May
09
2013
The United States has the highest rate of first-day deaths in babies than any other industrialized nation, according to a report released this week by the humanitarian group Save the Children.
Throughout the world, the first day of life is the most hazardous time for a baby; just over one million children die each year within 24 hours of being born.
Save the Children’s annual “State of the World’s Mothers” report ranks 176 countries on levels of …
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May
09
2013
The story of more than a dozen farm workers fired after fleeing smoke from the Springs Fire in Ventura County has turned out to be the story of more than a dozen farm workers who still have a job.
Maybe.
You see, after the story became a headline, the SoCal farm in question said it was all just a big misunderstanding:
It happened during the blaze last week when the strawberry field hands said they fled their workplace …
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May
09
2013
Students taking out government loans for college should pay the same rock-bottom rate as the nation’s biggest banks, Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposed today.
Her proposal, titled the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, would allow the low-rate loans for one year to give Congress time to figure out a long-term solution to interest rates.
Federal loan rates for new students are set to double on July 1 to 6.8 percent.
Warren said it’s unfair that big banks can …
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May
09
2013
Mark Sanford’s comeback bid was never so audacious as America’s political gossip columnists would have us believe.
Yes, the conservative Republican once boomed as a presidential prospect, before drawing national headlines in 2009 when it turned out that he had not gone missing on the Appalachian Trail but had instead snuck off to visit a woman friend in Buenos Aires. Yes, revelations about the affair led to his resignation as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, …
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May
09
2013
BRUSSELS, Belgium — After years playing soccer in Switzerland, Malaysia and the lower echelons of the French league, Zahir Belounis’ career seemed headed to a lucrative high when he signed up to play for the Eljaish club in Qatar.
Life in the gas-rich Gulf emirate, however, soon turned sour for the French striker.
“I’m ruined,” the player says. “I’m at the end of my career and I thought I’d be able to put a little money aside. …
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May
09
2013
In a rare hearing held by leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), members displayed interest in providing oversight to national security policies and heard testimony on drone operations abroad, drone technology, executive and congressional authority for “targeted killings,” how strikes go beyond what is permitted under international human rights law and dangerous precedents being set by the United States government’s drone policies and program.
Peace and Security Task Force Chair Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and …
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May
09
2013
NHK Broadcasting, Japan’s equivalent of the BBC, contacted me last month, wanting a statement on the American public’s reaction to the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.
A super-sized NAFTA, the TransPacific Partnership is a free-trade agreement whereby countries give foreign corporations rights and privileges to encourage investment and global business. The TPP was a major issue during Japan’s recent national elections, when thousands took to the streets in protest. It was hard for the Japanese journalist to …
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May
09
2013
WASHINGTON — In a U.S. patent application, a little-known Maryland inventor claims a stunning solar energy breakthrough that promises to end the planet’s reliance on fossil fuels at a fraction of the current cost – a transformation that also could blunt global warming.
Inventor Ronald Ace said that his flat-panel “Solar Traps,” which can be mounted on rooftops or used in electric power plants, will shatter decades-old scientific and technological barriers that have stymied efforts to …
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May
09
2013
The Sierra Club, one of the largest and oldest environmental organizations in the nation, announced last month its support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. It was a unanimous decision among the group’s board of directors and marks a definitive break with the group’s troubled history on immigration—a history that has also plagued the environmental movement broadly.
The arc of Sierra Club’s evolution starts with a dubious if not hostile perspective on immigration that …
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May
09
2013
Three weeks after checks sent to homeowners as compensation for foreclosure abuses were rejected for insufficient funds, the consulting firm at the center of the mishap erred again: a fresh round of checks was written for the wrong amounts.
In recent days, according to officials briefed on the matter, Rust Consulting issued nearly 100,000 checks for less than the homeowners were owed. The mistake potentially cheated consumers out of millions of dollars they were owed under …
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