DEYTON TO HEAD TOBACCO REGULATION EFFORT

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration yesterday named a longtime public health expert to lead the Food and Drug Administration's efforts to curb deaths from tobacco.

Lawrence Deyton will become the first director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, created as part of a law that grants the agency sweeping power to regulate the addictive substance. Congress adopted the legislation two months ago, after more than 10 years of battles on Capitol Hill and in courts.

The measure gives the FDA the authority to set rules on the amount of nicotine allowed in cigarettes and other tobacco products — which contribute to an estimated one in five deaths in the United States — and to regulate their packaging and marketing.

STREAM FISH CONTAMINATED WITH MERCURY

A government test of fish pulled from nearly 300 streams in the United States found every one of them contaminated with some level of mercury.

The U.S. Geological Survey's research marks its most comprehensive examination of mercury contamination in stream fish. The study found that 27 percent of the fish had mercury levels high enough to exceed what the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for the average fish eater — those who eat fish twice a week.

Most mercury in water comes from particles from the atmosphere, the EPA said, fed largely by coal-fired power plants, trash burning and concrete plants nationally and internationally.

The USGS study examined mercury in 291 U.S. streams from 1998 to 2005.

WINDS SLAM FOUR MIDWESTERN STATES

MINNEAPOLIS — Powerful winds slammed parts of four Midwestern states yesterday, leaving behind shattered windows, toppled power lines and a handful of injuries. At least six suspected tornadoes were reported.

The National Weather Service received reports of a possible tornado near downtown Minneapolis, where winds tore off part of a 90-year-old metal church steeple. Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois were also hit, though the only confirmed tornado as of last night was in Hastings, about 30 miles southeast of Minneapolis, where a 100-yard-long swath of trees was flattened.

FRANCE BAKES IN VACATION-SEASON HEAT

PARIS — French citizens and tourists are diving into fountains and taking cold showers to try to cope with a heat wave hitting France during its traditional vacation season.

Weather officials said yesterday that temperatures could reach 104 degrees in some parts of the country.

August is a vacation month for many French, as well as high season for tourists to the capital and the country's famous southern beaches.

The French national weather service, Meteo-France, said the heat wave was not expected to be as bad as the one in 2003 that killed 15,000 people and led to negligence accusations against officials.

SAUDI ARABIA ARRESTS 44 TERROR SUSPECTS

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi authorities arrested 44 suspected militants with al-Qaida links in a yearlong sweep that also uncovered dozens of machine guns and electronic circuits for bombs, the government said yesterday.

Thirty members of the group hold advanced university degrees, mostly in the field of science, and some have received training in the kingdom and abroad on preparing explosives, forging travel documents and using light and heavy weapons, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry's spokesman, Mansour al-Turki, said that the suspected militants sought to set up cells "that would carry out their goals without their direct involvement."

BRAZILIAN MINISTER MAY RUN FOR PRESIDENT

BRASILIA, Brazil — A former Brazilian environment minister who is a famed campaigner to protect the Amazon rainforest from development says she is leaving the governing Workers Party and may run for president next year.

Marina Silva, 51, said she will probably join the Green Party, which recently invited her to be its presidential candidate to push the issue of sustainable development.

Silva's switch is a setback for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he tries to boost the Workers Party for the 2010 elections in South America's biggest country. He is barred from seeking a third consecutive term and is backing chief of staff Dilma Rousseff for the party's presidential nomination.