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. government has held back the medical community’s ability to conduct the type of research that the scientific community considers the experimental gold standard in guiding medical practice,” Hudak and Wallack wrote. “Of all the controlled substances that the federal government regulates, cannabis is treated in a unique manner in ways that specifically impede research. Statutory, regulatory, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers have paralyzed science and threatened...research freedom.”   read more

The device in question is the Stingray, a suitcase-size device that mimics cell phone towers and allows users of the technology to locate a mobile phone. The FBI has used Stingrays without a court order over the objection of civil libertarians who say it’s a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against illegal searches by the government. Now, the Secret Service has been given similar authority when there is a “nonspecific threat to the president or another protected person.”   read more

Over a period of eight years, railroads were the subject of more than 2,000 retaliation complaints made by whistleblowers to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. BNSF and Union Pacific had the most railroad complaints, 409 and 360, respectively, from October 2007 through June 2015. Railroads, in fact, made up seven of the top 10 on OSHA’s list of most whistleblower reports. After BNSF and Union Pacific, were CSX, Norfolk Souther, Canadian National, Amtrak and Metro-North.   read more

Much of Jacobson’s work has involved negotiations with Cuba leading up to the normalization of diplomatic relations. Her success in those efforts could pose a problem when her nomination comes up for a vote. Marco Rubio opposed her nomination as Assistant Secretary and held it up for several months. Rubio is now running for president and that, along with Republican delay tactics used on most Obama nominees, might mean Jacobson will be waiting a while to board a flight for Mexico City.   read more

One of Hill’s biggest assignments began in 2007 when she was appointed political/economic officer in the U.S. consulate in Vancouver, Canada. There she prepared for the run-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in British Columbia, including securing more space for the many temporary Foreign Service officers assigned there during the Games. At the Bureaus of European Affairs and International Organizations, she planned 60 overseas trips for Secretary of State John Kerry.   read more

The Social Security Administration is still trying to reduce its worst-ever backlog of claims, which hit 1 million cases in 2015. The number of pending cases is the largest in SSA’s history. The backlog is the product of several factors: The number of requests for hearings has increased, the federal judges who hear appeals have become less productive, there are fewer attorneys on staff who could decide cases without going through the lengthy hearing process and fewer judges overall.   read more

The Republican plan to shutter the offices, where voters obtain the most commonly used form of identification under new voting laws, has been blasted by Democrats and civil rights advocates. They argue the move was made to help disenfranchise minority voters who tend to vote Democratic in elections. Of the counties with the highest percentage of non-white registered voters, eight had their license offices closed and they were closed in every county where blacks make up 75% of registered voters.   read more

Binge drinking and its associated costs have been increasing. The costs are up 2.7% since 2006. All forms of lost productivity accounted for about $179 billion of alcohol-related costs, while the cost of people showing up (or not) at work hung over cost $90 billion. The government wound up covering about 40% of the $250 billion total. Costs related to motor-vehicle crashes amounted to $13 billion, while the cost of arresting people and court fees related to drinkers was $15 billion.   read more

Inmates’ families will get a break from wildly inflated telephone charges now that the federal government has put new restrictions on the billion-dollar prison telephone business. The FCC has approved a plan that drastically cuts how much companies charge for phone calls by inmates to their families and others. It is capping calls at 11 cents per minute for a 15-minute phone conversation from state and federal prisons, starting next year. Jails would be allowed to charge a bit more.   read more

The controversial power of eminent domain has cost the Sheahan family their property near Area 51 in Nevada, ending their ownership that dates back about 150 years. The federal government has wanted the Groom Mine property, which overlooks the secret air base, offering as much as $5.2 million for it. But the Sheahans refused to accept the buyout, saying the land was “priceless” to them. Groom Mine is surrounded by Area 51’s security buffer zone which is patrolled by troops.   read more

Rep. Duncan said the agency, which has received $9 billion over the past 10 years, is “ineffective” and “irrelevant.” The program has "4,000 bored cops fly around the country first class, committing more crimes than they stop,” he said. They take three or four domestic trips a day, or quick turnarounds on international flights. Many say they are sleep-deprived and must use medication when they’re finally off duty. At least 10 have committed suicide since 2002.   read more

“Not much shakes me in this business – baby murder, sex assault, I’ve done it all,” said David Gaeger, an attorney whose client was taken to Homan Square in 2011 after being arrested for marijuana. “It’s a scary place. There’s nothing about it that resembles a police station. It comes from a Bond movie or something.” The facility keeps no booking information or any other records. “The reality is, no one knows where that person is at Homan Square,” said professor Craig Futterman.   read more

The city agreed to pay Ashley Overbey $63,000 after police used a stun gun on her after she had reported a burglary at her home. But after posting comments about her case on a website, Baltimore officials withheld $31,500 of her settlement. “I was completely devastated,” she said. The restrictions have a “chilling effect” on victims of police misconduct, said lawyer Scott Greenwood. “It kind of defeats the purpose of these types of lawsuits,” said attorney Jeffrey Neslund.   read more

For his efforts, Folta received a $25,000 grant from Monsanto to fund his travel and “outreach.” But once news of the grant became publicized, the University of Florida donated the money to charity. Another expert brought on board by Monsanto was professor Bruce M. Chassy, who received a grant to support “biotechnology outreach and education activities.” Chassy’s activities included efforts to persuade the EPA to abandon a plan to tighten the regulation of certain pesticides.   read more

Last year, 33 departments and independent agencies paid nearly 8,500 workers more than $58.7 million in student loan repayment benefits, according to a report from OPM. That came out to an average of just more than $6,900 per employee. Eighty percent of the money was paid by the Justice, Defense, State and Veterans Affairs departments, along with the SEC. Fifteen percent more workers received this assistance in 2014 than in 2013.   read more

Switching to a high deductible was intended to make people smarter shoppers for their healthcare. “Instead, both healthy and sick patients simply used way less health care,” reported Vox. “This raises a scary possibility: Perhaps higher deductibles don't lead to smarter shoppers but rather, in the long run, sicker patients,” she added. The study also found that it was the sickest of those insured who were least likely to go to the doctor.   read more