Morning, Sunshine

Good morning.

Over the weekend, President Obama addressed abortion head on in his commencement speech at Notre Dame, attendance was at an all time high at the National Rifle Association convention in Phoenix, and a filly won the Preakness for the first time in 85 years.

But let's get on to health.

Swine Flu

The 62nd World Health Assembly kicked off this morning in Geneva. Topic 1: Whether the world is ready to tackle swine flu.

As of Sunday, 39 countries have officially reported 8,480 cases of A/H1N1 flu infection, including 72 deaths, the WHO said.

So far, there is still no strong evidence showing community-level transmission of the virus in regions outside of North America.

New York City reported its first death from swine flu late last night — a city school assistant principal Mitchell Weiner of Queens.

Also, NPR's Richard Knox talked with World Bank employee Todd Johnson who brought back a probable case of swine flu from a trip to Mexico in mid-April, before the bug was officially identified. He says the world is overreacting. Listen to Knox's Morning Edition piece here.

Health Policy Overhaul

The Detroit Free-Press has a good Q&A on what President Obama's proposal to overhaul health care might mean to us regular folks, including what it might mean for our taxes.

We'll be watching and listening as Congress continues work on drafting its health overhaul bill this week.

Tobacco

As Congress considers whether to boost regulation of cigarettes, a new study suggests smoking today's cigarettes may be riskier than in years past as researchers note an increase in a certain kind of lung tumor since lower tar cigarettes were introduced.

The new tumors are lower and deeper than previous types of cancers, suggesting smokers inhale more deeply now.

The report is preliminary and circumstantial, but it is sure to be a topic of discussion when the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee holds a hearing on a bill on Tuesday to discuss giving the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco.