Chuck Norris warns: 'Our great country as we know it may be lost forever' -Video

Actor Chuck Norris recently appeared in a political ad alongside his wife Gena Norris to issue a warning to America.

In the video, which can be viewed below, Norris warns, "Our great country and freedom are under attack. We're at a tipping point and quite possibly, our country as we know it may be lost forever if we don't change the course our country is headed."

"We know you love your family and your freedom as much as Gena and I do and it is because of that we can no long sit quietly or stand on the sidelines while our country go by the way of socialism or something much worse," he later adds.

The 72-year-old action star, who recently appeared in "The Expendables 2," has been a noted supporter of Republican candidates for years and endorsed Newt Gingrich back in January when the politician was running to be the Republican candidate in the presidential election on November 6.

In the past, Norris has donated more than $45,000 to right-wing groups such as the Tea Party Express and the National Republican Trust and to candidates such as George W. Bush, his father George H.W. Bush and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Norris' wife also speaks in the ad several times including an instance where she encourages evangelical Christians to vote in the next election.

"With our country at a cross roads Chuck and I have asked ourselves what we can be doing to help support this great country we're blessed to live in and how we can encourage our like-minded brothers and sisters to unite and let their voices be heard," she says. "It is estimated that in the 2008 election, 30 million evangelical Christians stayed home on voting day and Obama won the election by 10 million votes."

Norris lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife Gena and their 9-year-old twin son and daughter, Dakota and Danilee. Norris rose to fame with the 1990s series "Walker: Texas Ranger" and has inspired online lists of fan-written "facts" - such as, "There are only two things that can cut diamonds: Other diamonds, and Chuck Norris."

Norris does not endorse Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the ad. The commercial comes on the heels of actor and director Clint Eastwood's speech at the Republican National Convention where he criticized President Obama and address an empty chair as the president.

Check out Chuck Norris' ad below.

(Copyright ©2012 OnTheRedCarpet.com. All Rights Reserved.)

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FDA warns of over-the-counter pill mix-up with painkillers

  By MATTHEW PERRONEWASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration is warning patients about a potential mix-up between powerful prescription pain drugs and common over-the-counter medications like Excedrin and Gas-X made at a Novartis manufacturing plant.

The problem stems from major manufacturing problems at a Lincoln, Neb., facility which triggered a sweeping recall of the company's over-the-counter drugs on Sunday. The company has received complaints of broken and chipped pills and inconsistent bottle packaging that could cause pills to be mixed up. Consumers should not use the products and can contact the company for a refund.

FDA officials warned Monday that some of Novartis' over-the-counter pills may have accidentally been packaged with powerful prescription painkillers made at the same facility. The opioid drugs are sold by Endo Pharmaceuticals as Percocet, Endocet, Opana and Zydone.

Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., of Chadds Ford, Pa., said it is not aware of any confirmed product mix-ups that reached patients or caused any injuries.

FDA officials say they are not recalling the painkillers because they are essential medications for many patients and the risks of stray pills are low.

"The likelihood of finding a wrong tablet in an opiate pain medication dispensed to patients is low and patients should not be unduly alarmed," FDA's Dr. Edward Cox told reporters. Cox said FDA inspectors are currently inspecting the plant and uncovered a manufacturing problem that could allow pills to become stuck in the machinery and carry over to the packaging of other products. FDA officials said the investigation is ongoing and would not comment on potential penalties against Endo or Novartis.

Cox said regulators are also concerned about a shortage of Endo's painkillers in coming weeks due to the shutdown of the Nebraska facility. Novartis voluntarily halted production at the plant last month.

"FDA is working with Endo and Novartis to minimize the degree of impact. The degree of shortage will depend upon how quickly safeguards can be put in place to prevent this manufacturing issue from happening in the future," the FDA said in a statement on its website.

FDA inspectors cited Novartis' plant for a dozen quality control problems last summer, in a report posted to the agency's website. Company officials failed to properly investigate 166 consumer complaints of mixed-up pills in Novartis bottles since 2009, according to inspectors. The inspectors also concluded that none of the 223 complaints received by the plant last year were adequately reviewed, according to the report.

Novartis AG said in a statement said that it issued the recall "at the appropriate time ... as a precautionary measure in the best interest of consumers." The Basel, Switzerland-based company said it is working to upgrade and improve manufacturing and training at the Nebraska plant.

The company announced Sunday it would recall certain bottles of headache medicine Excedrin and caffeine caplets NoDoz with expiration dates of Dec. 20, 2014. The company is also recalling some packages of pain medicine Bufferin and stomach medicine Gas-X with expiration dates of Dec. 20, 2013, or earlier.

Customers can also call the company at 1-888-477-2403 Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.

The FDA and Endo Pharmaceuticals recommend patients examine their prescriptions to make sure all the tablets are similar in shape, color, size and marking. If one or more of the tablets look different, patients should return the medicine to their pharmacist.

Patients can call Endo Pharmaceuticals' call center at 1-800-462-3636.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Recalls »

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Schumer warns FDA on danger of new painkillers

  By MICHAEL GORMLEYALBANY, N.Y. -- Following fatal shootings in two New York pharmacy robberies, a U.S. senator is warning that a new batch of "super painkillers" now under review could force repeats of recent violent robberies that left six people dead.

"It's tremendously concerning that at the same time policymakers and law enforcement professionals are waging a war on the growing prescription drug crisis, new super-drugs could well be on their way, flooding the market," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "The FDA needs to grab the reins and slow down the stampede to introduce these powerful narcotics."

A message seeking comment from the Food and Drug Administration was not immediately returned Friday.

The Associated Press reported last month about addiction experts' fears over four drugs being tested that contain a more powerful version of one of the nation's most abused painkillers - hydrocodone.

Schumer is particularly concerned about legalizing the drugs for prescriptions because they would be prized commodities in the black market.

Experts say painkiller addiction has been driven partly by a loophole in the 1970 Controlled Substances Act that classified pure hydrocodone - a super painkiller - as a strictly controlled Schedule II drug. But the law put combination products, such as pills containing hydrocodone and acetaminophen, into the less strict Schedule III.

Because of the loophole, patients can refill a prescription for a hydrocodone-acetaminophen drug like Vicodin up to five times. A prescription for a similar oxycodone product, such as Percocet, can be filled only once. Critics say the loophole has flooded American medicine cabinets with hydrocodone.

In 1999, the Drug Enforcement Administration and FDA began reviewing whether they should reschedule hydrocodone combination products. But an AP review of regulatory documents and court filings shows the agencies have repeatedly passed the rescheduling study back and forth, with no final decision made.

A New Year's Eve robbery at a Long Island pharmacy netted prescription painkillers and cash and left the robber and a federal agent dead. In June, four died in another Long Island pharmacy robbery in which 11,000 hydrocodone pills were stolen.

If the pure hydrocodone drugs are approved, Schumer wants a "robust post-market surveillance" of the drugs as they are marketed, advertised and sold.

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