Sanofi-Aventis gets expanded FDA approval for meningitis vaccine use in young infants

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis, said Monday the Food and Drug Administration approved the company's bacterial meningitis vaccine Menactra for children between the ages of 9 months and 23 months.

The disease is fairly rare in the United States, but those who get it develop symptoms quickly and can die in only a few days. Survivors can suffer mental disabilities, hearing loss and paralysis. The bacteria is spread by coughing, sneezing and kissing, and most cases occur in previously healthy children and young adults.

Gulf anniversary renews debate on Arctic drilling

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A year after the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, some experts are pondering the next doomsday scenario - a massive oil well blowout in the icy waters off Alaska's northern coast.

Like the deepest waters of the Gulf, the shallow but frigid seas off Alaska are a new frontier for oil and gas exploration. The reserves are large but come with risks.

With no roads connecting remote coastal towns, storms and fog that can ground aircraft, no deep-water ports for ships and the nearest Coast Guard station about 1,000 miles away - it would be nearly impossible to respond on the scale that was needed last year to stop a runaway oil well and clean up the mess. That means the burden to respond would rest to an even greater degree on the company doing the drilling.