Mainstream News

Japanese man dies after being turned away from 25 hospitals

"A 75-year-old Japanese man died after 25 hospitals refused to admit him to their emergency rooms 36 times over two hours, citing lack of beds or doctors to treat him, an official said Tuesday. The man, who lived alone in a city north of Tokyo, called an ambulance after suffering breathing problems at his home in January. Paramedics rushed to his house but were told in turn by all 25 hospitals in the area that they could not accept the man because they did not have enough doctors or any free beds, a local city official said, adding some institutions were contacted more than once." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapanese man dies after being turned away from 25 hospitals

Government sale of personal gene data condemned as ‘unethical and dangerous’

"The government is keen for Britain to be at the forefront of the genetic revolution, a potential multibillion-pound industry. Last year David Cameron launched a £100m scheme to map the genomes of up to 100,000 people, saying it would help to save lives by delivering new treatments. Under the scheme, firms would be able to access the information at a cost, but ministers insist that all data will be strictly anonymous. However, material released under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that firms can invoke an appeal process to demand 'patient-identifiable data', such as age and postcode." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment sale of personal gene data condemned as ‘unethical and dangerous’

Federal judge strikes down Missouri’s Obamacare birth control coverage exemption

"A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from mandatory birth control coverage because it conflicts with an insurance requirement under President Barrack Obama’s health care law. Some backers of Missouri’s law said the court ruling could result in churches and other religious organizations having to accept insurance policies that include contraception coverage. The Missouri law requires insurers to issue policies without contraception coverage if individuals or employers assert that the use of birth control violates their 'moral, ethical or religious beliefs.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal judge strikes down Missouri’s Obamacare birth control coverage exemption

Federal judge strikes down Missouri’s Obamacare birth control coverage exemption

"A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from mandatory birth control coverage because it conflicts with an insurance requirement under President Barrack Obama’s health care law. Some backers of Missouri’s law said the court ruling could result in churches and other religious organizations having to accept insurance policies that include contraception coverage. The Missouri law requires insurers to issue policies without contraception coverage if individuals or employers assert that the use of birth control violates their 'moral, ethical or religious beliefs.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal judge strikes down Missouri’s Obamacare birth control coverage exemption

Companies cut hours of full-time employees to avoid providing health care under new rules

"Three years after the passage of Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, labor advocates are warning that it could have the unforeseen consequence of harming some of the very low-wage employees it seeks to aid. The legislation’s incentive scheme, they say, could cause a shift toward part-time work that extends beyond companies like Papa John’s and Darden Restaurants, which last year publicized their plans to cut employee hours to avoid costs under the new law. Such worries are reflected in California, where the state union federation is exploring legislation to lay over the Affordable Care Act to fix the potential problem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCompanies cut hours of full-time employees to avoid providing health care under new rules

NATO airstrike kills two Afghan children

"A NATO helicopter strike killed two children in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said, in the latest civilian casualties to beset the coalition’s war against Taliban militants. The operation close to Ghazni city was conducted after local people complained of a Taliban post targeting traffic convoys in the area, Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Ghazni province, said. 'It was a joint (Afghan and coalition) operation conducted this morning that killed nine Taliban. Unfortunately, two school children were also killed and seven other civilians were wounded,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNATO airstrike kills two Afghan children

Ex-chairman of Republican Party of Florida gets 1.5 years in prison for stealing

"The former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida was sentenced Wednesday to one-and-a-half years for stealing $125,000 in party funds, completing the fall of a man who once was one of the most powerful political figures in the state. Jim Greer was sentenced in Orlando, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single county of money laundering. Prosecutors said Greer funneled almost $200,000 to a company he had formed with his right-hand man, Delmar Johnson. He kept $125,000 of the money funneled to Victory Strategies for himself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-chairman of Republican Party of Florida gets 1.5 years in prison for stealing

TSA officer hits six colleagues after mistaking pepper spray for laser pointer

"Six security officers at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport landed in hospital after being hit by pepper spray — fired by one of their own. According to a report in the New York Post, quoting an unnamed source, an agent was 'playing around' with what he and other agents thought was just a laser pointer when it suddenly emitted spray. The TSA has suffered a series of embarrassing recent news reports, ranging from failure at Newark International Airport to detect a fake bomb carried by an undercover government agent, to complaints of overzealous searches." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTSA officer hits six colleagues after mistaking pepper spray for laser pointer

Study: Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost U.S. up to $6 trillion

"The Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the United States between $4-6 trillion in the long term. Harvard University scholar Linda Bilmes concluded that the United States will face increasing costs to care for an estimated 2.5 million veterans, and to pay down debt incurred by borrowing to pay for the wars. Bilmes said that costs will climb over decades. She wrote that the peak year for disability payments over World War I, which ended in 1918, was 1969 as veterans became elderly. Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary under Bush, said before the invasion that the Iraq war would cost around $50 billion and called higher estimates 'baloney.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy: Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost U.S. up to $6 trillion

Ex-cop guns down wife after she filed horrifying domestic violence report

"A former Pennsylvania state trooper gunned down his estranged wife in the middle of a Philipsburg supermarket on Thursday and then turned his weapon on himself. Police said that Mark R. Miscavish, 51, who retired from the force in 2011, used a shotgun to murder his wife Traci A. Miscavish, who filed for divorce just days prior following a report of domestic violence on Jan. 23. Mark Miscavish was facing a prosecution over the incident, the AP noted. He allegedly became violent when his wife tried to intervene in suspected prescription drug abuse, throwing her to the ground and trying to tie her up with duct tape." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-cop guns down wife after she filed horrifying domestic violence report