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Kerry: Afghan handoff may take 4-5 years

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - Nov. 18 (Interview) - In the past year Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has become a more prominent force in Washington. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry offers a critical voice at a time when the United States is engaged in two wars abroad while facing myriad challenges on the international front. The Vietnam War veteran, who was his party's presidential candidate in 2004, recently has warned that though the cost of failure in Afghanistan would be substantial, Afghans must do the heavy lifting. He is pushing an initiative on climate change, tying it directly to national security. Kerry discussed these and other issues Tuesday with USA TODAY's editorial board. The following Q&A is adapted from that session and edited for length and clarity.

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'Change' puts U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the spot

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - By David J. Lynch - Nov. 11 (News Analysis) - Climate change has been especially problematic. The chamber stumbled early when one of its officials publicly called for evaluating the scientific evidence behind global-warming claims in "the Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century," a reference to the infamous 1925 Tennessee courtroom showdown between evolution and creationism.

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Minority groups to air health care ads

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By USA TODAY's Congress Team - Oct. 06 (News Report) - A coalition of African-American and Hispanic groups said today it will launch an advertising blitz on health care this week. The groups expect to spend as much as $500,000 on television and print ads targeted at lawmakers who represent large black and Latino populations in support of changing the nation's health care system.

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Sandra Day O'Connor says rulings are being 'dismantled'

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - Oct. 05 (Interview) - Washington PostSandra Day O'Connor says rulings are being 'dismantled'USA TodayWILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor says she regrets that some of her decisions "are being dismantled" by the current Supreme Court. O'Connor, who generally has avoided questions on the ...At annual Red Mass, Supreme Court justices hear plea for rights of ...Boston GlobeNew Court Term Hints at Views on Regulating BusinessNew York TimesGun bans, political cash on Supreme Court docketSan Francisco ChronicleKansas City Star?-NBC New York?-TIMEall 822 news articles??

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Cellphone straitjackets

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - Jul. 28 (Opinion) - When consumers walk into a store to buy a flat-screen television, they aren't locked into a particular cable or satellite provider. So why, when they get an Apple iPhone or a BlackBerry Storm, are they signed up with a particular carrier? That's a question a lot of Americans ask when they travel overseas and find that the hottest devices can be used with any service. Their handsets are not only wireless, they also come without strings attached. The answer dates to the mid-1990s, when Congress and the Federal Communications Commission began siding with telecom companies, which wanted to build proprietary networks, unlike much of the rest of the world, which opted for open platforms. These days, the U.S. policy does not look like such a wise one.

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Tech confab with a conscience goes global

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Jon Swartz - Jul. 20 (News Report) - For most of its 25 years, TED (for "technology, entertainment and design") was an exclusive, seaside gathering of a few hundred of the globe's top techies and thinkers. Al Gore trotted out his speech on global warming at TED in 2006, shortly before the issue became a worldwide cause. This year, Bill Gates illustrated the dangers of malaria by unleashing mosquitoes on the crowd.

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Officer deaths up in first half of '09 - USATODAY.com

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Kevin Johnson - Jul. 13 (News Report) - The number of police officers killed in the line of duty increased 20% during the first six months of 2009 compared with last year, according to a report to be released today. But the number still remains below midyear averages.

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Will Pentagon Ban Tobacco Use in the Military? - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

CBS News - Jul. 10 (News Report) - Health experts at the Pentagon want a ban on the sale and use of tobacco in the military, USA Today reports

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Discord grows over public health care plan

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Richard Wolf - Jun. 17 (News Report) - disagreement has turned to discord over a key element of Obama's health care prescription: his insistence on a "public plan" to compete with private insurers. America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group, is joined by the American Medical Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others that have expressed misgivings about greater government involvement.

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Judge rules Padilla can sue over torture memos

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - Jun. 13 (News Report) - A convicted terrorist can sue a former Bush administration lawyer for drafting the legal theories that led to his alleged torture, ruled a federal judge who said he was trying to balance a clash between war and the defense of personal freedoms.

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Medical Group Calls for Cutting Use of BPA

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Liz Szabo - Jun. 11 (News Report) - Hormone-like chemicals in plastics, pesticides and other products pose "significant concern for public health," possibly causing infertility, cancer and malformations, a medical society announced Wednesday.

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Moderates in Congress feel health care push

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By John Fritze - Jun. 09 (News Report) - s Congress considers an overhaul of the nation's health care system, pressure is mounting on a small circle of Senate moderates who helped advance President Obama's economic stimulus this year.

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Credit card reforms up for Senate vote

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - May. 19 (News Report) - Unable to stop the tide of foreclosures and job losses, lawmakers are hoping to give voters at least some breathing room in the economic downturn by banning arbitrary rate hikes and excessive fees charged by credit card companies.

