Zelenskyy explained, “I told him that if he gave us the weapons we need and stopped supporting Putin, we would let him build Trump-branded hotels and other Trump-branded buildings in Ukraine’s ten largest cities, as well as Trump golf courses in the countryside. He was quite excited.”   read more

The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the Justice Dept in 2015 after it refused to release files on the Hemisphere Project. The secret program involved placing AT&T employees in police agencies to track records on trillions of phone calls. “It’s very clear AT&T is not only a willing participant but at the center of this mass surveillance program,” Mackey said. “We think it’s necessary not only the public knows but customers of these companies know...”   read more

In the mid-1990s, while working on his master’s in public policy at the National University of Singapore, Aung Lynn led the ministry’s Dept of Political Affairs. From 2004 to 2007, he was a minister/counselor in Burma’s permanent mission to the U.N.. By 2011, he was Director General for Association of the Southeast Asian Nations affairs department. In the months before he was given the Washington assignment, Aung Lynn was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.   read more

The American chemical industry extols self-policing, raises terrorism fears to block the public's right to know and pours about $200 million into lobbying every year. The prevention of chemical disasters remains governed by a tattered patchwork of regulations administered by agencies that have neither the staff nor political support to enforce or improve upon them. And the public has been left largely in the dark about what goes on at facilities that might endanger their lives.   read more

There were 2,054 transportation-related episodes that resulted in fatalities, accounting for about 42 percent of all workplace deaths. As a result, 745 drivers of heavy and tractor-trailer trucks died because of injuries at work last year, more than any other major civilian occupation. Falls, slips and trips made up the next most common major cause of workplace fatalities, resulting in 800 deaths last year. Men accounted for all but 7 percent of the total workplace deaths in 2015.   read more

Critics say the article is the latest in a series of efforts by the food industry to shape global nutrition advice by supporting academics to question the role of junk food in causing health problems. Some experts said it was an industry attempt to undermine healthy eating guidelines from the World Health Organization and reminiscent of tactics once used by the tobacco industry, which for decades enlisted scientists to become “merchants of doubt” about the health hazards of smoking.   read more

The pollsters offered up five options for most annoying word or phrase: "Whatever," ''No offense, but," ''Ya know, right," ''I can't even" and "huge." "No offense, but" is second with 20 percent. In third place is, "You know, right," which is irksome to 14 percent of people, tied with "I can't even." ''Huge" grates on the nerves of 8 percent. "Whatever" is losing some steam, though. Last year it topped the list at 43 percent.   read more

Wouters came to the United States in 1995 as a deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. There, he worked on political, military, economic and development issues as well as participating in the creation of the International Criminal Court. Wouters returned to Belgium in 2001 as coordinator of the Belgian presidency and led the Department of European Coordination and Integration. In 2003, he was made permanent representative to the Political and Security Committee of the EU.   read more

Defenders say the arrangement may bring patients a lifesaving treatment. Critics say taxpayers will end up paying twice for the same drug — once to support its development and again to buy it — while the company reaps the financial benefit. “If this was not a government-funded cancer treatment — if it was for a new solar technology, for example — it would be scandalous to think that some private investors are reaping massive profits off a taxpayer-funded invention,” said KEI's James Love.   read more

AFA-CWA's Sara Nelson said that “doors of these restrooms open into each other, creating safety issues. There are a lot of injuries, with smashed fingers, doors hitting people, bumps and bruises.” She said the rear cabin restroom doors also create a barricade, limiting the ability of crew to help a passenger in trouble. Some parents with small kids say they can't help their kids in the toilet unless the door stays open. Large-size passengers are at a loss.   read more

"Already, tens of thousands of people are going without birth control, cancer screenings, HIV tests, and other care. The maternal mortality rate continues to rise. Yet Greg Abbott is hell-bent on chasing this ideological agenda, regardless of how many women it hurts," said Yvonne Gutierrez. Planned Parenthood officials say they serve nearly 11,000 patients through Medicaid and will continue serving them as they fight the state's decision in federal court.   read more

Guiding Santa’s sleigh isn’t the only thing Rudolph and his reindeer friends are responsible for: they also play an important role in slowing down climate change. A team of researchers discovered that grazing reindeer reduce the abundance of tundra shrubs, which increases the level of surface albedo – solar energy reflected by Earth back into space. “The effect reindeer grazing can have on albedo and energy balances is potentially large enough to be regionally important,” said Mariska te Beest.   read more

Beginning in 1997, Insanally served as political adviser to two secretaries general of the Association of Caribbean States. Insanally was sent to London in 2004 as senior trade adviser in Guyana’s High Commission there. He served at the same time as a commercial representative for the Guyana Sugar Corporation. In 2006, he came to Washington as an adviser to the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS).   read more

In the wake of Trump’s election, despite having lost the popular vote by more than any U.S. president in history, Schneiderman urged Obama to shutter the program. Responding to anxiety within the civil-rights community, Homeland Security published a plan Thursday to do just that. Trump’s team almost certainly had been eyeing its revival. “Perhaps we should have put the nail in that coffin many months ago,” rather than risk it falling into the hands of a “dangerous demagogue,” said CCR's Azmy.   read more

The problem, McCaskill said, is that instead of an investigation, settlements are often negotiated for whistleblowers, which allows agency and manager to avoid admitting guilt. Such actions — like settlements by the Justice Dept with big banks — could have a chilling effect on people who want to come forward. This creates "a toxic work environment in which managers feel free to retaliate against legitimate whistleblowers knowing the case will be settled and their jobs will be safe,” she said.   read more

Paraquat has long been controversial because of its use in suicides, since drinking one sip can be lethal. But now U.S. regulators are grappling with research linking paraquat to Parkinson’s disease. Many of the nations that ban paraquat still allow it to be manufactured as long as it is exported. As Europe and China move away from paraquat, its use is rebounding in the U.S. “It’s a poison, and we really shouldn’t be using this as an herbicide in the way we do,” said Dr. Ritz.   read more

“NEW!” Sirchie asserted, describing the kit as an “industry first.” The only problem is that there is nothing new about it except its name. Sirchie’s records show the new kits are little more than a repurposed chemical test that has been used to detect all manner of substances for more than a century. There is, then, no special “design” to the product. And the reliability of the tests for the criminal justice system is exactly as it has always been: limited, and prone to error.   read more