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 U.S. women’s incarceration rate has climbed steeply, according to the report. “In the U.S., we are not only incarcerating women far more than nearly all other nations, but we are also incarcerating women far more than we have done in the recent past. The sudden growth of incarceration in our country has been staggering; our incarceration rate nearly tripled between 1980 and 1990,” the report said.   read more

According to an investigation by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting, Kids Wish has given out less than 3% of its donations to sick children. The rest has gone to fundraising and salaries to its founder and former president, Mark Breiner. He or his companies have received $4.8 million over the past 10 years from the charity. More than $110 million has gone to professional solicitors. During the same period, the charity gave only $3.3 million to children.   read more

Trying to help fix Healthcare.gov after its shaky rollout, Slavitt tried to create an account for himself, but it didn’t work. He joined CMS in 2014 as Principal Deputy Administrator, having to get an “ethics waiver” from the Obama administration. As he awaits confirmation, Slavitt has taken criticism from Sen. Orrin Hatch for conflicts of interest that his appointment would create. The liberal group Public Citizen also has questioned the appropriateness of the nomination.   read more

Breysse joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University in 1986 and remained there until joining the federal government. His research there included a study on smoking in cars, which found that smoking in autos left twice the levels of secondhand smoke than in bars. He directed a secondhand smoke exposure assessment laboratory at Johns Hopkins and conducted studies in the field around the world.   read more

While stationed in Manila, the embassy began work on an expansion of its office space. During the construction, unexploded ordnance from World War II was found on the construction site. Each time a piece was found, Riley told State magazine, “We thought that would be the last of it but, no, there was always more. . . . Our employees had worked there for more than 60 years and lived there for more than 50 years, unconscious of the potential danger.”   read more

The FDA said food companies would not be required to label the salmon as having been genetically engineered. Many consumer groups reacted negatively to the news, claiming the safety studies were inadequate. Friends of the Earth warns that the salmon approval by the FDA will set a precedent that could make future GMO animal species easier to put on the market. The group claims there are at least 35 other species of genetically engineered fish, cows, pigs and chicken currently in development.   read more

“I have now seen firsthand how devastating profiling can be - written on the face of a member of my team,” Rosenbaum said. “This is, in my view, exactly what our profiling laws are meant to prevent. Black Lives Matter is a social and political movement, protected by the First Amendment. Association with Black Lives Matter does not create violence and does not deserve intrusion by the state.”   read more

The Great Recession and weak recovery has caused a reversal in the U.S.-Mexico immigration relationship, with more heading south than traveling north. Pew researchers found that most of those returning to Mexico have done so voluntarily, and that only 14% were deported. They estimated one million Mexicans and their families moved to Mexico from 2009 to 2014. Over the same period, 870,000 Mexican nationals left Mexico to come to the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.   read more

His specialties were emerging infectious diseases, food safety and responses to complex outbreaks. In 2001, he was one of CDC’s point men on the anthrax outbreak a month after the 9/11 attacks. In 2003, Ostroff took a similar role during the monkeypox outbreak that arose from exotic animals being brought into the United States. In 2014, he used his position to urge pregnant women to eat more non-mercury-tainted fish and in 2015 he began the process of banning trans fats in U.S. processed foods.   read more

In 2005 McSwain was made Deputy Director of IHS. Beginning in 2007, he served as the agency’s Acting Director and the following year was confirmed by the Senate as Director. During his tenure, he came under fire from Congress for mismanagement of the agency. One example was a Government Accountability Office investigation that showed almost $16 million worth of equipment and other types of property could not be accounted for. McSwain claimed the charges were overblown.   read more

Maplight reported that senators voting for two Senate resolutions (S.J.Res.23 and S.J.Res.24) targeting EPA regulations “received, on average, 17 times as much money ($75,802) from the coal mining industry compared to senators voting against them ($4,464) between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015.” Thirteen senators received more than $100,000 from the industry during that period—and all of them voted for both resolutions. The Senate approved the resolutions by identical votes of 52-46.   read more

The Bible calls on Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and Matthew 25:41-43 says “we cannot say to those in need, ‘you are not our problem.’” But governors such as Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska have essentially said the Syrians fleeing their war-torn land are not their problem. “The anti-refugee position has struck many observers as hypocritical," wrote Lee, since before the attacks they had "invoked their Christian faith...calling for tolerance."   read more

Boko Haram was ranked No. 1 in part because its terror campaign surged last year, when deaths attributed to the Muslim fundamentalist group increased by more than 300%. In fact, the Global Terrorism Index 2015 reported huge increase in terrorist attacks during 2014, most of which were carried out in the countries IS and Boko Haram are based: Iraq, Syria and Nigeria. The report pointed out that the vast majority of terrorist attacks do not take place in the West.   read more

Consumer advocates have blasted Williams for his proposal. "His amendment benefits nobody but car dealers. And he’s a car dealer,” said CARS' Rosemary Shahan. Williams claimed cars shouldn’t be idled for minor fixes such as a safety sticker peeling off or other minor issues. “This is ridiculous," said Rep. Lois Capps. "(National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration) does not issue frivolous recalls. All safety recalls pose serious safety risks and should be fixed as soon as possible.”   read more

Persistent lobbying by Scottish agriculture officials has convinced the USDA to consider ending the ban on beef and lamb imports by 2017. “Getting back into the U.S. market in 2017 would unlock a huge market and millions of pounds of business for our Scotch lamb and haggis producers,” said Scottish Agriculture Secretary Richard Lochhead. However, the USDA says it will not lift its prohibition on sheep lungs, which would mean any Scottish haggis would have to be altered to enter the U.S.   read more

“In the last three years, at least 12 states have seen their legislative leaders or top cabinet-level officials charged, convicted, or resign as a result of ethics or corruption-related scandal,” wrote Andrew Emett. “At least five House or Assembly leaders have also fallen." Additionally, “[a]t least 36 states have voted on bills that may present a conflict of interest.” The absolute worst state was Michigan, which got F’s in 10 of the 13 categories of government operations examined.   read more