In brief: Fever will keep Bush hospitalized
HOUSTON – Former President George H.W. Bush is spending Christmas in a Houston hospital after developing a fever and weakness following a monthlong, bronchitis-like cough, his spokesman said Monday.
A hospital spokesman had said the 88-year-old ex-president would be released in time to spend the holiday at home, but that changed after Bush developed a fever.
“He’s had a few setbacks. Late last week, he had a few low-energy days followed by a low-grade fever,” Jim McGrath, Bush’s spokesman in Houston, told the Associated Press.
He said the cough that initially brought Bush to the hospital on Nov. 23 is now evident only about once a day, and the fever appears to be under control, although doctors are still working to get the right balance in Bush’s medications. No discharge date has been set.
FDA warns doctors of Botox wrinkle
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have warned more than 350 medical practices that Botox they may have received from a Canadian supplier is unapproved and could be counterfeit or unsafe.
The Food and Drug Administration said in a letter sent last month, a letter released publicly last week, that batches of the wrinkle treatment shipped by suppliers owned by pharmacy Canada Drugs have not been approved by the FDA and that the agency cannot assure their effectiveness or their safety.
The FDA said Canada Drugs was previously tied to shipping unapproved and counterfeit cancer drugs.
The agency warned doctors about buying drugs from sources other than licensed U.S. pharmacies. It is the fifth warning the agency has made this year about foreign suppliers providing unapproved drugs.
Rough weather may hit Gulf today
NEW ORLEANS – Nasty weather that includes a chance of strong tornadoes and howling thunderstorms is forecast for today along the Gulf Coast from east Texas to north Florida.
The National Weather Service said people should prepare their yards for high winds, securing lawn furniture or anything that might be blown into a home or car. A storm front moving from the West Coast was to hit a cold front.
A squall line was expected to cross Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle during the night with high winds and at least a few tornadoes possible into today. The Carolinas also may be hit.