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

According to information at Opensecrets.org, those supporting the bill got about $30 million to do so from Big Ag. The 275 representatives of both parties who voted to keep consumers in the dark about the food they’re consuming averaged $108,900 in contributions from agricultural interests such as Monsanto and food lobbyists such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association in the 2014 election cycle.   read more

The site provides many statistics on skin cancers, including that indoor tanning is linked to more skin cancers than cigarettes to lung cancers. Medical studies appear to support this surprising fact. According to the American Cancer Society, there were 224,210 new cases of lung cancer in the United States in 2014. A study published in JAMA Dermatology journal estimated that more than 419,000 cases of skin cancer a year can be attributed to indoor tanning.   read more

On January 14, Conan read this joke that Kaseberg claims he had posted earlier that day: “A Delta flight this week took off from Cleveland to New York with just two passengers. And they fought over control of the armrest the entire flight.” Then, on February 4, Conan used this joke, which Kaseberg claims he wrote and posted the day before: “Tom Brady said he wants to give his MVP truck to the man who won the game for the Patriots. So enjoy that truck, Pete Carroll."   read more

The hackers are looking for information on everything from electronics to plant seeds—anything to put Chinese manufacturers on an equal footing with those from the United States which did the original research and development on a product. Last year, a California businessman was convicted of selling China the secret to what makes Oreo cookie filling so consistently white. Others have been charged with stealing plant seeds.   read more

--Homicides involving white victims are seven times more likely to result in an execution than that of a black victim. --Homicides involving white females are 14 times more likely to result in executions than those involving black male victims. --Although fewer than 40% of murder victims in Missouri were white, 81% of executed murderers killed a white victim.   read more

Up to about $83 million was run through the operation. Task force records account for most of it, but as much as $12 million is unaccounted for. Large withdrawals were being made from task force bank accounts with no accounting for what the money was spent on. There were trips to Las Vegas and San Juan, Puerto Rico, with agents staying in luxurious accommodations. Money taken as commissions in the laundering business was also used to pay for task force members’ salaries.   read more

Kepler 452b is larger than Earth, about 1.5 times the radius with five times the mass. More importantly, the exoplanet circles a sun-like star in an orbit that takes 385 days, just slightly longer than our own year. These qualities put Kepler 452b in the so-called “Goldilocks” habitable zone that scientists say could result in lukewarm temperatures and liquid water on the surface.   read more

Much of her work was with information technology systems, getting IT policies in international outposts to mesh with those prescribed by Washington, and other efforts at standardization to make the systems more efficient. Part of her mandate was also to look for cost-savings by contracting out some jobs and ensuring that missions were not overstaffed.   read more

H.R. 1734 would delay implementation of coal ash disposal restrictions, allow utilities to avoid publicly posting contamination data, and permit companies to continue dumping coal ash into leaking surface impounds for as many as eight years after contamination is documented. The bill is sponsored by Rep. David McKinley (R-West Virginia), who appears to be doing the bidding of his sponsors. His top five political donors are companies in the coal, gas, landfill and mining industries.   read more

The change in policy will also allow monies from PACs and lobbyists to go into accounts shared between the DNC and presidential campaigns. The DNC had refused such contributions under President Barack Obama, who said he wanted to change Washington’s big-money culture. Clinton, however, is worried about Jeb Bush’s fundraising efforts, and reportedly felt the rules put the DNC at a disadvantage she could not afford, assuming she becomes the party’s nominee   read more

The youngest convicted murderers in U.S. history will soon be released from prison in Florida. The 12-year-old boy now a 29-year-old man became an ordained minister while in prison. But he has “very little knowledge of the real world. He also leaves with the burden of a lifetime of probation, which one lawyer described to me as having one foot on a banana peel and one foot in the Department of Corrections,” Torres wrote. Catherine found love and married a pen pal while serving her time.   read more

Noyes went overseas again in 2008 as the deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires in the U.S. mission to the Holy See. She made some news when some cables she had sent concerning the Vatican were released through WikiLeaks. Among the subjects covered in her pithy cables were the Catholic priests’ sex abuse scandal in Ireland and the Vatican’s assistance in releasing U.S. citizens being held by Iran.   read more

In 1988, Borja’s brother, Rodrigo, was elected Ecuador’s president as a member of the Democratic Left Party and Francisco went into government as Rodrigo’s advisor, staying there until 1992 when the term was up. In 2007, Borja was named ambassador to Chile, a post he held for seven years.   read more

The failure to act on Capitol Hill is not a result of powerful lobbies pressuring lawmakers to avoid raising the gas tax. “Because it’s a tax, raising it has been decreed out of bounds by a combination of anti-tax orthodoxy among conservative Republicans and a fear of political backlash that spans both parties,” wrote MacGillis. "Maintenance and repairs are long overdue on thousands of roads and bridges dangerously near the end of their expected life spans."   read more

Some companies charge up to $150,000 a year for cancer treatments that can at best extend a patient’s life only a couple of months. Even non-cancer drugs have come with exorbitant price tags, like Gilead's hepatitis C therapy that costs $1,000 a pill. Medical professionals also are getting involved in the fight against drug pricing. “There is no relief in sight because drug companies keep challenging the market with even higher prices,” a group of doctors wrote.   read more

In a landmark case, the U.S. government has for the first time been denied a dismissal in a foreign claims lawsuit. The ruling by a federal judge means that the government could still be on the hook for nearly $100 million stemming from two 1980s Libyan terrorist attacks: EgyptAir 648 in 1985 and Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. Three insurance companies have been trying for years to get reimbursed for claims they paid out as a result of the attacks.   read more