who make it through the first day following surgery without any complications have the strongest prospects for recovery.

Kennedy’s office issued a statement updating his condition a day after he underwent a risky, aggressive 3?-hour surgery experts say is designed to remove as much of the tumor as possible before he receives chemotherapy and radiation treatments. His doctor has not said how much of the tumor was removed, but described the surgery as a success.

Kennedy, who has served in the Senate since 1962, was diagnosed with a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe of his brain after suffering a seizure on May 17 at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass.

Marked-up birds become sexier

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A little strategically placed makeup quickly turns the wimpiest of male barn swallows into chick magnets, amping up their testosterone and even trimming their weight, new research shows.

It’s a “clothes make the man” lesson that — with some caveats — also applies to human males, researchers say.

Using a $5.99 marker, scientists darkened the rust-colored breast feathers of male New Jersey barn swallows, turning lighter birds to the level of those naturally darkest. They had already found, in a test three years ago, that the marked-up males were more attractive to females and mated more often.

This time, they found out that the more attractive appearance, at least in the bird world, triggered changes to the animals’ body chemistry, increasing testosterone.

“Other females might be looking at them as being a little more sexy, and the birds might be feeling better about themselves in response to that,” said study co-author Kevin McGraw, an evolutionary biology professor at Arizona State University.

McGraw said the findings are surprising, in part because the hormonal changes occurred after only one week.

The study was published in Tuesday’s edition of the journal Current Biology.

AZ Legislature OKs bill on drunken driving

PHOENIX—The Arizona Legislature has completed revisions to a measure toughening laws against drunken driving and boating that was vetoed earlier this year.

This time the law discards a provision softening a penalty for some offenders.

The House on Tuesday approved a bill (HB2643) that omits the provision that prompted Gov. Janet Napolitano to veto the bill earlier his year. The Senate approved the new version Monday.

The legislation requires first-time offenders convicted of operating a boat while intoxicated to generally serve 10 consecutive days in jail. It also expands circumstances in which a drunken driver’s license is suspended for 90 days after a fatal accident.

The omitted provision would have shortened a requirement that first-time DUI offenders use ignition interlocks.