David Satcher

Middle-age black men are dying at nearly twice the rate of white men of a similar age, reflecting lower incomes and poorer access to health care, a study says. But mortality among black infants is dropping. Although overall longevity for blacks and whites has improved during the last 40 years, the gap between the races has narrowed little, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs.

A Senate committee unanimously approved the nomination of Dr. Richard Carmona as surgeon general Wednesday, despite questions about his medical record and work history. The vote by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was conducted quickly at an informal meeting just off the Senate floor. The nomination now goes to the full Senate, which must confirm Carmona to the post, which has been vacant since Dr. David Satcher's term expired in February.

Sam and Lois Bloom, featured in Southern California Living on Wednesday ("When a Loved One Chooses Death"), are organizing the annual Healing After Suicide Conference that's taking place on Saturday. The meeting follows the 33rd annual conference of the American Assn. of Suicidology, held this week at the Regal Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A. Speakers at the event will include Mariette Hartley and Art Linkletter; workshops will include "The Whys of Suicide" and "Suicide and Religion."

Cal State Long Beach celebrated its 37th annual commencement with nine separate ceremonies on campus over a three-day period beginning Wednesday. Speakers: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gordon Ringer addressed 657 graduates of the School of Humanities Wednesday in the central quadrangle. The School of Social and Behavioral Science's ceremony Wednesday featured speakers Dr. Keith Polakoff, dean of the school, and Anne Huxley, chair of the school's student council.

"Fatwa on Obesity Carries No Weight" (Commentary, Dec. 19) claims that the surgeon general's "fat war" is an example of a government agency overstepping its legitimate authority since "the surgeon general's office, if it has any purpose at all, should be dedicated to issues that concern public health " and asks, "Why is it the government's concern?" Well, like smoking and drinking, obesity causes a lot of medical problems in the public that require expensive treatment. And who pays for that expensive treatment?

Racism, discrimination and other stresses that black women encounter could be a factor in their babies facing a higher risk of infant death than white children, speakers at a conference on black infant mortality said Friday. Overall, about seven infants of every 1,000 born die before reaching age 1. But black infants are 2 1/2 times more likely than white infants to die before their first birthday, Surgeon General David Satcher said.

Elizabeth Glaser, who died Saturday of complications from AIDS, was best known for the speech she gave at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. However, she was equally eloquent when she told graduates of the UCLA Medical School: "I will not win all of my battles, and neither will you. But if we do our best with intelligence, compassion and love, that will be enough--it has to be enough.

Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter are among the guests discussing cuts nationwide in mental-health funding on a special edition Sunday of "The Infinite Mind," public radio's weekly program on mental health. The show, which will air from 10 to 11 p.m. on KPCC-FM (89.3), is dubbed "State of Mind: America 2003" and is the program's second annual review on the status of mental health in the United States. This year, host Dr.