Bush Administration's Fake News on Medicare Drug Benefits

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The Medicare Modernization Act was passed last year with support of the AARP and billed as a breakthrough in delivering prescription drugs to the elderly. That legislation was supposed to help President Bush in this year-s re-election campaign, but it may not turn out that way. The Department of Health and Human Services is investigating charges by Democrats that Congress was never told how much it would really cost. Did Congress get the full story? Is the government trying to manipulate new coverage on local TV? Warren Olney speaks with news directors, investigative reporters, ethicists, experts in crisis management, and an official at the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Making News: Explosion Destroys Hotel in Baghdad
    A massive explosion has destroyed a hotel in central Baghdad tonight. Initial reports say the blast, which left a 20-foot wide crater, killed at least 27 people and wounded 41 others. The five-story Jabal Lebanon Hotel, located in a mixed neighborhood, served a largely civilian clientele and had little, if any, security. Newsweek's Melinda Liu, currently on assignment in Baghdad, reports on the evacuation and rescue efforts.
  • Reporter-s Notebook: Oil-for-Food Program Scandal at the UN
    After the Gulf War, Iraq was subject to trade sanctions. With millions of Iraqis struggling to survive, the United Nations allowed Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food and medical supplies. Iraq's multi-billion dollar Oil-for-Food Program was supervised by the top aide to Secretary General Kofi Annan. Susan Sachs of the New York Times says official accounts and documentation reveal hidden slush funds, supplied with suitcases full of cash, and all unnoticed by UN monitors.

MSNBC article on blast at Baghdad hotel

Medicare Modernization Act of 2003

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) on prescription drug coverage

CNN Newsource

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Government Accounting Office (GAO) on use of appropriated funds for flyer, advertisements for Medicare Modernization Act

President Bush signs, extols Medicare Modernization Act

UN's Oil-for-Food Program for Iraq

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Warren Olney