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MONTERREY, Mexico – Mexican authorities say at least 13 people were killed in two shootouts between troops and gunmen in northern Mexico.

An army official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media says all those killed were gunmen working for the Zetas drug gang.

The northern Mexian newspaper El Norte reported that at least one bystander was killed.
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The official says troops were searching a villa in the Juarez suburb of Monterrey on Friday when they were ambushed by heavily armed men.

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WASHINGTON – Even as swine flu infections are causing an unprecedented amount of illness for this time of year — and a growing number of deaths, particularly among children — supplies of vaccine to protect against it will be delayed, government health officials said Friday.

In the past week, 11 more children have died from H1N1 influenza infections, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, bringing the total to 86 children since April. That’s a startling number because in some past winters, the CDC has counted 40 or 50 child deaths for the entire flu season — and no one knows how long this swine flu outbreak will last.

“These are very sobering statistics,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s director of immunization and respiratory diseases.

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The university’s Center for Vaccine Development has received more than 500 responses from potential volunteers since Wednesday, when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced human trials for a swine flu vaccine would begin in early August.

“This response has been exceptionally strong,” Nancy Solomon, a spokeswoman for the university’s medical center, told CNN Radio. “We haven’t had that strong of a response to our call for volunteers since we conducted our small pox vaccine research after September 11.”

Thousands of Americans are currently being recruited for swine flu vaccine testing at several research centers across the country, including Saint Louis University’s Center for Vaccine Development.

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Amid the frenzy of confusing and conflicting information that has followed the death of Michael Jackson, Wednesday began with clarity on two fronts. The day ended, however, with more questions than answers.

A federal law enforcement official said Wednesday night that the Drug Enforcement Administration had joined Jackson’s death investigation, once again fanning speculation that drugs may have been involved in the pop icon’s passing.

Earlier in the day, the Jackson family said they would not hold a public or private viewing of his body at Neverland Ranch, as had been reported. They didn’t indicate where else or when such a ceremony would be held.

And though Jackson’s will, made public Wednesday, placed his entire estate in a family trust, the document that described the trust was not filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

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BASEL, Switzerland – Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG said Friday it has successfully produced a first batch of swine flu vaccine weeks ahead of expectations.

The vaccine was made in cells, rather than grown in eggs as is usually the case with vaccines, the company said.

The announcement comes a day after the World Health Organization declared swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, a pandemic. The move indicates that a global outbreak is under way. WHO says drugmakers will likely have vaccines approved and ready for sale after September.