MIAMI HERALD: Florida’s congressional elections were thrown into chaos Friday as a Tallahassee court judge ordered the state Legislature to redraw the boundaries of two congressional districts by Aug. 15 and said he will consider calling a special election later this year for all districts affected by the change. The ruling, by Leon County Circuit […]
Stanford breakthrough might triple battery life
USA TODAY: …A team that includes former Energy secretary Steven Chu says it’s building a lithium anode battery that might give electric vehicles a 300-mile driving range and triple a cellphone’s juice. Stanford professor Yi Cui says it will likely take three to five years, though, to bring the product to market. Their work is […]
A Test for the European Union
NEW YORK TIMES Editorial: In a speech on Saturday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary said his country was done with liberal democracy. Mr. Orban cited Russia, Turkey and China as “successful” examples of the kind of “illiberal new state based on national foundations” that he wants Hungary to be.
LETTER: Limit government backed loan to students of engineering, computer science, and medicine
The simple fact is, that the more government aid that is available, the higher tuition will go.
Sen. Leach: Colorado trip included using marijuana
CBS / AP: A Pennsylvania state senator says he tried some marijuana on his taxpayer-funded trip to Colorado to see how the state’s marijuana industry is working. Democratic Sen. Daylin Leach said Friday he took two hits from a vape pen, similar to an e-cigarette, at his hotel. He says it was the first time […]
U.S. Creates 209,000 Jobs In July, Unemployment Rate Rises To 6.2
HUFFINGTON POST: U.S. employers extended this year’s hiring surge into July by adding a solid 209,000 jobs. It was the sixth straight month of job growth above 200,000, evidence that businesses are shedding the caution that had marked the 5-year-old economic recovery. The unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent as more […]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I’m Not Going Anywhere
“All I can say is that I am still here and likely to remain for a while,” Ginsburg said, responding to liberals who are urging her to retire so Obama can fill her spot with another like-minded justice.
Over fifty? Read: “French Families Challenge Doctors on Wrenching End-of-Life Decisions”
At least seven times, alone and in secret, Dr. Nicolas Bonnemaison prepared a lethal dose of sedative and quietly ended the life of a comatose patient in his care…
Warning to Pittsburgh libraries: Be careful about what you seek
In a budget proposal designed to “preserve the unique relationship each library has with its community,” the County-City Library Service Panel has expressly resisted the consolidation of print collections or the closing of library branches. Rather, it seeks to reduce costs through the creation of a single entity responsible for digital and intra-library services throughout the county — leaving the autonomy and character of each library largely intact.
The C.I.A.’s Reckless Breach of Trust
On Thursday, the Central Intelligence Agency admitted that it did, indeed, use a fake online identity to break into the Senate’s computers, where documents connected to a secret report on the agency’s detention and torture program were being stored. Mr. Brennan apologized privately to Ms. Feinstein and to Senator Saxby Chambliss, the vice chairman of the intelligence committee, and promised to set up an accountability board to determine who did the hacking and whether and how they should be punished…
First Ebola Patient Coming to USA for Treatment
DAILY BEAST: One of two Americans infected with ebola in West Africa will be brought to the United States for treatment at Emory University. One of two Americans infected with ebola in West Africa will enter the U.S. for treatment at Emory University in Atlanta “in the next several days,” according to an internal memo […]
What Science Says About Marijuana
But, on balance, its downsides are not reasons to impose criminal penalties on its possession, particularly not in a society that permits nicotine use and celebrates drinking.
Here’s one good thing the Legislature can accomplish when it returns
HARRISBURG PATRIOT-NEWS Editorial: Fall is coming, and that means the return of Penn State football and the final pre-election spasm of work by the Pennsylvania Legislature. While hope has dimmed for a breakthrough on high-profile issues like pension reform and liquor privatization, lawmakers can do useful work on smaller but still important matters. One of […]
Lawmakers, universities can’t let the dream of an affordable higher education slip away
In 1985, a student attending one of Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities, earning minimum wage, would have had to work 23 weeks to cover his or her tuition.