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

The surprising move is a blow to the administration and a victory for the coalition of 27 mostly Republican-led states and industry opponents that call the regulations "an unprecedented power grab." A 5-4 majority issued the temporary freeze. The Obama administration's plan aims to stave off the worst predicted impacts of climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions at existing power plants by about one-third by 2030.   read more

The price tag on the cleanup exceeded $540 million last year. It will cost an estimated $64 million and take at least four more years for the EPA to finish its work, according to documents released Monday. Even after that's done, hazardous asbestos will remain beneath the soil and in the walls of many houses, where it was used for insulation. Health workers have estimated that as many as 400 people have died and almost 3,000 have been sickened from exposure in Libby and the surrounding area.   read more

Lawmakers and police are pushing bills to enable unscrambling of data to obtain critical evidence in human trafficking, terrorism and child pornography cases. The bills seek to loosen the powerful encryption tools cell phone firms have installed to protect a phone user's privacy from hacking. Supporters argue police need access to data that can help them solve criminal cases, while technology and privacy groups are concerned the legislation would put a user's personal information at risk.   read more

Crossroads GPS has drawn heavy scrutiny — and critics have said it is taking advantage of what amounts to a loophole in campaign finance rules. The group calls itself a "social welfare" nonprofit that focuses on issues. By law it cannot spend a majority of its funds on political races. However, tax documents leave little question that Crossroads ramps up significantly in election years, with almost $70 million in contributions in 2014, with Senate and congressional seats at stake.   read more

Governments that make money off the products penalize women for their biology, some say. That perspective has picked up momentum, with at least five U.S. states dumping the taxes. Pennsylvania and Minnesota are among states that have eliminated the taxes. A handful of other states, including California, have seen similar proposals before their legislatures this year. In Wisconsin, a Democratic lawmaker has proposed providing free tampons in all public buildings.   read more

Georgia is the only state that allows the officer's unchallenged statement at the end of a grand jury session,. In some other states, a prosecutor can call the officer as a witness, but the officer is subject to questions and can't listen to the other testimony. The law has drawn criticism, especially as police use of force cases face increasing scrutiny nationwide. Critics argue the law gives an officer an unfair advantage and makes it extremely difficult to indict an officer.   read more

Two panelists work for the Center for Practical Bioethics, which receives funding from multiple drugmakers, including OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma, which donated $100,000 in 2013. One panelist holds a chair at the center created by a $1.5-million donation from Purdue. The other received more than $8,660 in speaking fees, meals, travel and other payments from pain drugmakers. The legislation creating the panel was championed for years by drugmakers.   read more

The Quicken Loans ad asks what would happen if the Internet “did for mortgages what the Internet did for buying music, plane tickets and shoes,” then showing a woman getting a home mortgage with the press of a button on her phone. If taken too literally, this could get people in trouble. A home mortgage is the biggest financial obligation most people will take on. If you buy the wrong music, plane ticket or shoes, it’s probably not a crippling financial burden, where the wrong mortgage can be.   read more

Philip Morris and other cigarette makers will soon be required to make public statements about the health effects of smoking, after a federal judge called the companies' rewrite request "ridiculous - a waste of precious time, energy, and money for all concerned - and a loss of information for the public." Judge Kessler rejected the cigarette makers' proposals, including the tobacco companies' desire to completely remove their names from the statements.   read more

"If we brought mortality from car crashes, firearm injuries and drug poisonings down to levels that we see in these other countries, we'd gain about a year of life expectancy," said lead author Andrew Fenelon. The injury data include accidental and intentional deaths and suicides, and deaths from prescription medications and illicit drugs. The study bolsters the argument that improving U.S. life expectancy will require addressing premature deaths among younger ages   read more

Among the items left behind since the memorial was dedicated in 1982 are a custom-built Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a general's stars, eyeglasses, military ribbons and medals, money and flags. The proposed changes call for keeping only personal artifacts of personnel whose names appear on the memorial, Vietnam War military service items, and protest and advocacy materials related to the war. Most of the items left at the site now have no direct connection to Vietnam veterans or the war.   read more

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a legal forum on Monday that the agency passed the milestone last week when it topped 325,000 registered drone owners. There are 320,000 registered manned aircraft. Huerta said the number of small unmanned aircraft is even larger because drone operators often own more than one drone. FAA officials launched a drone registration program just before Christmas, saying it would help them track down operators who violate regulations.   read more

In Flint, Michigan, as many as 8,000 children under age 6 were exposed to unsafe levels of lead. But it is hardly the only such occurrence. Unsafe levels of lead have turned up in tap water in city after city — in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mississippi — as well as in scores of other places in recent years. Such episodes are unsettling reminders of what experts say are holes in the safety net of rules and procedures intended to keep water not just lead-free, but free of all poisons.   read more

Some technology specialists and privacy advocates have said the government agency responsible for building and exploiting flaws in computer software for spying purposes should not be the same one entrusted to warn companies about detected software weaknesses. The presidential panel cited concerns about “potential conflicts of interest” between the NSA’s offensive and defensive objectives, in addition to the need to restore confidence with the U.S. technology industry.   read more

“While the last budget of an outgoing president is usually aspirational, and sets a theme for what he or she hopes will be followed up by his or her successor, it nonetheless should be reviewed by the Congress,” said Republican G. William Hoagland, former Senate Budget Committee staff director. “I believe that permitting the administration the courtesy of explaining its intent and what it thinks of the policy should have been maintained,” added Republican economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin.   read more

Independent experts say the coverage gains are due to the Obama health care law, boosted by economic recovery. That poses a dilemma for GOP presidential candidates, who are vowing to repeal "Obamacare," while offering hardly any detail on how they'd replace it without millions losing coverage. Indeed, a group of conservative policy experts said Republicans will need some kind of "grandfathering exemption" to avoid disrupting the lives of people who have gained coverage.   read more