Washington state filed suit Tuesday to stop the federal government from permanently abandoning the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, marking the latest clash in a long-standing dispute over where the nation's nastiest radioactive waste should be stored.
Waste and spent nuclear fuel from south-central Washington's Tri-Cities, site of the highly contaminated Hanford nuclear reservation and the Northwest's only commercial nuclear plant, had long been intended to go to Yucca Mountain.
Wash. sues to stop feds from abandoning Yucca site
Nebraska to limit abortions because of fetal pain
Nebraska lawmakers on Tuesday passed a groundbreaking bill banning abortions at 20 weeks based on assertions that fetuses feel pain then. Gov. Dave Heineman planned to sign it into law in the afternoon.
If upheld by the courts, the bill could change the foundation of abortion laws nationwide. Current restrictions in Nebraska and elsewhere are based on a fetus's ability to survive outside the womb, or viability.
Israeli stores pull book attacking settlers
An Israeli bookstore chain says it has pulled a book highly critical of Jewish settlers in the West Bank after customers complained about it.
The book calls the settlers "hypnotized zombies" and attacks the Israeli right for its strong ties to the them. The Tzomet Hsfarim chain packaged the book with an Israeli flag for independence day next week.
TVNL Comment: Contrary to the headline, the book does NOT attack settlers. It is CRITICAL of settlers. Israel's concept of freedom of speech apparently excludes those who oppose settlements in the occupied territories.
NBC's 'cynical' mind-control games
First there was product placement. Now there's "behavior placement," the planting of subtle messages in popular TV shows to encourage certain viewer behavior — such as healthy eating or eco-conscious habits — and thereby convince sponsors that their brands will be associated with "feel-good, socially aware" shows. NBC has owned up to the practice, reports The Wall Street Journal, as part of its Green Initiative: If "Tina Fey is tossing a plastic bottle into the recycling bin," the theory goes, audience members will be more apt to do the same. Innocuous or "Orwellian"?
If mainstream medicine really works, why are Americans so unhealthy?
Did you ever wonder why such an alarmingly high percentage of Americans are obese, diabetic, depressed and suffering from cancer, heart disease, kidney disorders and skin problems? Now consider the fact that Americans pay more per capita for health care than any other nation in the world. Americans pay the highest prices, by far, for medications, medical imaging scans, blood work, surgeries, chemotherapy and hospital stays. And yet what does America have to show for it? The most universally diseased population in the world -- and a nation on the verge of bankruptcy caused in part by mainstream medicine.
Why Are 25 Hedge Fund Managers Worth 658,000 Teachers?
In 2009, the worst economic year for working people since the Great Depression, the top 25 hedge fund managers walked off with an average of $1 billion each. With the money those 25 people "earned," we could have hired 658,000 entry level teachers. (They make about $38,000 a year, including benefits.) Those educators could have brought along over 13 million young people, assuming a class size of 20. That's some value.
U.S. Military Playing Expanded Role In Pakistan
![U.S. Military Playing Expanded Role In Pakistan](http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ykXYT6n6kIMqcM:http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/img/pakistan_army.jpg)
U.S. defence and administration officials say the elite trainers, who currently number more than 100, have not and are not authorized to take part in Pakistani military offensives in the semi-autonomous tribal regions, known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA, along the Afghan border.
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'Avatar' director and star protest against Amazon dam
![Director James Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver are in Brazil to protest against a proposed dam in the Amazon](http://hosted.ap.org/photos/0/022572a5-4125-4e41-846e-88d760250ecc-small.jpg)
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I stole IDF documents to expose West Bank war crimes, Anat Kam says
Classified documents reveal that the Israel Defense Forces had committed war crimes in the West Bank, Anat Kam, the former soldier indicted for espionage over an alleged theft of top secret material, told the court earlier in the year, according to police documents released allowed for publication Monday at the request of Haaretz.
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