“One company chose to seek FDA approval and they spent tens of millions of dollars in order to present data necessary for that approval and in the process, there were some important things that came out of the approval process,” Autor said. “We discovered a lot of people were being excessively dosed with Colchicine.”…
Category: Law
US asks court to halt Ala. immigration law
The federal government asked an appeals court Friday to halt the Alabama immigration law considered by many the toughest in the U.S., saying it could have dire diplomatic consequences abroad, invites discrimination and merely forces illegal immigrants into neighboring states. The motion, filed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, claimed Alabama’s new law…
Calif. pot dispensaries told to shut down
Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state’s 15-year-old medical marijuana law. In an escalation of the ongoing conflict between the…
96-Year-Old Tennessee Woman Denied Voter ID Because She Didn’t Have Her Marriage License
Swept up in the craze of preventing widespread voter fraud that doesn’t actually exist, Tennessee Republicans passed a voter identification law this year that they claimed would put an end to fraud and ensure fair elections. Like similar laws in other states, Tennessee’s version has come under scrutiny from voting rights advocates, civil…
Obama Denounces New GOP Voting Laws, Says the Justice Department Is Investigating
In an interview with Philadelphia radio host Michael Smerconish last week, President Obama for the first time denounced the wave of new laws passed by Republicans designed to restrict the right to vote for millions of Americans. Said the president: I will say that my big priority is making sure that as many people are…
SCOTUS lets stand ruling that downloads are not performances
The Supreme Court left in place a ruling by a New York federal appeals court, which determined that song downloads are not “public performances” under copyright law. The ruling represents a victory for Yahoo! and RealNetworks, which have been locked in litigation with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for several years over…
Obama signs temporary spending bill
President Barack Obama signed legislation into law early Wednesday that will keep the federal government funded through November 18, the White House said. The measure, called the “Continuing Resolution Act, 2012,” ends the latest threat of a government shutdown. The new legislation is part of a deal to extend an additional $2.65 billion in…
11 of 12 Pennsylvania GOP Members of Congress Rebel Against Gov. Corbett’s Election Rigging Plan
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) proposed rigging the 2012 presidential election for the Republican candidate by effectively giving away as many as a dozen of the blue state’s electoral votes to that candidate. Under Corbett’s scheme, each of the state’s 18 congressional districts will allocate one electoral vote during the…
Restrictions Could Keep Five Million Traditionally Democratic Voters From The Polls In 2012
Restrictive voting laws in states across the country could affect up to five million voters from traditionally Democratic demographics in 2012, according to a new report by the Brennan Center. That’s a number larger than the margin of victory in two of the last three presidential elections. The new restrictions, the study found, “fall most…
Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer With Secret Iran Sales
By September of that year, the researchers had found evidence of improper payments to secure contracts in six countries dating back to 2002, authorized by the business director of the company’s Koch-Glitsch affiliate in France. “Those activities constitute violations of criminal law,” Koch Industries wrote in a Dec. 8, 2008, letter giving details of its…
Verizon sues to halt FCC’s net neutrality rules
On Friday afternoon, Verizon filed its expected challenge to the FCC’s network neutrality rules, suing in federal court to stop them. Verizon claims that the agency has no authority to issue rules affecting the Internet. “Verizon is fully committed to an open Internet,” said Verizon senior vice president Michael Glover in a statement. “We are…
Have a license for medical pot? You can’t have a gun, U.S. says
Michigan’s medical-marijuana users can’t catch a break. Three major state appeals court decisions have gone against them in the last month. Now, federal authorities have issued an order that licensed medical-marijuana users nationwide can’t possess a gun. That means no hunting, no target shooting, no gun collecting and no guns for personal protection —…
Boehner’s District Suffers From E. Coli Outbreak As House Republicans Try To Gut Food Safety
As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, despite yet another outbreak of food-borne illness — this time stemming from listeria infected cantaloupes — congressional Republicans are still trying to cut back on the nation’s food safety regulations. The tainted melons have caused 16 deaths so far, making this the deadliest outbreak in more than a decade,…
73 Percent Of Americans Support The ‘Buffett Rule,’ Including Two-Thirds Of Republicans
Overall, the Buffett Rule receives 73 percent approval, according to a new Daily Kos/SEIU “State of the Nation” poll conducted by Public Policy Polling and released today. Republicans have labeled the increase as “class warfare,” despite the fact that the richest Americans continue to see their incomes rise and their tax rates plummet. via 73…
Facebook to form its own PAC to back political candidates
Facebook confirmed it filed paperwork on Monday to start its own political action committee. “FB PAC will give our employees a way to make their voice heard in the political process by supporting candidates who share our goals of promoting the value of innovation to our economy while giving people the power to share and…
Wall Street Protesters Penned and Maced
While on a peaceful march near Union Square in downtown Manhattan, multiple female protestors were penned up in the street by orange mesh baricade, then maliciously maced. The women were peaceful and unarmed. They were secured by barricade with an overwhelming police presence. And they were then sprayed directly in the face with pressurized mace……
Obama lets states opt out of No Child Left Behind
President Obama unveiled the most significant changes to U.S. education policy in a decade, using his executive authority to give states more flexibility to opt out of some provisions of the controversial No Child Left Behind program that was a signature initiative of President George W. Bush.”We cant let another generation of young people fall…
During Court Hearing, Conservative Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Shouts Down Progressive Colleague, Telling Him To ‘Shut Up’
The Fifth Circuit is probably the most conservative federal appeals court in the country. It recently sanctioned a cheerleader and alleged rape victim because she sued the school district that required her to cheer for her alleged rapist. Its judges frequently attend “junkets for judges” hosted by an oil-industry funded group. And the…
The insurance industry gets bullish on health-care reform
As the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, individual policies make up only 1 to 2 percent of CIGNA’s current revenue; most profits come from employer-based insurance. But the health reform law makes the individual market newly lucrative: The CBO projects that, by 2019, the number of Americans buying their own insurance will double. So Tuesday,…
Contrary To GOP Claims, Research Shows Environmental Regulation Actually Spurs Economic Growth
Environmental regulations and the agency that enforces them, the EPA, have been singled out for particularly rough treatment. Republicans have scheduled a series of votes starting this week aimed at repealing or halting them. But two reports highlighted today by Politico — one by the Economic Policy Institute, the other by Public Citizen…