According to internal Army documents, “shoddy electrical work” by private contractors at “American military facilities” in Iraq is causing more “deaths and injuries from fires and shocks than the Pentagon has acknowledged.” There were 283 fires between August 2006 through January 2007.
Maryland state troopers “infiltrated three groups advocating peace and protesting the death penalty,” according to documents obtained by the ACLU. “Information about the protesters and their activities was sent to seven agencies, including the National Security Agency and an unnamed military intelligence official.”
“Despite pleas from the White House and the State Department, as well as an international court order to review their cases, Texas will execute five Mexicans on death row.” “Mexico complained that the convicts, all men, had not been allowed a chance to talk to a Mexican consul after their arrests.”
“Climate change will pose ‘substantial’ health threats including heat waves, hurricanes and pathogens in coming decades,” according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, “‘it is very likely’ that more people will die during extremely hot periods in future years, with the elderly, the poor and those in inner cities at the highest risk.”
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is traveling in Europe today. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will host an invitation-only town hall meeting at the GM Technical Center in Warren, MI this morning before “attending a fundraiser in Detroit” and appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
“Once a reformer and iconoclast, willing to take on lobbyists and special interests in his own party, McCain has become a vessel for unpopular and unprincipled right-wing policies,” write Center for American Progress President John Podesta and Senior Fellow John Halpin.
A report from Refugees International reveals that “U.S. aid to Africa is becoming increasingly militarized” resulting in “less attention to longer-term development projects that could lead to greater stability across the continent.”
“House Republicans blocked an…effort to pressure energy companies into drilling for oil on lands they already leased from the federal government, calling the legislation a sham.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has announced that she will not allow legislation authorizing new offshore drilling to be voted on in the House.
And finally: At this week’s Netroots Nation convention, representatives from Fox News will be branded with a “scarlet letter” of sorts. Event organizers will require Fox “to wear credentials identifying them as opinion media rather than providing them with the regular press passes other news outlets will receive.” A spokesperson for Fox News called it a “predictable stunt,” and said Fox would not be sending anyone to cover the event. Josh Ortan, the event’s political director explained, “Fox News calls itself fair and balanced, but it’s not.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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