The White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) made changes to a report from the National Academy of Sciences on the toxicology of mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that is especially dangerous to pregnant women and young children. According to documents obtained by the New York Times, White House staff made editorial interventions in the report, which was commissioned by Congress to establish the science on the risks associated with mercury. The White House's alterations downplayed the risks of mercury, replaced specific enumerations of mercury-related harms with bland, general

On Feb. 27, President Bush dismissed two handpicked members of his Council on Bioethics who had publicly supported human embryonic stem cell research -- which the president opposes -- and replaced them with three members who can be counted on to fall in line. The two dismissed members include Elizabeth Blackburn, a renowned biologist at the University of California at San Francisco, and William May, a highly respected emeritus professor of ethics at Southern Methodist University. In their place, the president appointed:

More than 60 distinguished scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, blasted the Bush administration last week for suppressing and distorting scientific information that does not support its predetermined agenda.

The Bush administration will reverse course and bring new court cases against violators of power-plant emissions standards, according to EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt. Just three months ago, it was revealed that the administration had decided to stop investigating 70 power plants suspected of violating clean air standards, and would consider dropping 13 other cases that were referred to the Justice Department.