To the Point

Asia Pacific Economic Conference Meets in Chile

President Bush's first foreign trip since his re-election begins tomorrow in Santiago, Chile with the Presidents of Russia, China and 18 other Asia-Pacific countries. Although the war on terror will be uppermost on his agenda, the other heads of state at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference meeting will have other things in mind. APEC countries account for a third of the world's population and half the world's trade. Does the US still have the clout it used to in Asia, South East Asia and parts of South America? Will the big story be China and its rapid ascendance in the global economy? We get the mood in Santiago and preview the issues likely to be discussed with reporters in Chile, economists and political scientists from the APEC Study Center and sustainable-development organizations, and a former official of the US State Department. Making News: Congress Examines Merck's Vioxx The Senate Finance Committee heard testimony today on Merck's withdrawal from the market of an anti-cholesterol drug found to cause heart problems. A drug-safety reviewer told the Senators that, if another medication approves unsafe after FDA approval, the public is "virtually defenseless." Barry Meier, who's been covering the Vioxx story for the New York Times, says the drug's risks have been an issue since its initial release. Reporter's Notebook: Opening of the Clinton Presidential Library The Clinton Center was formally dedicated today in rainy Little Rock in a modernistic building that juts out over the Arkansas River. Its library boasts 2 million photographs, 76 million pages of paper and 75,000 artifacts, including the former president's saxophones. Former Presidents Bush and Carter attended the ceremony, along with the current President Bush. Curt Smith author of Windows on the White House: the Story of Presidential Libraries, offers a perspective.