NEW YORK –-(ENEWSPF)–January 30, 2015.  Robert Ladd, an intellectually disabled person with an IQ of 67, was executed last night at 7:02 CT in Huntsville, Texas. His death violates the Supreme Court’s rulings that the Eighth Amendment prohibits executing the intellectually disabled as cruel and unusual punishment. In any other[Read More…]

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—January 30, 2015. If you’ve followed the trials of James Risen and Jeffrey Sterling, or read Risen’s book State of War, you are aware that the CIA gave Iran blueprints and a diagram and a parts list for the key component of a nuclear bomb. The CIA then proposed[Read More…]

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—January 30, 2015. The following op-ed by First Lady Michelle Obama appeared this morning on USAToday.com and across Gannett platforms. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/01/30/college-funding-michelle-obama-work-counseling-high-school-column/22533683/ Counselors build the bridge to college Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, it wasn’t exactly a forgone conclusion that I would go to college.  Neither of[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C. –(ENEWSPF)—January 29, 2015. On Thursday, the Senate passed S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act, by a vote of 62-36. A similar bill passed the House three weeks ago.  Differences between both versions must be reconciled by both chambers before the legislation can move to the President’s desk.[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, DC. —(ENEWSPF)—January 29, 2015. The Financial Times reported Shell’s (NYSE: RDS) annual profits for 2014, and even as oil prices came down from record highs, Shell’s 14 percent rise to $19.04 billion in profits rank it among the world’s most profitable corporations. In addition, Shell will likely receive a[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–January 29, 2015.  Shell Oil announced today that it will seek drill in the Arctic Ocean this summer, despite its dismal record in the area and a number of outstanding challenges, including the fact its permits to drill in the Chukchi Sea have not been approved. The company has[Read More…]

NEW YORK –(ENEWSPF)–January 28, 2015.  American molecular diagnostic company Myriad Genetics has settled litigation seeking to enforce patents on two genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The company has agreed to dismiss its claims against four laboratories and is discussing settlements with the remaining laboratories.  “Patients who need[Read More…]

WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–January 26, 2015—The massive winter storm predicted to engulf the entire Northeast is the result of a “bombogenesis,” which occurs when a storm takes on an explosive nature. Below is a statement by Robert Mera, a Union of Concerned Scientists Kendall fellow and meteorologist. “It’s a natural phenomenon—a dramatic and[Read More…]

Grassroots Illinois Action Endorses Slate of Progressive Candidates Committed to Neighborhood Investment and Democratizing Chicago Public Schools CHICAGO –(ENEWSPF)–January 27, 2015.  Today, Grassroots Illinois Action (GIA) publicly endorsed Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia for Mayor of Chicago, and twenty-three Aldermanic Candidates ready to take on Mayor Emanuel and a rubber-stamp City Council.[Read More…]

WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–January 27, 2015 — The Obama Administration proposed a five-year offshore drilling lease plan today that would expose much of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans to oil and gas production. The Natural Resources Defense Council’s Executive Director Peter Lehner made the following statement: “This takes us in exactly the wrong[Read More…]