USA TODAY: President Obama will propose Wednesday a four-year, $302 billion highway bill that would be half funded by a corporate tax overhaul that Senate leaders have already said is unlikely to pass this year… The Congressional Budget Office has projected that without a funding infusion, the Highway Trust Fund will be unable to embark […]
Month: February 2014
Wary Stance From Obama on Ukraine
[President Barack] Obama’s handling of Ukraine reflects a broader “policy of restraint,” as [John Lewis ] Gaddis termed it, keeping the United States out of crises like Syria, minimizing its involvement in places like Libya, and getting out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It reflects, he said, not only fundamental differences between the presidents but an underlying weariness on the part of the American public after more than a dozen years of war.
Obesity Rate for Young Children Plummets 43% in a Decade
The drop emerged from a major federal health survey that experts say is the gold standard for evidence on what Americans weigh. The trend came as a welcome surprise to researchers. New evidence has shown that obesity takes hold young: Children who are overweight or obese between age 3 and 5 are five times as likely to be overweight or obese as adults…
Report criticizes treatment of mentally ill Pa. prisoners
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: A federal investigation has found Pennsylvania prisons confine inmates who have serious mental illness or intellectual disabilities in a manner that violates both the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Acetaminophen use in pregnancy may be linked to ADHD
The researchers looked for a link between acetaminophen and ADHD because they believe the medication might work as a hormone disruptor capable of affecting fetal brain development, Ritz says
Corbett’s refusal to expand Medicaid remains concern for Senate Democrats.
A significant amount of the conversations during Monday’s Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing for the Department Public Welfare focused, not surprisingly, on Medicaid expansion and the Corbett administration’s Healthy PA Medicaid waiver.
Kane won’t appeal dismissal of assisted-suicide charges
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said Monday afternoon that she would not appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss assisted-suicide charges against Philadelphia nurse Barbara Mancini in a case closely watched by people who were concerned the state had intruded on a private family matter. Mancini, 58, was charged last year with assisted suicide […]
Do storm water remediation plans need to be at such great cost to City tax payers?
Field expressed concern that roof top gardens and like proposed remedies would not make sufficient difference and requested an opportunity to review the cities sewer plans. He thought there might be possibility of redirecting some of the storm water via a limited amount of new storm sewer.
Gorbachev Calls for Ukraine Unity
NEWSMAX / AP: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says it is important that Ukraine hold together, emphasizing the battle for influence between Russia and the West in the crisis roiling the country… The former Soviet leader told AP that the people of Ukraine have a “common history” and that an attempt by the European Union, […]
Supreme Court Rejects Challenges to Gun Laws
NEWSMAX: … The court’s decision not to hear the cases represented a loss for gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, which was behind two of the challenges. The first case involved a challenge by the NRA to a Texas law that prevents 18-20 year olds from carrying handguns in public. It also raised […]
Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox goes offline amid turmoil
USA TODAY: In a statement posted on its website, the foundation said a “tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt.Gox was the result of one company’s actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry.” The New York Times reported that a number of leading Bitcoin […]
3 Ariz. senators backtrack on service refusal bill
USA TODAY: Three Republican senators who voted for Senate Bill 1062 said Monday they made a bad decision in a rushed process and are now asking Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the right-to-refuse-service bill… Pierce and Worsley said the bill was moved along very quickly, not giving them enough time to convince fellow lawmakers to […]
Egypt’s military-backed government resigns
ALJAZEERA: Egypt’s interim prime minister announced Monday the resignation of his cabinet, a surprise move that could be designed in part to pave the way for the nation’s military chief to leave his defense minister’s post to run for president… [Hazem el-Beblawi] has often been derided in the media for his perceived indecisiveness and inability […]
Pennsylvania fracking-related jobs numbers questioned
A new analysis by The Allentown Morning Call newspaper and published Monday indicates that growth in the industries associated with drilling in the Marcellus Shale — one of the country’s main areas for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — fell by 29 percent from 2010 to 2013. There are now just under 30,000 that can directly be linked to the Marcellus…