A day after he was charged with stabbing his companion in the face with a broken glass, State Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate said he was incapable of such a crime, and vowed to take his Senate seat come Jan. 1.
In a one-page statement issued Saturday evening, Mr. Monserrate said he deeply loved and cared for his companion, Karla Giraldo, and called her injuries an “unfortunate accident.”
“I have been charged with offenses that Read the rest of this entry »

DALLAS
— Texas health officials confirm salmonella was found in peanut meal at a Texas plant owned by the company at the center of the national salmonella outbreak.
Doug McBride, a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said Wednesday that the salmonella found in a sample taken from the Peanut Corp. of America’s Plainview plant Feb. 12 is the same strain as the nationwide outbreak.
That comes as federal officials Read the rest of this entry »

Women are not special. So if you are expecting another article about what the Obama-Biden administration should do for the constituency I claim to speak for (women), read no further. Women are not and should not have to be a special interest group. Policies that consistently ignore the needs of women are bad for men too.
To be sure, there is value in identifying policy areas in which women’s needs and rights have been particularly neglected or Read the rest of this entry »

“His appointments overall are such that he’s lived up to the best expectations of his rhetoric,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif). “He’s choosing intellectuals and scientists and other notables that no one would disagree are good advisers to him. He’s going to get the benefit of the doubt based on his appointments in many areas.”
Obama has picked an eclectic group.
to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and revamp the nation’s health-care Read the rest of this entry »

“Khalas,” a voice said, Arabic for “It’s over.”
The doctor refused to give up. He pumped the man’s chest, hoping to resuscitate him. A few minutes later, the man died.
“What can I say?” he said in a fatigued voice. “I have seen this scene many times. I’ve been here four days straight and I’ve yet to go home.”
As Israeli tanks and infantry push deeper into Gaza, an already dire humanitarian situation has worsened. The Israeli government has imposed Read the rest of this entry »

Americans will pay $2.6 trillion for health care this year. According to the Congressional Budget Office, that’s $8,300 per person, or 18 percent of GDP. If we continue on the current course, by 2017 that will rise to $13,000 per person, or 20 percent of GDP.
With so much money being doled out for medical procedures, drugs and the latest devices, it would help to know which treatments, among the myriad possibilities, deliver the best results. But Read the rest of this entry »