So much crime, so much tragedy.
Sometimes those are indeed the top local news stories of the day or night.
But it doesn't mean we, like you, are unaffected by them.
The rash of shootings in the Bronx recently affected us, like they did you. Innocent people, including a 15-year-old girl shot in the head.
And then today, three people killed in a fast-moving fire in an apartment building in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. Two of the victims were toddlers – ages 2 and 3.
And we, like you, cry.
Tonight at 11, we look at the fire – how it started, how these people were killed.
And we'll have the latest on the shootings – including the arrest of five people for the shooting of the teenager.
Also at 11, what a quandary for women – to get a mammogram or not? Or maybe not such a quandary. The outpouring of confusion and anger over a federal panel's suggestions that women under 50 not get yearly mammograms apparently had an impact in Washington, D.C.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today making it clear that this panel's recommendations do NOT represent federal policy. And she urged women who have been getting annual mammograms to continue getting them – the same position as the American Cancer Society.
The panel's suggestions raised some fascinating but angst-producing questions about current policy, that women 40 and older get annual mammograms. The truth is that the facts for screening are sometimes murky.
One study suggested that out of 2000 women screened for breast cancer over a 10-year period, 10 will be incorrectly diagnosed with breast cancer, and receive treatment – surgery, radiation, maybe even chemo – that she did not need.
And for every 10 mammograms a woman has, there's a 49% chance she will experience at least one false positive.
But then there's the octopus argument – that, on the other hand, women are saved by having a mammogram.
Tonight at 11, we'll have reaction to the announcement.
You don't need me to tell you Sarah Palin is all over the place, and her book tour continues tonight. But one tidbit caught our attention, and it comes from an aide to John McCain. The U.S. Senator from Arizona has said lately that he hasn't talked to Palin in months. Turns out, several months. Like nearly 13 months. According to a former McCain staffer, the last time the former Presidential and Vice Presidential running mates talked to each other was election night, 2008.
And we're also going to take a look at a fascinating demographic trend. We know people are living longer. Now we find that pets are living longer too.
The key to longer pet life is pretty much the same as the key to longer human life. And some of the issues that living longer means for us, also affect our pets. Sandra Bookman has our story.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Lee Goldberg's AccuWeather forecast, and Scott Clark with the night's sports. I hope you can join Liz Cho and me, tonight at 11.
BILL RITTER
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