"A smiling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wheeled a shiny new Hummer into a hydrogen fueling station at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday in what aides called a fulfillment of a campaign promise to convert one of his tank-sized gas guzzlers to run on the alternative fuel," the Los Angeles Times reports. "However, the entire made-for-media event, staged before about 300 dignitaries, hydrogen power advocates and journalists, had more than a hint of Hollywood make-believe.

"U.S. and Japanese negotiators struck a deal Saturday to allow limited imports of U.S. beef into Japan," reports Canadian Press. Japan imported $1.7 billion of U.S. beef in 2003, but closed its markets last December, after a Washington state cow was found to have mad cow disease. The chair of the Canada Beef Export Federation called the announcement was "old news," saying, "The Americans are trying to put a new spin on it for their election." The head of U.S.

At a conference on sugar and other sweeteners, medicine and epidemiology professor Adam Drewnowski challenged the World Health Organization's characterization of soft drinks as "energy-dense foods." He said that soft drinks' "high water content gives them the energy density of fresh carrots." Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, a think tank on food issues, organized the conference, which was sponsored by Coca-Cola's