MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry hit back at the State Department on Thursday after a U.S. official warned Germany against tying itself too closely to Russian gas pipelines. Read more…

Ads funded by oil and insurance companies are pounding on Proposition 89 for its supposed "Welfare for Politicians," their deceptive moniker for public financing of elections. What voters ought to be seeing are ads about "Corporate Welfare" and the $3 billion a year that taxpayers could recoup for better uses if politicians weren't indebted to corporate contributors, said the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. Read more…

Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood experts said today that consumers and businesses have a dramatic new reason to choose seafood that comes only from sustainable sources: a newly published study in the journal Science warning that the world's wild-caught seafood fisheries could collapse by 2050. Read more…

Michigan American Legion State Commander Roger Webster echoes the national American Legion's acceptance of an apology by Sen. John Kerry for his remark suggesting that American troops in Iraq are uneducated. Read more…

A recent report of climate change sponsored by the British government that argued the price of inaction would be extraordinary and the cost of action modest is selective in its research and flawed in its conclusion, according to H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). Burnett noted an analysis by acclaimed economist Bjorn Lomborg of the U.K. report shows its fear-mongering arguments have been sensationalized, which ultimately will only make the world worse off. Read more…

A coalition of national veterans service organizations has again called on House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) to schedule hearings on legislation that would replace the current discretionary funding mechanism that puts patients at risk and makes it impossible for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to operate effectively. Read more…

Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) today received the endorsement of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the nation's leading gun violence prevention organization. Smith is running for re-election to a 14th term in New Jersey's 4th Congressional District. Read more…

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi wrote President Bush today encouraging him to act immediately to reverse the decline in our military's readiness caused by the failing national security policies of his administration and the Republican Congress. With the Army, Marine Corps and National Guard all facing severe strains on personnel and equipment shortages, America's ability to deal with an overseas crisis is being placed at risk. The war in Iraq, now in its fourth year and with no end in sight, continues to add to the mounting readiness problems. It is imperative to our nation's security that the president change course and restore military readiness. Read more…

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today warned that the recently announced merger plans of CVS Corp. and Caremark Rx Inc. could have a significant negative impact on patient access to the pharmacy of their choice. However, NCPA also called the planned merger an excellent opportunity for CVS to address the many problems that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), like Caremark, have caused community pharmacies and their patients, and urged the company to take action to clean up PBM abuses. Read more…

The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), a coalition of the 11 leading home oxygen therapy providers and manufacturers who provide care and services to approximately 650,000 chronically-ill home oxygen patients, expressed appreciation that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) officials addressed several significant concerns shared with the agency during the rulemaking process. Read more…

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) complaint against Americans for Honesty on Issues (AFHOI), a registered 527 organization, for failing to report contributions and expenditures as required by federal law. Read more…

The following was released today by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Maryland and Ohio elections Read more…

Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage and Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg are available to comment on what the midterm elections will mean for Democrats. Read more…

The NAACP, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, People For the American Way Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland have set up a hotline for voters to call in case problems occur on Election Day, Nov. 7. The groups are all part of Election Protection, the nation's largest non-partisan voter protection coalition, and they are working to head off problems similar to those experienced on primary Election Day Sept. 12. Read more…

The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today it is ending its efforts to negotiate a compensation package for fishermen in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to retire their fishing permits. Despite initial interest, few of the fishermen ultimately expressed a desire to negotiate. Pew's decision comes after months of efforts by the trusts to engage the fishermen in formal discussions regarding a permit buyout, and four months after President George W. Bush designated the region a national monument, thereby creating the world's largest marine reserve. Fishing rights are scheduled to expire in 2011, ending all industry activity in the area. Pew first raised the possibility of putting together a compensation package for the remaining permit holders in early 2005 in discussions with government officials, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, fishermen, native Hawaiian groups and others. To lead discussions with fishermen this year, Pew retained a highly respected retired local judge. Read more…

Pandemic flu, access to health care, emergency preparedness and health disparities are among the top concerns public health leaders will address as they gather this coming week at the American Public Health Association (APHA)'s 134th Annual Meeting and Exposition, Nov. 4-8, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC), 415 Summer St. Read more…

More than 1,300 water quality experts from throughout North America and beyond will explore the latest technology and practices for keeping drinking water safe at the American Water Works Association's Water Quality Technology ConferenceSM & Exposition (WQTC) at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Read more…

DAKAR, Senegal - Senegal moved closer to bringing a former Chadian dictator accused of war crimes to justice after the government announced Thursday that local laws would be revised and a special commission formed to organize and oversee his trial. Read more…

A former Ft. Campbell soldier has been charged with various crimes for conduct including premeditated murder based on the alleged rape of an Iraqi girl and the deaths of the girl and members of her family, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David L. Huber of the Western District of Kentucky announced today. Read more…

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao received the National Urban League's National Public Service Award this evening at its 50th anniversary Equal Opportunity Day awards dinner in New York City. The annual awards dinner recognizes individuals and corporations who perpetuate the principle of equal opportunity and who exhibit leadership qualities that result in notable contributions to the cause of equal rights. Read more…

Former presidential candidate Gary L. Bauer called this year's election cycle "the first time I've seen such aggressive, overt, and nationalized efforts to suppress values voter turnout." Called the "values guru" by Rolling Stone, Bauer's value as a political commentator is well-known inside and outside the beltway. With Values Voters so important to the story of this election, Bauer's analysis will be particularly beneficial to reporters and producers. Read more…

Candidates for the New York State Senate may want to start paying a little more attention to soaring drug prices. As New Yorkers gear up for Election Day, the issue may just play a big role in who they vote for. According to AARP's state pulse polls of self-identified voters in several hotly contested State Senate races released today, most voters aren't just worried about being able to afford their drugs; they want candidate they vote for to do something about soaring drug prices. Read more…

In communities across the country, voters could be subject to intimidation and a variety of suppressive tactics meant to keep them from casting a ballot. Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy center, published the details of these potential challenges to voting rights in a new briefing paper this week. Read more…

Morality in Media issued the following statement regarding the passing of Paul J. McGeady, Esq., who served as the organization's General Counsel and Director of its National Obscenity Law Center from 1979 to 2006. Read more…

There is a growing body of evidence that the Bush Administration would like to eliminate affirmative action and all federal programs that benefit small, minority-owned, women-owned, and disabled veteran- owned firms. If Republicans retain control of Congress next week millions of dollars in federal small business contracting opportunities could be in jeopardy. This could spell disaster for Missouri's half a million small businesses. Read more…