Reversing a campaign pledge, President Bush is backing off from saying he will regulate carbon dioxide from power plants as part of a broad strategy to address climate change and other air pollution. The shift has occurred just days before three moderate Republican lawmakers were to introduce legislation that would require limits on such carbon dioxide releases. Reversing a position he had taken during the presidential campaign, Bush said, in a letter yesterday to Senator Chuck Hagel, the Republican of Nebraska, that he takes climate change very seriously but that mandatory controls on carbon dioxide emissions would lead to higher electricity prices. Bush also cited the “incomplete state of scientific knowledge of the causes of, and solutions to, global climate change and the lack of commercially available technologies for removing and storing carbon dioxide.” The move has angered environmentalists and is at odds with the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 U.N. climate pact accord aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. The accord was signed by the United States but has not been ratified by the Senate, and Bush opposes it. Meanwhile, another scientific study with new evidence of the link between global climate change and the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is scheduled to appear in the scientific journal Nature.

With evidence that foot-and-mouth disease has spread to mainland Europe, the United States yesterday suspended imports of European meat, cheese and other animal products. McDonald’s and Burger King also took the unusual step of enforcing several regulations aimed at keeping the nation’s beef supply free of mad cow disease. McDonald’s and Burger King aimed their initiative at the unrelated mad cow disease, as well. McDonald’s, the nation’s largest purchaser of beef, and Burger King notified their suppliers that after April 1 they will require proof that the cattle they buy have been fed according to federal regulations.

A doctor who says part of a syringe got stuck in his mouth after he bit into a Big Mac is suing McDonald’s for $4.5 million. In his lawsuit, the doctor from Niagara Falls, Ontario, said the incident occurred at a McDonald’s in Niagara Falls, New York, in 1999. He says when he bit into the hamburger, the tip of a needle measuring about a quarter-inch became lodged in his mouth. He had it removed at a hospital. His attorney says the doctor has twice been tested for diseases such as HIV and has tested negative. No comment from McDonald’s on the lawsuit.

A Kellogg’s subsidiary is recalling all of its meatless corn dogs. The move comes after tests confirmed that some of them contain StarLink, a genetically engineered corn that’s not approved for human consumption. The recall includes corn dogs sold under the name MorningStar Farms, Loma Linda and Natural Touch.

Coca-Cola Company says it will change the way it markets soft drinks at schools. The company’s action comes in the face of threats of broader government regulation and scientific evidence that its products can lead to health problems. The Atlanta-based soft drink maker said today it will begin loading healthier drinks into vending machines alongside sodas, covering up giant logos and advocating nonexclusive deals with bottlers and school districts. The announcement comes a month after the Agriculture Department criticized schools that raise money by selling sodas and snacks on campus, saying they were sending mixed messages about nutrition. The department asked Congress for authority to regulate what foods and beverages can be sold in schools. A U.S. study published last month in The Lancet, a leading British medical journal, said an extra soft drink a day gives a child a 60% greater chance of becoming obese. A recent report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest said drinking sodas also puts teenagers at a higher risk of osteoporosis, tooth decay and other conditions. An estimated 200 school districts nationwide have contracts with soft drink companies that give them exclusive rights to sell their products in schools. Such contracts have become a popular source of income for many cash-strapped schools.

A day after North Korea abruptly called off cabinet-level talks with South Korea, North Korea strongly denounced the Bush administration, saying it’s adopted a hostile policy aimed at stifling the country. It was the North’s first direct criticism after President Bush met last week with South Korea’s president and laid down a hard line toward the North, ruling out an immediate resumption of Clinton-era negotiations with North Korea. At the meeting, President Bush said he had “some skepticism about the leader of North Korea,” particularly when it comes to honoring agreements. But the U.S. only has one agreement with North Korea, under which North Korea abandoned plutonium processing at a suspected nuclear weapons plant in return for the promise of construction of twin nuclear reactors to help fill energy needs. And shortly after Bush’s remarks last week, two senior Bush administration officials admitted there was no evidence that North Korea was violating the agreement. North Korea’s postponement of talks with South Korea strikes a blow to reconciliation efforts.