thegipples/news

From the page: 2,266 U.S. military veterans under the age of 65 died last year because they lacked health insurance and thus had reduced access to care. That figure is more than 14 times the number of deaths (155) suffered by U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2008, and more than twice as many as have died (911 as of Oct. 31) since the war began in 2001.

From the page: Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode in which Blackwater security guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, according to former company officials.

From the page: "New Jersey taxpayers are sending almost $1 million a month to a partnership run by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for protection against rising interest costs on bonds that the state redeemed more than a year ago. "

Healthcare bill: ""It will have a public option," Harkin said."

From the page: "Only 8 percent of U.S. adults plan to increase household spending, almost one-third will spend less, and 58 percent expect to "stay the course,"� according to a Bloomberg News poll. More than 3 in 4 said they cut spending in the past year."

From the page: "The Philadelphia trial is the first of more than 600 cases alleging that London-based Glaxo knew Paxil caused birth defects and hid those risks to pump up profits. The drug, approved for U.S. use in 1992, generated about $942 million in sales last year, 2.1 percent of Glaxo's total revenue.

...Glaxo officials urged scientists to withhold information about Paxil's risks from a paper laying out the company's "core safety philosophy" for the drug, said Sean Tracey, a lawyer for Kilker and David, in his opening statement in the trial. "

Hooray! Corporate profits set to soar: "Employers kept Americans working hours near a record low in August, indicating that economic growth is poised to reward companies with added profits while postponing any recovery in the job market.

The average workweek held at 33.1 hours, six minutes from the 33 hours in June that was the lowest since records began in 1964, the Labor Department said today. The report also showed that while payrolls dropped by the least since August 2008, the unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high of 9.7 percent."

From the page: "Thirty-seven percent of those questioned gave Congress a favorable rating, the lowest in the poll's 24-year history and a 13-point decline since April. Fifty-two percent rated Congress unfavorably."