Free Republic

MOSCOW/WARSAW (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it was outraged by Poland's destruction of a Soviet war monument, warning Warsaw of the "most negative consequences" after what it said was a flagrant violation of an agreement between the two countries on protecting memorial sites. Poland has been one of the most vocal critics of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014. Russia and Poland share a history of conflicts and the disagreement over war memorials is likely to add to tensions. "Warsaw must finally understand that the 'war of monuments' unleashed in Poland may have the most negative consequences,...

TRENTON — For the second time in two years, Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a bill that would have banned the dumping of fracking waste in New Jersey. Environmentalists and lawmakers from both parties had championed the measure, which would have prohibited companies from treating, discharging, disposing, and storing waste from hydraulic fracturing — the controversial practice of pumping water, sand, and chemicals deep underground to harvest natural gas. Though an increase in fracking in recent years has caused U.S. energy production to spike, critics worry that the practice could pollute drinking water supplies. And while fracking doesn't happen in...

WASHINGTON -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has estimated that in 2012 Medicare physician reimbursement will be cut by 29.5%. When President Obama signed a bill in 2010 to postpone the scheduled 25% cut in Medicare reimbursement through 2011, physicians were aware that the pay cut would be greater than 25% come 2012. And, if CMS' estimate holds true, it will be.

Infectious disease specialists are concerned that a corporate decision by Pfizer to scale back its R&D spending next year -- plus a transition to China -- will further slow development of new antibiotic drugs. Pfizer announced this week that it will lay off thousands of research and development personnel, shutter its major research facility in Sandwich, England, and shrink its central lab in Groton, Conn. The moves, planned for 2012, are designed to preserve the company's profits when its biggest-selling drug, Lipitor (atorvastatin), loses its U.S. patent protection. Company CEO Ian Read said Tuesday that the firm would spend only...

Hospitals are putting more patients into observation status for longer than 48 hours instead admitting them, in part out of fear of what happened at one hospital this month, the American Hospital Association says. Observation status is a Medicare billing category for patients not sick enough to qualify for acute admission but too sick to be sent home. Fear of Recovery Audit Contractor audits, or "post-payment reviews of inpatient claims" has been partly responsible, said Rick Pollack, AHA executive vice president, in a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services chief operating officer Marilyn Tavenner on Wednesday. "A related...

WESTWOOD — Borough resident Warren Saunders has been charged Thursday with violating state aviation codes for an airplane toilet paper-drop stunt that stirred up post-9/11 anxieties about low-flying planes, authorities said. Saunders, 60, was released on his own recognizance after appearing before Judge Alan Karch in Westwood Municipal Court. Since it is a fourth-degree crime, the case will be referred to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office for further review. The Cessna 172 S pilot was practicing for a planned flight over a Saturday football game against Mahwah, during which the toilet paper from the practice run would be replaced with...

We've been following the special election in Massachusetts, where the GOP hopes to pull a surprise upset in the race to fill Ted Kennedy's seat. If they do pull it off, healthcare reform is instantly in trouble, as the Democrats drop below 60. But money is coming to the rescue of Democrat Martha Coakley -- healthcare industry lobbyist money, specifically. Tim Carney identifies several of her top fundraisers. Take a look at who they represent: * Thomas Boggs, Patton Boggs: Bristol-Myers Squibb * Chuck Brain, Capitol Hill Strategies: Amgen, BIO, Merck, PhRMA * Susan Brophy, Glover Park Group: Blue Cross,...

Then the nightmare that is the new Consumer Safety Protection Improvement Act went into effect on Tuesday. This is the law I mentioned last week here that would have dire consequences if it came to be. Well, it did, and all hell has broken lose in the U.S. motorcycle/ATV industry. Any motorcycle or motorcycle product for children ages 12 and under has to pass a test to determine that its lead content be less than 600 particles per million. Motorcycle engine and cables all contain some lead. So do bicycles, watercraft, bullets, fishing weights, even the ink in many books!...

