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

King has said his idea of an ideal school is one with a rigorous curriculum, excellent teachers, a longer school day and a longer school year. He also wants a focus on data to give teachers a picture of how their students are performing. Since Republicans had dragged their feet in approving even the most routine nominations until recently, Obama sidestepped the process when he could. After Duncan steps down at the end of the year, King will serve as secretary in an acting role.   read more

In 2007, she was made Consul General in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Part of her duties there involved dealing with American victims of the drug war that raged in the border region. While serving in the State Dept, Dogu has also put her business acumen to good use. She became a frequent poster on the personal financial planning forum Bogleheads.org and co-authored a book, The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning. In 2012, Money magazine named her a champion of small investors.   read more

Dominguez has had extensive government service in Democratic administrations There has been concern among some that is unqualified for the position as she has little experience dealing with pipeline issues — she is basically an unknown in the industry. Her backers counter that she’s a good administrator and has good connections to the White House, which will help in implementing regulations aimed at keeping America’s pipelines from rupturing and trains carrying crude oil from derailing.   read more

In New Orleans, 98% of populated land would be below sea level. “So it’s really just a question of building suitable defenses or eventually abandoning the city,” said study author Benjamin Straus. Miami is just one of many cities in Florida at risk, with at least 40% of the people who face having to move because of climate change. The 1.5 million people at risk in New York City and the 100,000 in Philadelphia might not be displaced if carbon emissions are drastically cut.   read more

Texas cardiologist Darren McGuire was on the FDA committee that approved Pradaxa. He later disclosed that he received “personal fees from [Pradaxa manufacturer] Boehringer Ingelheim,” paying him between $75,000 and $134,994 over a three-year period. FDA advisory committee member Sanjay Kaul, a medical professor at UCLA and cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, also received payments from Boehringer Ingelheim in 2013 totaling more than $21,000, and $75,000 a year later.   read more

Hurun claimed China’s billionaire population grew dramatically from 2014 to 2015 by 70%, adding 242. “Despite the slowdown in the economy, China’s richest have defied gravity, recording their best year ever, and creating more wealth than any country has ever done before in a year,” said Huran's Rupert Hoogewerf. If Hurun’s calculations are accurate, China’s billionaire club controlled $2.1 trillion. China’s richest man as of August was Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda, with $34.4 billion.   read more

It’s believed that Heins might be a more acceptable choice as ambassador to Norway than Long Islander and hotelier Tsunis, who was criticized for his seeming ignorance of the kingdom, raising the possibility that he might even damage U.S. relations with the country. Heins’ connection to Minnesota helps because the state has the largest population of Norwegians outside Norway. He has been a major contributor and bundler to President Obama’s election campaigns.   read more

Lt. Gen. Robert Neller officially took over the post of commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps on Sept. 24 when Gen. Dunford vacated the position. Secretary of Defense Carter nominated Neller for the commandant post on July 2, 2015, over several other higher-ranked officers. However, Neller and Carter were known to have had a good relationship since Neller’s stint on the Joint Staff. Neller is said to be attentive to the needs of the average Marine.   read more

The federal government is spending billions on advertising with little oversight on where the money is going. A CRS report shows at least $4.4 billion was spent on contracts for advertising services during FY 2009 to 2013. The government hasn’t adopted a definition of what constitutes advertising, nor are agencies required to report such expenditures to one specific place for accountability purposes. “As a result, agencies can pretty much spend what they want,” wrote Lisa Rein at the Post.   read more

Public power plants and hospitals were on average 9% more likely not to comply with the Clean Air Act and 20% more likely to have committed high-priority violations. Public water utilities had on average 14% more Safe Drinking Water Act violations and were 29% more likely to commit monitoring violations. Public power plants and hospitals that violated the Clean Air Act were 1% less likely than private-sector violators to receive a punitive sanction and 20% less likely to be fined.   read more

The accusations were contained in nearly 6,000 pages of complaints and arrest statistics. ACLU lawyer James Lyall said the “records paint a disturbing picture of lawlessness and impunity, in which the agency continually operates without any regard for accepted best practices, and agents commit widespread abuses knowing they won’t be held accountable.” Rep. Grijalva said, “People make the complaints, but their complaints go nowhere. There’s no acknowledgment, absolutely no response."   read more

Christopher Ingraham at the Post pointed out the absurdity of students not being trusted to warm bagels safely, but given free rein to carry a deadly weapon. Students at the University of Texas are planning to protest the law by carrying sex toys, which are forbidden under a state law banning the display of obscene materials, around campus. “You would receive a citation for taking a DILDO to class before you would get in trouble for taking a gun to class.” according to the event’s Facebook page.   read more

Common symptoms include heart problems such as palpitations and chest pain; allergic reactions; or trouble swallowing. More than 2,000 people wound up being hospitalized every year on average from taking supplements. Of the 23,000 ER visits, more than 50% were made by women. Weight loss and energy products were responsible for more than half the ER trips among all patients aged 5 to 34. “What we’re seeing from this study is that the system has failed,” said Harvard's Dr. Pieter Cohen.   read more

The former terror suspects said they were subjected to mock drowning, painful bodily contortions, sleep and dietary deprivation, and being forced into coffin boxes. Salim tried to kill himself after being tortured, while Ben Soud was kept naked for more than a month and waterboarded. “This case is about ensuring that the people behind the torture program are held accountable so history doesn’t repeat itself,” said ACLU attorney Steven Watt.   read more

Alaska is already feeling the effects of climate change, with some of its villages on the verge of falling into the sea. But instead of working to combat global warming, the state’s governor, Bill Walker, is proposing more oil drilling in his state—specifically in the protected Arctic National Wilderness Refuge—to pay for relocating villages vulnerable to rising sea levels. Environmentalists say it “could have catastrophic impacts for the environment and native communities.”   read more

Women may have moved beyond gender parity in undergraduate degrees because more of them value a college education than men. “A 2011 Pew study found that 50% of women who had graduated from a four-year college or university thought their education was a good investment, while only 37% of men thought so,” wrote Kate Groetzinger. More women have been attending college since the 1960s, gradually closing a higher education gender gap.   read more