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Supreme Court Blocks Sept. 11 Detainee Lawsuit

Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Joan Biskupic - May. 18 (News Report) - A deeply split Supreme Court on Monday blocked a Pakistani man from suing former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Robert Mueller for allegedly abusive treatment he faced when rounded up with other Arab Muslims in New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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Economy limiting services of local police

Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Kevin Johnson - May. 18 (News Report) - The recession is altering local law enforcement in the U.S. by forcing some agencies to close precincts, merge with other departments or even shut down.

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GM shows signs that bankruptcy filing is coming

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Sharon Silke Carty - May. 17 (News Report) - GM (GM) sent letters to the bottom 18% of its dealers Friday telling them it won't renew their contracts in October 2010. Actually pulling the plug on them would be tough, however. State laws favor dealers, who often have invested millions of dollars to keep their dealerships up-to-date and well-stocked.

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Obama seeks to keep vouchers, for now

Thu, 07 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Greg Toppo - May. 07 (News Report) - President Obama will ask Congress to temporarily extend the school voucher program in the District of Columbia until students now attending private high schools with taxpayer dollars graduate, an administration official said Wednesday.

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Stimulus funds up the ante for public schools

Tue, 05 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Greg Toppo - May. 05 (News Report) - Handing $100 billion to needy public schools in an economic crisis is an unalloyed good thing, right? Depends. School districts across the USA are gearing up to receive the first payments under the federal economic stimulus. It temporarily — and substantially — increases the federal government's share in funding public schools over the next two years, promising to save the threatened jobs of thousands of teachers. Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls it a "historic opportunity" to jump-start reforms that "will transform public education in America." He's pushing schools to use the money not just to save jobs but to improve student achievement.

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Benefits widen public, private workers' pay gap

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Dennis Cauchon - Apr. 10 (News Report) - The pay gap between government workers and lower-compensated private employees is growing as public employees enjoy sizable benefit growth even in a distressed economy, federal figures show.

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Falsehoods in Iraq shooting unpunished

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - By Kelley, Matt - Apr. 01 (Investigative Report) - The top security official at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq refused to punish Blackwater security guards for making false statements about an unjustified 2005 shooting in Baghdad because he didn't want to lower the morale of those contracted to work security, according to newly released State Department records.

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Statin study: Lower cholesterol, diminished joy of sex linked

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - By Marilyn Elias - Mar. 05 (News Report) - The greater the drop in cholesterol from taking statin drugs, the more sexual pleasure is reduced, suggests a study due Friday at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Chicago. This may be the first research to pit statins against placebos to see how the blockbuster statins affect the ability to have orgasms. Statins generated about $13.1 billion in sales last year, according to IMS Health.

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Don’t sacrifice privacy when digitizing medical records

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - Feb. 16 (Editorial) - For the first time since digital systems took off this decade, Congress has added some strong privacy safeguards in the measure Obama is expected to sign this week. But the fierce, down-to-the-wire battle between health care industry players who opposed many safeguards and privacy advocates shows how difficult it is to make patient privacy a priority. Failing to do so will leave patients vulnerable to many abuses:

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Let's explore what defines the American car

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - By Chris Woodyard - Feb. 16 (Special Report) - GM's Pontiac Vibe and Toyota's Corolla are built in the same factory in Fremont, Calif. About 65% of the parts for Japan's Honda Accord come from the U.S. or Canada vs. 50% of the parts in a Chevrolet HHR. Accords are made in Marysville, Ohio. The Chevy HHR, a small SUV, is assembled in Mexico. "There truly isn't an American car anymore," says Ron Harbour of consultant Oliver Wyman's automotive practice. "Every car has parts from all over the world."

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Poll: Most want inquiry into anti-terror tactics

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - By Jill Lawrence - Feb. 11 (Poll) - Close to two-thirds of those surveyed said there should be investigations into allegations that the Bush team used torture to interrogate terrorism suspects and its program of wiretapping U.S. citizens without getting warrants. Almost four in 10 favor criminal investigations and about a quarter want investigations without criminal charges. One-third said they want nothing to be done.

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Study links children's lead levels, SAT scores

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - By Greg Toppo - Feb. 03 (News Report) - Could a decades-long drop in the concentration of lead in children's blood help explain rising SAT scores? A Virginia economist who pored over years of national data says there's an "incredibly strong" correlation, which adds to a growing body of research on lead's harmful effects. The findings, to be published this winter in the journal Environmental Research, suggest that from 1953 to 2003, the fall and rise of the average SAT math and verbal score has tracked the rise and fall of blood lead levels so closely that half of the change in scores over 50 years, and possibly more, probably is the result of lead, says economist Rick Nevin.

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