The Federal Communications Commission awarded 12 grassroots groups $8.4 million to help TV viewers prepare for the digital transition on Feb. 17. FCC had sought proposals from local, regional and national organizations to inform the public in all parts of the U.S. about the conversion, particularly in the 82 markets with the highest over-the-air TV populations. Last September, Congress appropriated $20 million to the FCC to help fund its digital television outreach efforts, such as instructing the public how to set up converter boxes and antennas. AARP scored $2.7 million to answer senior citizens’ questions related to the conversion via...

The government's billion-dollar program to help people prepare for the transition to digital television has run out of money, potentially leaving millions of viewers without coupons to buy converter boxes they need to keep their analog TV sets working after the switch. As of this past Sunday, consumers who request a $40 coupon to help offset the cost of a converter box are being placed on a waiting list. They may not receive the coupons before Feb. 17, when full-power television stations will shut off traditional analog broadcasts and transmit only digital signals. Members of Congress are now scrambling to...

Gallup Polls conducted in 70 countries from May to September 2008 reveal widespread international support for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama over Republican Sen. John McCain in the U.S. presidential election. Among these nations, representing nearly half of the world's population, 30% of citizens say they would personally rather see Obama elected president of the United States, compared with just 8% who say the same about McCain. At the same time, 62% of world citizens surveyed did not have an opinion. World citizens are more divided over whether the outcome of the U.S. election makes a difference to their country, with...

The House of Representatives voted 245 to 159 to pass the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999. Because of a rule requiring two-thirds approval, the measure didn't pass. Its sponsor, Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., plans to introduce it again when only a majority is needed for passage. If enacted, it would "Amend the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person engaged in a gambling business to knowingly use the Internet or any other interactive computer service to: (1) place, receive or otherwise make a bet or wager; or (2) send, receive, or invite information assisting in the placing...

KARABILA, Iraq, Sunday, June 19 - Marines on an operation to eliminate insurgents that began Friday broke through the outside wall of a building in this small rural village to find a torture center equipped with electric wires, a noose, handcuffs, a 574-page jihad manual - and four beaten and shackled Iraqis. The American military has found torture houses after invading towns heavily populated by insurgents - like Falluja, where the anti-insurgent assault last fall uncovered almost 20 such sites. But rarely have they come across victims who have lived to tell the tale. The men said they told the...

A Letter to Mankind Dear fellow human, Today humanity is being challenged. Unthinkable atrocities take place on daily basis. There is an evil force at work that aims to destroy us. The agents of this evil respect nothing; not even the lives of children. Every day there are bombings, every day innocent people are targeted and murdered. It seems as if we are helpless. But we are not! We are losing the war against terrorism because we do not know our enemy. Terrorism is just a tool, the enemy is the ideology behind terrorism and that is Islam. Those of...

New FAS-FAX: Big Drops at Some Big Papers, Amid a Slight Decrease Industry-Wide By Jennifer Saba and Mark Fitzgerald Published: November 01, 2004 updated 5:50 PM EDT NEW YORK The Audit Bureau of Circulations released its FAS-FAX report for the six-month period ending September 2004, this afternoon, revealing another decline in overall circulation for daily newspapers and some steep drops among the largest dailies. Earlier today the Newspaper Association of America reported that overall daily circulation for the industry, as reflected in the new FAS-FAX, was down .9%, and Sunday circulation declined 1.5%. But some Top 20 papers suffered much...

From the Second Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate, a Kerry response to a question about appointment of justices to the Supreme Court: "What I want to find, if I am privileged to have the opportunity to do it -- and the Supreme Court of the United States is at stake in this race, ladies and gentlemen. "The future of things that matter to you -- in terms of civil rights, what kind of Justice Department you'll have, whether we'll enforce the law. Will we have equal opportunity? Will women's rights be protected? Will we have equal pay for women, which is going...