ALJAZEERA: …Orbital Science Corp.’s failed rocket launch not only incinerated $200 million of cargo, it cast doubts on the company’s decades-old Russian propulsion engines and dealt a setback to the commercial spaceflight efforts championed by the White House and NASA. The company planned to do away with the AJ26 engines by 2017 but will now […]
Fed eyes first rate rise after end to QE
FINANCIAL TIMES: …In a marked change of language, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee highlighted an improvement in the US labour market. Dropping its previous view that there was “significant underutilisation” of labour resources it said instead that this was “gradually diminishing”. This signals a big shift in the Fed’s horizons away from aggressive monetary […]
Putin Just Made the Most Important Speech of His Career. The West Should Listen More Closely
RUSSIA INSIDER: …Putin’s vision of the international system is a profoundly conservative one – a fact he actually admitted himself after the speech in answer to a question. Running like a thread throughout the speech is a typical conservative’s yearning for stability and mistrust of change, a wish for a predictable rule based system in […]
LGH merger with Penn: Many benefits or a billion dollar rip off?
It is essential that LGH remain a separate legal entity with the right of withdrawing from its relationship with University of Pennsylvania Health System and with profits earned remaining for local use.
Lobbyists, Bearing Gifts, Pursue Attorneys General
NEW YORK TIMES: … But success did not come in court or at a negotiating table. Instead, it came at the opulent Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in California, with its panoramic ocean views, where more than a dozen state attorneys general had gathered last year for cocktails, dinners and fund-raisers organized by the Democratic […]
In Liberia, a Good or Very Bad Sign: Empty Hospital Beds
“Where are the patients?” an aid worker wondered aloud as colleagues puzzled over the empty beds at the International Medical Corps treatment unit here in Bong County, Liberia, which opened in mid-September.
Report: Pa. gets mixed reviews on voter access, registration
The study by Common Cause, a Washington-based good-government nonprofit, rated the state positively on training for poll workers, accommodating disabled voters, and recordkeeping. But Pennsylvania also received poor marks in some key areas. High on the list of problems were the lack of online voting registration, the state’s requirement that voters must have a reason to request an absentee ballot, and the lack of early voting…
A week before election day, Corbett still trails Wolf in latest poll
In the September poll, 37 percent of likely voters said they’d vote for Corbett while 57 percent said they’d choose Wolf. A month later, 40 percent of likely voters said they’d vote for Corbett and 53 percent said they’d vote for Wolf. That’s a 7 point gain in a month…
Hackers Breach White House Computers
WASHINGTON POST: Hackers thought to be working for the Russian government breached the unclassified White House computer networks in recent weeks, sources said, resulting in temporary disruptions to some services while cybersecurity teams worked to contain the intrusion. White House officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said that the […]
World Bank chief urges medics to ignore fear-mongering, join Ebola fight
“We’ll need a steady state of at least 5,000 health workers from outside the region. Those health workers cannot work continuously. There needs to be a rotation,” Kim said. “So we will need many thousands of health workers over the next months to a year to bring this epidemic under control.”
Russian government behind cyber attacks, says security group
FINANCIAL TIMES: …Russian state-backed cyber spies are behind co-ordinated, sophisticated digital attacks in the past two years against sensitive political and military targets, including Nato, the EU and government ministries, according to a security analyst… ATP28 is far more sophisticated and covert than China’s hackers in its activities, according to FireEye… “ATP28’s characteristics – their […]
Salaries on the rise for presidents, chancellors at the 14 state universities
He added it moves their pay closer to the national average for similar public institutions, which last year was $273,255, according to a survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources…
Tesla tanks on report of Toyota sellout
USA TODAY: Shares of Tesla Motors plunged 5.8% Monday after reports surfaced that Toyota has joined Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler in cutting its stake in the upstart electric-car maker. Tesla closed at $221.67, down $13.57, continuing a slide that started at the beginning of the month when its price topped $260 a share. Its 52-week high […]
Some doctors wary of taking insurance exchange patients
“The exchanges have become very much like Medicaid,” says Andrew Kleinman, a plastic surgeon and president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. “Physicians who are in solo practices have to be careful to not take too many patients reimbursed at lower rates or they’re not going to be in business very long.”