U.S. Supreme Court reaffirms decision allowing corporations to spend freely to influence elections. The justices today struck down a Montana law limiting corporate campaign spending. By a 5-4 vote, the court’s conservative justices said their decision in the Citizens United case in 2010 applies to state campaign finance laws and guarantees corporate and union interests the right to spend freely advocating on the state and local level. The majority turned away pleas from the court’s liberal justices to give a full hearing to the Montana case because massive campaign spending since the January 2010 Citizens United ruling has called into question some of its underpinnings. The Associated Press
Regulators provide little protection from pesticides for farmworkers. The Environmental Protection Agency administers a Worker Protection Standard meant to regulate pesticides and protect workers. Yet the agency maintains no comprehensive database to track exposures. In 1993, the predecessor to the Government Accountability Office warned that the lack of data could lead to a “significant underestimation of both the frequency and the severity of pesticide illnesses.” Nearly 20 years later, the EPA can still only guess at the scope of pesticide-related ailments in an industry where many workers, toiling in the shadows, are reluctant to speak up. The Center for Public Integrity
Research suggests link between chemicals in plastics and childhood obesity. Phthalates, widely used in plastics for pacifiers and toys, may disrupt hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism, according to a new study. Researchers said kids with the highest levels of one phthalate – di-ethylhexyl phthalate, or DEHP — were nearly five times more likely to be obese than those with the lowest levels. Phthalates are widespread, found in food and water, as well as in such products as shampoo, cosmetics and plastic bags. Other research has linked them to male reproductive problems and low birth weight. The new study was released in Houston at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. HealthDay
Pfizer fudged results of safety study to promote arthritis medication. Recently unsealed internal documents in a securities fraud case against Pfizer show the company’s efforts to mislead outsiders about research on whether the drug Celebrex was safer on the stomach than more established drugs. The truth was that Celebrex was no better at preventing serious complications than other drugs. But the findings Pfizer presented appeared more promising because they reflected results from only the first six months of a yearlong study. A Pfizer research director, after presenting the incomplete data at an important conference, crowed in an 2000 email: “They swallowed our story, hook, line and sinker.” The New York Times
Federal bidding process for mining rights may cost taxpayers billions. An analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a think tank, says the government’s practice of auctioning coal mining rights to a single bidder may have cost taxpayers by as much as $28.9 billion over the past 30 years. The program is being reviewed by the Interior Department’s inspector general and will be audited by the Government Accountability Office. The practice involves a mining company proposing an area for leasing, and then the government auctions it off to the same firm. In the 26 coal leases awarded in southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming since 1991, 22 have gone to a single bidder. The Washington Post
Scientists say East Coast sea levels are climbing rapidly. U.S. Geological Survey research shows that sea levels are rising much faster between North Carolina and Massachusetts than anywhere else in the world. The news comes less than two weeks after North Carolina’s Senate passed a bill banning state agencies from reporting sea level predictions. Based on records covering 1950 through 2009, researchers found that the sea-level rise along the northern half of the eastern seaboard is three to four times faster than the global rate. Separately, a National Research Council study predicted that sea levels along the California coast will rise up to a foot in 20 years, increasing the risk of flooding and storm damage. Nature, Los Angeles Times
Recalls: Kroger Fresh Selections and Walmart Marketside bagged salads, Liquid Gold carrot juice, Chevrolet Cruze sedans
Compiled by Stuart Silverstein and Bridget Huber
