Important federal public health agencies

The Supreme Court’s ruling to gut nationwide rights to abortion last week has highlighted the importance of access to birth control, which already proves difficult for many women of color due to discrimination, stigma and systemic barriers in the health care system. While the decision does not directly impact access to contraception, legal experts say that states and municipalities that are aiming to ban abortion at the point of conception may also challenge contraceptives like Plan B and intrauterine devices. Some state legislators have already taken steps to restrict birth control, such as in Tennessee, when earlier this year Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, denounced Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 case that ensured birth control access to individuals who were unmarried. “The hardest burden is going to largely fall on Black women who already have insurmountable challenges just getting health care in this country,” Jennifer Driver, senior director of reproductive … [Read more...] about Black women are underserved when it comes to birth control access. The Roe decision could make that worse.

In a little-noticed discrimination lawsuit the Mountain States Legal Foundation sued the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last December for purging highly qualified applicants for air traffic controller jobs and dispensing with relevant skills screening in order to foster “diversity.” Because when your plane hits massive turbulence shortly before the scheduled landing, the race of whoever is trying to help the pilot avert disaster is surely of paramount importance? Not surprisingly, the FAA, rather than argue there is a black way to land a plane and a white way to land a plane, tried to pass the buck. FAA lawyers told the MSLF the agency was legally immune because the EEOC had not yet ruled on their client’s individual and class action complaint. So to avoid any confusion MSLF just sued the EEOC as well! MSLF president William Perry Pendley explained to the Washington Gadfly that, “We need all the parties in court. So when an FAA lawyer lies about what is going on … [Read more...] about EXCLUSIVE: FAA Discrimination Lawsuit Names EEOC Chair

New York filed suit against ten national gun distributors Wednesday, alleging they illegally sold so-called “ghost gun” frames and receivers to the public. The lawsuit , filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James , alleges that the defendants sold the “unfinished” frames and receivers without a background check or traceable record of sale. The defendants allegedly violated federal law of selling firearms without a serial number in order for law enforcement to trace them during a crime scene. The 10 distributors include Blackhawk Manufacturing Group, Salvos Technologies, Brownells Inc and Indie Guns LLC, according to the suit. “In Defendants’ own words, the products they sell are ‘ridiculously easy’ to convert into fully operable and completely untraceable firearms. Nonetheless, despite their illegality, Defendants continue to sell these products into New York State,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants persist in endangering the health and safety of the public by delivering … [Read more...] about New York Sues 10 Gun Companies Over Alleged ‘Ghost Gun’ Parts Distribution

In telecommunication, India lagged to adopt newer technology. However, once the technology entered India, it disrupted the market, making India the world’s largest and cheapest telecom market, with world-class infrastructure and connectivity. India, today, is amongst the largest telecom markets in the world with over a billion subscribers and more than 80% mobile penetration. Similarly, Electric Vehicles (EVs) picked up in India 2021 onwards, with catapulted support from the much-strategized FAME II. On an average, India accounts for more than 1.5M new 2wheeler (2w) retail sales every month, which is around 80% of overall automotive sales. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to transition to clean mobility. In terms of oil dependency, 2ws are responsible for around 62% of total petrol demand in India. With focused policy interventions and emerging technologies in the space of EVs, innovative business models will lead the transition and disrupt traditional markets. We believe … [Read more...] about How Proliferation of Battery Swapping in EV Market Will Benefit Customers, Provide Level-Playing Field

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has fired the State Department's inspector general, an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of alleged political bias in the agency's management. The ouster is the latest in a series of moves against independent executive branch watchdogs who have found fault with the Trump administration. A senior department official said Pompeo removed Steve Linick from his job Friday but gave no reason for his removal. Linick had served in the job since 2013. His office had issued several reports critical of the department's handling of personnel matters, including accusing some of President Donald Trump's appointees of retaliating against career officials. Linick will replaced by Stephen Akard, a former career foreign service officer who has close ties to Vice President Mike Pence, said the official, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Akard currently runs the department's Office of … [Read more...] about Pompeo Fires State Department Watchdog Critical of Trump Moves

Attorneys representing Clinton Foundation donor and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss are seeking his pound of flesh from Jacqueline Long, a woman who has publicly accused him of sexual abuse. The high-profile Democratic donor’s attorneys filed a petition Aug. 4 seeking “harsh sanctions” against the Colorado woman following a June 8 The Daily Caller News Foundation article that reported her allegations. They claim Long violated the confidentiality provision of a $1.5 million settlement agreement the two signed in May 2013. The Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia has scheduled a hearing this morning to determine the next step in the long-running saga. The latest chapter began last December when Wyss gave a $5 million commitment to the Clinton Foundation’s No Ceilings project to help women and girls, an effort personally championed by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. At the time, no one knew that Wyss had executed a $1.5 million settlement, in part over Long’s … [Read more...] about Clinton Foundation Donor Wants His $1.5M Back In Sex Abuse Case

Women everywhere carry a disproportionately higher burden of unpaid work , namely, unpaid domestic services as well as unpaid care of children, the old and the disabled for their respective households. Though this work contributes to overall well-being at the household level and collectively at the national level, it is invisible in the national database and particularly in national policies. This work is repetitive, boring and frequently drudgery — a 24-hour job without remuneration, promotions or retirement benefits. It restricts opportunities for women in the economy and in life. Women do this job not necessarily because they like it or are efficient in it, but because it is imposed on them by patriarchal norms, which are the roots of all pervasive gender inequalities. This unequal division of unpaid work between women and men is unfair and unjust and it deprives women of equal opportunities as men. Comment | Removing the creases in housework valuation For political … [Read more...] about How to treat unpaid work

Six of the G7 countries are members of NATO, while the seventh, Japan, is dependent on its defence on the United States. All, including Japan, can be broadly classified as the West. If the narrative in recent years has been that political and economic power has decisively shifted towards Asia and the West no longer dominates the world as it did traditionally, that recognition seems to be missing from the inordinately long communiqué that the G7 summit in Germany has issued. It is imperial in tone, carrying a sense that the G7 has the power to decide and dispense. After the 2008 financial crisis the G7 led by the US felt the need to enlist the cooperation of major economic powers outside the West to stabilise the global financial system through coordination of national policies. Besides India, China, the second largest economy, was included in a G20, which was raised from the existing Finance Minister to Summit level. Today, China is treated as an adversary, and the harshness of G7 … [Read more...] about As G7 Nations Come Together to Corner Russia, PM Modi Bats for Dialogue and Diplomacy

COLOMBO (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund reported constructive talks with Sri Lankan authorities on Thursday, raising hopes it could soon grant preliminary approval for a credit facility to alleviate a crisis in which the country is struggling to pay for imports. "The discussions will continue virtually with a view to reaching a staff-level agreement on the EFF arrangement in the near term," IMF said, referring to the credit arrangement, called an extended fund facility. Staff-level agreement must precede final approval by the IMF's executive board, but so too must cooperation from Sri Lanka's creditors, which is not expected to come quickly. "Because public debt is assessed as unsustainable, Executive Board approval would require adequate financing assurances from Sri Lanka's creditors that debt sustainability will be restored," the IMF said. Analysts say debt restructuring would be a protracted process, even after IMF staff-level agreement. The financial crisis is … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka makes progress towards IMF credit – IMF