When Pope John Paul II visited Damascus in May 2001, Bashar used his welcoming speech to denounce the Jews, saying, “They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”   read more

This year the Defense Dept requested almost $1 billion to manufacture Lockheed’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile. It is controversial because it is designed to fly for several hundred miles while out of contact with the controller and then automatically identify and attack an enemy ship in an opposing fleet. The report argues that such weapons could be uncontrollable in real-world environments where they are subject to design failure as well as hacking, spoofing and manipulation by adversaries.   read more

The checks are planned for 664 sites where the military has conducted fire or crash training. The Navy is giving bottled water to its personnel at the Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is testing wells in a nearby rural area after the discovery of perfluorinated chemicals in drinking water, which the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says may be associated with prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, along with other health issues.   read more

Power criticized the U.N. peacekeeping department for not quickly repatriating a Congolese contingent which had seven allegations of sex crimes in 2015. "How can we let this happen? All of us?," she asked council members, her voice rising with emotion. "...What if those soldiers were sent home sooner? How many kids could have been spared suffering unspeakable violations that no child should ever have to endure, and that they will have to carry with them for the rest of their lives?"   read more

A growing percentage of suburbanites rent, according to a new study. Experts attribute the renter surge partly to the foreclosures, financial struggles, stagnant incomes and tighter credit that followed the mortgage meltdown. Researchers also note the wave of young adults — often renters — in the large, so-called millennial generation, though the Harvard study in December noted a majority of U.S. renters now are 40 and older.   read more

Awad went to Sudan to work for the United Nations on peacekeeping missions for nearly 10 years, serving in Abyei, Kaduqli and Darfur. In 2014, Awad was in the mix to become Somalia’s next prime minister, but the office went to his predecessor in Washington, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who was ambassador to the United States for a few months that year. The following year, Awad was appointed to set up the embassy.   read more

It is a startling accusation: Did two major pharmaceutical firms, in an effort to protect their blockbuster drug, mislead editors at one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals? The claim carries echoes, some say, of an earlier era of drug marketing, when crucial clinical data went missing from journal articles, leading to ethics policies to limit the influence of drug companies on medical literature. “It just feels like it’s a real ethical breach,” said Dartmouth's Dr. Lisa Schwartz.   read more

A U.N. expert on torture, degrading and inhuman treatment is decrying "unsatisfactory results" following years of efforts to visit prisons in the United States. Special rapporteur Juan Mendez says U.S. officials continue to set what he considers excessively strict conditions for his visits, such as on which inmates he could see. Mendez told reporters Wednesday: "If I accept terms like that, every other government is going to demand the same treatment, and rightly so."   read more

The New Hampshire House on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have made it crime for women to expose their breasts or nipples in public. Bill supporters had cautioned that allowing women to go topless at beaches could lead to them also going topless at libraries and Little League games. But a report urging the bill's rejection said, "In a state with an average temperature of only 46 degrees, the risk of rampant nudity seems rather low."   read more

Pedestrian deaths surged by an estimated 10% last year as the economy improved, the price of gas plunged and motorists put more miles behind the wheel than ever before. The growing use of cellphones distracting drivers and walkers may also be partially to blame, states the report. Warmer weather and shorter winters along with a greater awareness of health benefits may also be encouraging people to walk more.   read more

The Washington Post reports that officials at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority have said that one unidentified Washington resident was responsible for about three-quarters of last year's noise complaints. That's the equivalent of one person making about 18 calls every day of the year.   read more

Thousands of people have had their prepaid debit cards frozen when they try to direct their tax refund to their accounts, a result of financial industry efforts to combat an escalation in tax fraud. It's keeping people from their money, and delaying access to much-anticipated tax refunds. People who rely on prepaid debit card accounts are often poorer Americans who don't have traditional bank accounts. The IRS and industry representatives wouldn't say if freezes were requested or required.   read more

The closely watched case between Amarin and the Food and Drug Administration could strengthen the drug industry's hand in the ongoing debate over promoting drugs for uses that have not been declared safe and effective by regulators. Pharmaceutical experts said companies would likely pursue more aggressive legal action against FDA, in light of the settlement. "We would expect companies throughout the country to ask courts to provide the same legal reasoning," said attorney John Fleder.   read more

Christopher Jessop testified that church security ran his son off the road, and that the Marshal's Office helped cover it up. Nicknamed the "God Squad," church security is said to keep an eye out for outside law enforcement. Jessop also testified that the Marshal's Office failed to investigate dozens of incidents of vandalism against his vehicle. The jury awarded him $1 million. Another $1 million will go to John Cook, a man repeatedly denied a water connection on a property to park his trailer.   read more

“Basically we are being taxed for being women,” said Cristina Garcia, a California legislator. New York assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal called the taxes “a regressive tax on women and their bodies.” Now a growing number of advocates want periods put squarely on the public agenda, and are demanding that businesses and government take menstruation into consideration when they design facilities, develop budgets, supply schools or create programs. And they want free tampons in every public restroom.   read more

The Army concluded that a technicality in legislation passed in 1977 prevented the WASPs from being buried at Arlington. It didn't give them status with the armed services, and so did not confer the right to be buried there. “Think of the irony that at the same time the Pentagon is opening up all missions to men and women in the military they are closing the door to the women who were pioneers,” said Rep. McSally, referring to Defense Secretary Carter’s decision to open combat roles to women.   read more

Congress has mandated that the DNI produce and make public the reports on so-called recidivism by former detainees. They contain aggregate data based on intelligence assessments but do not give names or places. Intelligence analysts now believe that an additional former Guantánamo Bay detainee has engaged in terrorist activity after his release, while seven more have been added to a roster of those who might be causing problems, according to data disclosed on Monday.   read more