To the Point

Major League Baseball and Steroids Take Center Stage

Baseball stars, union leaders and major league executives were hauled before a Congressional committee today, complete with TV lights blazing. Is America-s favorite pastime doing enough to prevent role models from bulking up and setting records with performance enhancing drugs? Critics call it a dog and pony show that stretches the boundaries of Congressional authority. Supporters say decades of deception and exploitation are finally being exposed. With a million kids said to be using steroids, will today-s hearing make a difference, or is it bipartisan grandstanding? We hear a range of opinions from sports columnists and historians as well as a specialist in sports medicine who testified at a recent congressional hearing into steroid use. Making News: Oil Price Rise Shows No Sign of Slowing The price of oil has jumped to a record $57 a barrel, just one day after the Senate made it easier to drill in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. President Bush applauded the decision, which supporters say will help lower prices and make the US less dependent on foreign oil. Energy economist Philip Verlegger compares the price surge to the dot-com bubble and says that Japan and China will be the principal beneficiaries of any ANWR finds. Reporter-s Notebook: False Data Brings Yucca Mountain into Question Both the New York and Los Angeles Times report today that government scientists may have submitted false data to affirm the safety of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. At stake are 70,000 tons of waste at power plants around the US, which could be radioactive for 10,000 years. Nevada Senator Harry Reid and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman have both voiced grave concern. We hear more from Matthew Wald of the New York Times and Dan Hirsch of the nuclear watchdog group, Committee to Bridge the Gap.