A federal agency is reporting that officials in President George W. Bush's White House improperly conducted political briefings on government property, and encouraged employees to get involved in campaigns, meaning that taxpayers footed the bill for political activity.
"As the 2006 election drew nearer, OPA (the White House Office of Political Affairs) became a partisan political organization," reported the Office of Special Counsel, an advisory agency that reviews applications of the federal Hatch Act. The Hatch Act forbids federal employees from engaging in election activity.
Bush White House improperly held political briefings, report says
Marines wrestle with alcoholism
Alcohol abuse continues to trouble the U.S. Marine Corps despite efforts to promote treatment, a Pentagon report indicates. The corps has had the highest rates of alcoholism among the armed forces, a report by the Pentagon's Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center and the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury finds. Last year, nine Marines died in alcohol-related vehicle accidents, the corps reported.
The last two fiscal years saw the highest numbers of alcohol-related injuries among Marines since 2005 -- 114 incidents in 2010 and 118 in 2009 -- said the Naval Safety Center, but the numbers killed or totally disabled in accidents fell.
Obama lists support for military families
A series of 50 programs that spans U.S. government will be available to boost support for U.S. military families, President Obama said Monday.
The push for the initiatives, including more counseling, more education funds and expanded child care help, was spearheaded by first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, who have taken on the needs of military families as their cause.
Scientists fear kilograms don't weigh as much as they used to
When is a kilogram not a kilogram? When it starts to weigh less. It came into existence more than two centuries ago and has become the standard unit of weight around the world, from the shopping malls of Europe to the souks of the Middle East, but scientists believe that the reign of the kilo as we know it is about to come to an end.
A group of experts meeting in London today want to redefine the kilogram so that it is no longer based on the mass of a solid cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy that sits beneath three layers of protective glass sealed in a locked vault in Sèvres, France.
Heart Disease Treatment Costs May Triple in Next 20 Years
The costs of treating heart disease are expected to triple by the year 2030, creating an “enormous financial burden” for millions of Americans, the American Heart Association says in a new policy statement.
The tab for treating heart disease will rise to $545 billion over the next 20 years, in large part because of the aging of the baby boom population, the oldest of which will be in their mid-80s by then. The policy statement is published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Undisciplined spending in the name of defense
Defense Secretary Robert Gates just proposed cutting the military and security budget by $78 billion over five years — perhaps only a downpayment on coming further reductions. Secretary Gates’s list of proposed cuts includes high-profile projects and weapons. But he does not mention the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, an exemplar of undisciplined spending in the name of defense.
Never heard of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency? You’re not alone. A fair guess is that nine of 10 Washington pundits and political insiders don’t know the NGA exists, while perhaps one in 100 can describe its function.
Blocking "rogue gene" may stop cancer spread-study
British scientists have discovered a "rogue gene" which helps cancer spread around the body and say blocking it with the right kind of drugs could stop many types of the disease in their tracks.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia said their findings could lead within a decade to the development of new medicines to halt a critical late stage of the disease known as metastasis, when cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.
Pakistan prisoners in Afghan jails despair
For Wakeel Khan, the worst aspect of the disappearance of his son Hameedullah was initially not knowing his fate. Hameedullah disappeared from the tribal region of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan in a 2008 military operation. For a while, it seemed that he had fallen off the face of the earth.
"It was five, six months after my son went missing that I found out he was at Bagram [the main US base in Afghanistan]," a visibly upset Mr Khan - who served in the Pakistan Army for 15 years - told the BBC. "The Red Cross helped us get in touch with him in jail, but for two years, he couldn't even tell us why he'd been arrested.
Two decades of secret Israeli-Palestinian accords leaked to media worldwide
Al-Jazeera TV begins leaking 1,600 secret documents: PA agreed to concede almost all of East Jerusalem to Israel, accept Israeli demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Al-Jazeera TV and The Guardian revealed Sunday the details of 1,600 confidential documents on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians over the last two decades. The documents leaked so far mostly reveal secret concessions offered by Palestinian negotiators on the issues of the right of return of Palestinian refugees, territorial concessions, and the recognition of Israel.
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