Apr
12
2013
SHANGHAI — Gov. Jerry Brown’s trade mission to China this week is intersecting with one of the most controversial issues of his governorship: California’s $68-billion bullet train.
The governor has staked part of his legacy on the rail network, a centerpiece of his vision for California. He is hoping that China, which is enjoying an economic boom and spent $77.6 billion on overseas investments last year, according to official figures, will pump some of its cash …
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Apr
12
2013
WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2012 and an abortion opponent, said Thursday that anti-abortion activists should try to build a broad coalition and find common ground with supporters of abortion rights as a way to advance their agenda.
Ryan, R-Wis., said in a speech to the Susan B. Anthony List that those who oppose abortion “need to work with people who consider themselves pro-choice – because our task isn’t to …
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Apr
11
2013
Margaret Thatcher died Monday, April 8, 2013, at the age of 87. Predictably, there is no dearth of hagiographic profiles of the former British Prime Minister in the mainstream press and scathing vitriol elsewhere. But while The Economist hails Thatcher for her “willingness to stand up to tyranny” and Barack Obama calls her “one of the great champions of freedom and liberty,” it should be remembered that, throughout her career, Thatcher was a staunch …
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Apr
11
2013
Tension in Bahrain is rising again as the country prepares for next weekend’s Grand Prix, 12 months after Formula One caused a worldwide furore by staging a race in the Gulf kingdom.
As the Bahrain International Circuit announced that ticket sales for the race, to be held on 21 April, were ‘flying’, other reports from the country were raising concerns over the increased number of raids on activist homes and detentions as the country’s authorities cracked …
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Apr
11
2013
UPDATE: Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) voted to block gun legislation from coming to the floor for debate on Thursday, one of only two Democrats to do so, along with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). Another Democratic senator who had threatened to vote no, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), did not. The gun bill reached the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward.
Click here for the full story. …
Apr
11
2013
NEW YORK — IRS documents released Wednesday suggest that the tax collection agency believes it can read American citizens’ emails without a warrant.
The files were released to the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom of Information Act request. The organization is working to determine just how broadly federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI or the IRS’ Criminal Tax Division interpret their authority to snoop through inboxes.
The IRS apparently interprets that authority very broadly, …
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Apr
11
2013
SAN FRANCISCO — A bill aimed at pressuring the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on gay members by making the organization ineligible for nonprofit tax breaks cleared its first vote Wednesday in the Legislature.
The Senate Governance and Finance Committee voted 5 to 2 to move the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee for review.
The Youth Equality Act, sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, would deny tax-exempt status to youth groups that …
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Apr
11
2013
Lawyers representing hunger-striking detainees at America’s controversial Guantánamo Bay prison have warned they fear some of the protesters could soon die in the ongoing protest.
The news comes as fresh details emerge about conditions at the camp from lawyers visiting clients, letters being written by inmates and phone calls from inside the prison.
They describe dramatic weight loss among many of the hunger strikers, force-feeding, putting protesters in isolation and at least one suicide attempt – though …
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Apr
11
2013
If ever there were a perfect example of how basic legal contracts are an inferior alternative to the benefits of marriage for same-sex couples, this heartbreaking story is it. Missouri resident Roger Gorley was staying by the hospital bedside of his partner Allen, with whom he’s been in a civil union for nearly five years — though it is not recognized in Missouri — and with whom he also shares power of attorney. When one …
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Apr
11
2013
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius should personally apologize to the parents of 1,316 premature infants who were exposed to increased risk of blindness and death as part of a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health and held throughout the U.S. several years ago because they were not informed of the risks to their babies or the true nature and purpose of the research, Public Citizen said …
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