The Food and Drug Administration will issue two major proposals Wednesday in an effort to cut back on antibiotics used on farms that can spur drug-resistant superbugs, making a final push to limit drugs fed to animals before they’re turned into steaks and pork chops.
The move — just the latest by the agency to tighten regulation of the American food supply — puts drug companies on notice and starts the clock on the Obama administration’s three-year strategy to rein in the use of antibiotics. It comes on the heels of a recent effort to ban trans fats and a handful of other sweeping new food safety regulations.
FDA to crack down on antibiotics in meat
India's Supreme Court upholds anti-gay sex law
India's Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a 2009 lower court decision to decriminalize homosexuality, dealing a blow to gay activists who have fought for years for the chance to live openly in India's deeply conservative society.
The judges said only lawmakers and not the courts could change a colonial-era law criminalizing homosexuality.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community across India reacted to the surprise decision with defiance.
Study Finds Federal Contracts Given to Flagrant Violators of Labor Laws
A new congressional report criticizes the federal government for awarding tens of billions of dollars in contracts to companies even though they were found to have violated safety and wage laws and paid millions in penalties. Issued on behalf of the Democratic senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, the report cited examples over the past six years.
For instance, Imperial Sugar had $94.8 million in federal contracts last year, even though it paid $6 million in safety penalties over a 2008 factory explosion in Georgia that killed 14 workers. The report also noted that the federal government had awarded $4.2 billion in contracts to Tyson Foods since 2000, even though Tyson has faced more than $500,000 in safety penalties since 2007 and 11 of its workers have died on the job since 1999.
Uruguay Is First Nation to Legalize Marijuana Trade
Uruguay's Senate approved the world's first national marketplace for legal marijuana Tuesday, an audacious and risky experiment that puts the government in charge of growing, selling and using a drug that is illegal almost everywhere else.
The vote was 16 to 13, with the governing Broad Front majority united in favor. The plan now awaits the signature of President Jose Mujica, who wants the market to begin operating next year.
GM Chooses Barra as First Female CEO of Global Automaker
General Motors Co. (GM) named Mary Barra to succeed Dan Akerson as chief executive officer, completing the GM insider’s rise from a factory-floor worker to the industry’s first female CEO after more than a century of global automaking.
Barra, 51, takes over a company that has emerged from near-collapse a half decade ago, after an infusion of government cash and outside managers. Her elevation was announced a day after the U.S. government said it had sold its final shares of GM.
State surveillance of personal data is theft, say world's leading authors
More than 500 of the world's leading authors, including five Nobel prize winners, have condemned the scale of state surveillance revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden and warned that spy agencies are undermining democracy and must be curbed by a new international charter.
The signatories, who come from 81 different countries and include Margaret Atwood, Don DeLillo, Orham Pamuk, Günter Grass and Arundhati Roy, say the capacity of intelligence agencies to spy on millions of people's digital communications is turning everyone into potential suspects, with worrying implications for the way societies work.
Senate Republicans block attempt to update firearms rules for 3D guns
An attempt to update firearms rules to cover weapons made using 3D printers was blocked on Monday night as a fresh row over gun control erupted in the Senate.
Existing legislation requires all plastic weapons made or carried in the US contain some metal parts so they can be picked up by security detectors.
The law, dating back to the 1980s, was due to expire on December 9 but was extended by both the House and Senate with only hours to spare.
Obama Faces Backlash Over New Corporate Powers In Secret Trade Deal
- The Obama administration appears to have almost no international support for controversial new trade standards that would grant radical new political powers to corporations, increase the cost of prescription medications and restrict bank regulation, according to two internal memos obtained by The Huffington Post.
The memos, which come from a government involved in the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, detail continued disputes in the talks over the deal. The documents reveal broad disagreement over a host of key positions, and general skepticism that an agreement can be reached by year-end. The Obama administration has urged countries to reach a deal by New Year's Day, though there is no technical deadline.
Fire Triggers Shutdown of Arkansas Nuclear Reactor
A nuclear reactor at Entergy Corp.'s ETR -0.97% Arkansas One power plant shut itself off on Monday morning after a fire broke out at a nearby electrical switchyard.
The incident involved the plant's Unit 2 reactor. The Unit 1 reactor remained in service, furnishing electricity to the power grid, Entergy said.
There was no radiation release, according to Victor Dricks, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mr. Dricks said an NRC inspector assigned to the site was in the control room, monitoring Entergy's actions.
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