Iran: Seen to Be Meddling

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Bill Threatens Congress's Shield From Insider Trading Laws

    Current law allows Congress to profit from valuable, nonpublic information floating on Hill.

    In November of 2005, then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) took to the upper-chamber floor with a major announcement. The Senate, he revealed, would soon put its full weight behind legislation creating a multi-billion dollar fund to settle lawsuits from victims of asbestos exposure - lawsuits that had already bankrupted several building supply companies.

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Supreme Court Opens Door to Possibility of Corporate Political Spending

    Campaign finance watchdogs are concerned that a little-seen order issued on the Supreme Court's final day could lead to tens of millions of corporate dollars being spent on television advertising - an ad blitz candidates would have difficulty countering.

    On Monday, instead of ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the court issued a rare order for further arguments on the case.

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Obama, Medvedev Agree to Pursue Nuclear Reduction

    Moscow - President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a preliminary agreement Monday to reduce the world's two largest nuclear stockpiles by as much as a third, down to the lowest levels of any U.S.-Russia accord, and counter what Obama called "a sense of drift" in the countries' relations.

    "We must lead by example, and that's what we are doing here today," Obama declared in a Kremlin hall glittering in gold. "We resolve to reset U.S.-Russian relations so that we can cooperate more effectively in areas of common interest."

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"Aye" for Getting More Americans Registered to Vote

    Here's how voter registration should work: You move, your registration moves with you. You turn 18, you're added to the voters' logs. You pay taxes, get a license, sign up for state or federal benefits, and registration is automatic.

    But here's a dose of sad reality on the heels of another Independence Day: America, the world's shining beacon of democracy, does about as bad a job registering voters as any democracy on Earth.

    A study released this week by the New York University's Brennan Center for Justice studied voter registration, rating 17 democracies. The nations surveyed had available information and "face the same fundamental challenges in maintaining accurate voter rolls."

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Panel Aims to Close the "Cultural Competence" Gap

    Seattle - While students are doing slightly better each year on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the success rates of African-American, American Indian, Latino and Pacific Islander students shows Washington has a long way to go in improving school achievement for everyone.

    Despite a lack of state money for new initiatives, the Washington Legislature has formed a new committee to tackle the "achievement gap."

    But instead of focusing on tutoring or other special services for students, the committee is charged with helping teachers improve their "cultural competence."

    "Quality education is not something we can sell as a one-size-fits-all model," says House Education Committee Chair Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, a lawmaker appointed to the committee. "If we're serious about helping every student succeed, we must take into account the unique cultural and community influences that affect how students learn."

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Big Push Under Way for Generic Biotech Drugs

    A push is under way to allow the sale of generic versions of biotech drugs - a move supporters say could boost access to vital treatments for cancer, heart disease and other ailments, saving consumers billions of dollars a year.

    It's been 25 years since biotech drugs largely were omitted from legislation permitting the first generic versions of brand-name medicines. Now the Obama administration is working to begin approving so-called generic biologics "as quickly as possible," if Congress authorizes it.

    With the president promoting the idea to help trim the country's staggering health care costs, experts on both sides of the issue say pressure is building to pass such a measure.

    "This is a huge issue," said David Sloane, senior vice president of government relations and advocacy for AARP, noting that drug costs are the No. 1 issue for his organization's 40 million members. "There are enormous health implications and there are enormous cost implications."

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A Women's Agenda for the European Parliament

    The new European Parliament can make women in Europe safer, wealthier and healthier.

    The European Parliament's new members will soon be in place, some of them without a clear idea of what they can actually achieve there. They need an agenda, one that is pan-European. They should look at the problems that continue to harm and restrict women in Europe.

    Firstly, there is the matter of financial rights. The EU has been committed to equal pay for equal work since 1957. However, on average, women still earn 15% less than men, even though women now make up 60% of the EU's university graduates. The pay gap is 20% or more in six countries, including Finland, Germany and the UK. Indeed in Germany and Finland, the gap has increased. This difference also means that women are poorer in retirement than men are.

    Secondly, sexual and reproductive rights are under threat. In some countries, pressure from conservative and religious groups has reduced access to essential health services, especially for the poor and migrant populations. There is too little quality sex education and access to family planning to prevent abortions. In countries where access to abortions is severely restricted, such as Poland and Ireland, the number of unsafe abortions is rising.

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After 17 Years, Union Savors Slaughterhouse Victory

    Workers now receive sick leave and holiday pay.

    After nearly 17 years of struggle, employees at the world's largest pork plant went to work under a union contract for the first time Thursday.

    Eighty-four percent of the approximately 5,000 employees at Smithfield Foods' slaughterhouse in Bladen County, about 80 miles south of Raleigh, approved the four-year contract in a vote this week. It ended one of the longest and most contentious fights over unionization in the state's history.

    The contract guarantees such basics as sick leave, time-and-a-half holiday pay and a $1.50-an-hour raise over the next four years. Some said it also ushers in a new era at a plant where workers have had little say in their working conditions.

    Workers and union officials say that perhaps the most important change is that workers will be allowed to voice concerns and challenge management decisions through a formal grievance process. In the past, many workers have said they were treated disrespectfully by their supervisors and fired after speaking out or being injured.

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Costa Rica Is World's Greenest, Happiest Country

    Latin American nation tops index ranking countries by ecological footprint and happiness of their citizens.

    Costa Rica is the greenest and happiest country in the world, according to a new list that ranks nations by combining measures of their ecological footprint with the happiness of their citizens.

    Britain is only halfway up the Happy Planet Index (HPI), calculated by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), in 74th place of 143 nations surveyed. The United States features in the 114th slot in the table. The top 10 is dominated by countries from Latin America, while African countries bulk out the bottom of the table.

    The HPI measures how much of the Earth's resources nations use and how long and happy a life their citizens enjoy as a result. First calculated in 2006, the second edition adds data on almost all the world's countries and now covers 99% of the world's population.

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