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Spanish scientists at the National Biotech Centre in Madrid say a new vaccine could reduce HIV to a “minor chronic infection.” The researchers report that 90% of participants given the MVA-B vaccine showed an immune response to the virus and 85% kept the immunity a year later. According to a press release from The Spanish … Continue reading
The House on Thursday gave quick approval to a stopgap spending bill that will finance the government for the first four days of October, until lawmakers can return and vote on a more ambitious seven-week spending bill. The stopgap bill, passed Monday by the Senate, goes now to President Obama, who is expected to sign … Continue reading
Facebook has said that it has “fixed” cookies that could have tracked users after they logged out of the site. The issue was brought to light by an Australian blogger who has conducted a year-long analysis of the social network’s use of cookies. He concluded the company might still be able to track members’ web … Continue reading
[Editress’ Note: published for my friend, the remarkable Mr. Michael Cassidy] Is it wise for the City of Rockford to contract with Mike Cassidy and McGuireWoods, the firm for which he works, to lobby on behalf of Rockford in Springfield? The cost is $10,000 a month, and aldermen voted 13 to 1 Monday to pay … Continue reading
The Obama administration Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to settle the constitutional question over the 2010 health-care law this term, meaning that the decision will probably come next summer in the thick of the presidential campaign. The Justice Department asked the justices to review the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th … Continue reading
Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they support President Barack Obama’s proposal to tax households making $1 million or more at the same or higher rate as middle-class households, according to a recent poll from website Daily Kos. The poll found two-thirds of Republicans also support the so-called “Buffett Rule” – named after famed investor Warren … Continue reading
One recent day in a federal prison hospital, accused Tucson gunman Jared Loughner refused to drink milk with lunch. Another day, prison staff noted, he stayed in bed for 18.5 hours. During one seven-day period, staffers said he appeared depressed 63% of the time. His demeanor was flat 84% of the time, and his hygiene was considered … Continue reading
Simi Valley, California — When Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey took the lectern at the Reagan library here on Tuesday night, he initially stuck to his script, a mostly dry speech that took a few swipes at President Obama. But when Mr. Christie moved to answer questions from the audience, he let loose, moving … Continue reading
If 2,000 Tea Party activists descended on Wall Street, you would probably have an equal number of reporters there covering them. Yet 2,000 people did occupy Wall Street last Saturday. They weren’t carrying the banner of the Tea Party, the Gadsden flag with its coiled snake and the threat “Don’t Tread on Me”. Yet their message was clear: … Continue reading
A Saudi woman was sentenced Tuesday to be lashed 10 times with a whip for defying the kingdom’s prohibition on female drivers, the first time a legal punishment has been handed down for a violation of the longtime ban in the ultraconservative Muslim nation. Normally, police just stop female drivers, question them and let them … Continue reading
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is standing by his state’s new policy of drug testing welfare recipients even after the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the scheme in a lawsuit and just 2.5 percent of beneficiaries flunked the first round of tests in July, triggering additional calls for the policy’s repeal. The governor highlighted the … Continue reading
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will not run for the GOP presidential nomination in the next election cycle, Fox News reported on Tuesday. The big name Republican has vehemently denied he could vie for the White House in 2012 in recent months amid buzz that he could jump into the race. The Star Ledger reports … Continue reading
If Congress can’t come up with a deficit reduction deal this year, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he’ll try to prevent further required cuts in the military budget. The comment showed that contingency plans already are in place to avoid some of the more than $1 trillion in mandated spending cuts under a … Continue reading
New data from Experian Hitwise show a dramatic increase in traffic over the week since the service opened to everyone. Visits to Google Plus increased by 1269% last week. The site received 15 million U.S. visits, up from 1.1 million the week before. Google Plus went from ranking 54th in Hitwises Social Networking and Forums … Continue reading
The 90-minute longer school day touted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel kicked off Monday at six Chicago public schools — the trailblazers in a new $1.8 million pilot program. At Fiske Elementary in Woodlawn, kids could tell there was something special about Monday’s classes. “It’s a new day because we’re gonna spend a longer time in … Continue reading
Speaking at a press conference in New York hours after landing back safely on American soil following their release to Oman on Wednesday, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal laid bare the extent of their harrowing two-year ordeal in Iran. “We had to go on hunger strike repeatedly just to receive letters from our loved ones,” … Continue reading
Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth says shes training for her third Chicago Marathon. Duckworth was an Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War when she lost her legs in combat. She competes with a hand-crank bicycle. The marathon is Oct. 9. She’s completed two previous marathons.Shes inviting reporters to join her workout, which starts at 6:30 … Continue reading
The Republican activists at the Orange County Convention Center had applauded politely, and even enthusiastically, for the presidential hopefuls Friday afternoon. But when Herman Cain finished, they roared. The former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza has hit his rhetorical stride in the Republican presidential contest, whipping up crowds of true-believers everywhere he goes. And he … Continue reading
After a weak debate performance and a loss in the Florida straw poll, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is having his fitness as the GOP presidential frontrunner seriously questioned. These doubts were on display during the roundtable on “Fox News Sunday.” “Perry really did throw up all over himself in the debate, at a time … Continue reading
Having officially determined that God is totally cool with women voting, Saudia Arabia’s King Abdullah announced that starting in 2012, women will be allowed to vote and run in municipal elections. Which are the only kind of election anyway! And not only can Saudi women now participate in the low-level and politically-limited elections allowed by … Continue reading
Mitt Romney didn’t disappoint on his home turf this weekend, receiving 51 percent of the votes at the Michigan Straw Poll, a wide victory over Texas Gov. Rick Perry who garnered just 17 percent. Third place in the straw poll went to Herman Cain, fresh off his impressive win at the Florida Straw Poll earlier … Continue reading
In a move that could give Illinois more flexibility over how it holds schools accountable, the Obama administration announced Thursday that it will waive key portions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act for states that commit to certain reform efforts. In recent years, state superintendents, educators and critics of the law have argued … Continue reading
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg summed up the social network’s big F8 announcement this way: “We’re adding verbs.” What he didn’t say was: We’re subtracting privacy. At last year’s F8, Facebook announced the “like” button. One year later the “like” button looks like the work of cave men. Starting today, Zuckerberg announced that you won’t be … Continue reading
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) has signed on as the first Republican co-sponsor of the bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. “I voted against the constitutional amendment defining marriage so I’m pleased to co-sponsor the repeal of DOMA and work with my colleagues on marriage equality,” said Ros-Lehtinen in a statement. The DOMA-repeal bill, … Continue reading
The Brandt Standard 