The state Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over whether a trade secrets exemption in Wyoming's public records law may be invoked to shield from disclosure many of the chemicals the petroleum industry uses in hydraulic fracturing.
The landowner group Powder River Basin Resource Council and environmentalists including the Wyoming Outdoor Council argued that individual ingredients in the various chemical products used during hydraulic fracturing can't be considered trade secrets. Therefore, they say, the information on file with the state must be disclosed to the public.
Fracking Chemicals Case Heard By Wyoming Supreme Court
U.K. police rescue 3 women allegedly held as slaves for 30 yrs.
Three "highly traumatized" women have been rescued from a house in south London where they were apparently held captive in "domestic slavery" for three decades, Scotland Yard said Thursday.
Police said the youngest captive – a 30-year-old British woman – had had no contact with the outside world for her entire life.
Surveillance court chafes at Obama administration secrecy
The largely-secret court that oversees many federal surveillance programs is chafing at the Obama Administration's reluctance to declassify one of the court's rulings.
In an order Wednesday, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Judge Dennis Saylor faults the government for its taciturn response Monday to court orders instructing the executive branch to conduct a declassification review of the opinion, one of several sought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
A handful of tree nuts a day reduces death risk by 20 percent
Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts and pistachios are linked to a 20 percent lower death rate, U.S. researchers say.
Lead author Dr. Ying Bao of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues analyzed nut consumption with total and cause-specific mortality among 76,464 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 42,498 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Report: Drone strike targets seminary in Pakistan, at least six killed
A suspected U.S. drone strike Thursday targeting an Islamic seminary in northwest Pakistan killed at least six people, sources told Geo News.
The report said the drone fired three missiles. Other details were not available.
DawnNews said the strike in Tal town in Hangu district in militant violence-wracked Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province killed five people and injured four more.
Most of NSA’s data collection authorized by order Ronald Reagan issued
The National Security Agency’s collection of information on Americans’ cellphone and Internet usage reaches far beyond the two programs that have received public attention in recent months, to a presidential order that is older than the Internet itself.
Approved by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, Executive Order 12333 (referred to as “twelve-triple-three”) still governs most of what the NSA does. It is a sweeping mandate that outlines the duties and foreign intelligence collection for the nation’s 17 intelligence agencies. It is not governed by Congress, and critics say it has little privacy protection and many loopholes. What changes have been made to it have come through guidelines set by the attorney general or other documents.
Air Force Academy has `ex-gay` cure advocate overseeing cadet character coaching
The US Air Force Academy hired a man to run their character coaching program for young cadets who, for the past two decades, has devoted his entire professional career to the cause of “curing homosexuality,” and who claims that he himself has been “cured” of the “addiction.”
The news of “ex-gay” activist Dr. Mike Rosebush running the academy’s character and leadership coaching program comes on the heels of growing concerns as to whether the academy is serious about becoming a welcoming place for gay cadets in the post-”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era.
Illinois Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, Legal Battles Loom in 10 More States
In the latest of nationally sweeping pro-LGBTQ legislation, Illinois governor Pat Quinn signed marriage equality into law today at University of Illinois-Chicago, making his state the 16th to legalize same-sex marriage.
“Marriage equality is coming to Illinois,” Quinn said in a Nov. 7 press release. “I look forward to signing this landmark legislation on November 20 and celebrating a big step forward with the people of Illinois.”
CREW Releases New Report Exposing Influence of Fracking Industry
Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a new report detailing how congressional candidates are benefitting from companies operating hydraulically fractured wells and trade associations supporting the fracking industry.
In the new report, Natural Cash: How the Fracking Industry Fuels Congress, CREW — utilizing federal campaign contribution data tracked by MapLight — found contributions from the industry to House and Senate candidates from districts and states home to fracking activity rose by 231 percent between the 2004 and 2012 election cycles, from approximately $2.1 million to $6.9 million. In contrast, industry contributions to candidates from nonfracking districts rose by 131 percent, from approximately $2.2 million to $5.1 million, over the same time period.
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