Wisconsin’s Repeal of Equal Pay Rights Adds to Battles for Women.

A Million Voters Registered on Easter? – NAM.

The Empowerment Movement, a nonpartisan organization headed by Bryant, harnesses the collective support of more than two dozen church denominations, including African Methodist Episcopal, Church of God in Christ, Progressive and Baptist.

Their first order of business is pushing for increased voter participation — starting with registering 1 million voters on Easter. With an estimated 500,000 black churches in the United States, the Empowerment Movement is calling on all of them to register at least 20 members this Sunday. “Easter is the most church-populated Sunday on the Christian calendar,” Bryant said, laughing. “So that day gives us the most bang for our buck.”

The mass effort is partially in response to battles over recent state voting laws that require government-issued voter ID and curtail early voting periods, as well as local redistricting, all of which disproportionately affect people of color. “We felt we had to take an active role in this presidential election because there’s a lot at stake,” said Bryant.

Resistant malaria spreads rapidly to Thai-Myanmar border.

Deadly malaria that is resistant to drug treatment has spread rapidly from Cambodia to the border between Thailand and Myanmar, raising concerns of an uncontrollable epidemic, scientists said on Thursday.

A pair of studies published in The Lancet and the journal Science showed how the disease is moving fast into new territory and identified a region of the parasite’s genome that may be responsible for mutating in order to survive.

Wash. state declares whooping cough epidemic | Vaccine News Daily.

The Washington State Health Department has declared its large increase in cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, as an epidemic.

In 2012, there have been 640 cases of the disease in the state, compared to 94 during the same time period last year. The state is on pace to have its largest number of whooping cough cases in decades, KNDO reports.

The state health department urged people to protect themselves from getting the contagious disease and spreading it, particularly to infants, by getting vaccinated. Children should get vaccinated against whooping cough by age seven.

The past two years has seen dozens of Washington babies hospitalized with whooping cough, including four deaths. While people of all ages can get whooping cough, adults have lesser symptoms and may not realize that a nagging cough is a result of an infection with the disease.

Muslim Brotherhood fails to change politics as usual in Egypt – Bikya Masr.

It is done. The Muslim Brotherhood have officially reneged on their promise to not field a presidential candidate in the upcoming May election. It is yet another sign that the group has become drunk with power, seeking more in an attempt to solidify their position as complete hegemon over Egypt.

It is one thing to debate their candidate, but we should never be here. They promised. But as in all things political in Egypt – and elsewhere – one’s word is not bond. And in less than three months, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has gone from fighter, to Parliamentary champions, to in a nutshell liars.

It is easy to say that all politicians are liars, but for the most part in Egypt, no party or group had reneged on a promise, or straight up changed their policies on an issue or topic. This time, the Brotherhood has done exactly that.

By reneging on their previous statement, the group is signaling that it is politics as usual in Egypt, where once a group enters into power, they become almost intoxicated by it and want to maintain and grow their will over the country.

Panel backs sharing studies of lab-made bird flu – MariettaTimes.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Ohio, Community Information – The Marietta Times.

The U.S. government’s biosecurity advisers said Friday they support publishing research studies showing how scientists made new easy-to-spread forms of bird flu because the studies, now revised, don’t reveal details bioterrorists could use.

City farm gets variance approval » Local News » Lockport Union-Sun & Journal Online. The city zoning board on Tuesday granted a series of use variances allowing the owners of McCollum Orchards to restart farming activity, and conduct retail sales, in a lowertown neighborhood.

By a series of 4-0 votes, zoning commissioners approved the plans of Richard and Bree Woodbridge to increase agricultural output at 248 N. Adam St., sell farm products and farm-related experiences such as hayrides on the property, install a parking lot and erect directional signs on Old Niagara Road.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes found on Oahu | Vaccine News Daily.

A mosquito species capable of carrying dengue fever was recently discovered near the Honolulu airport.

This particular species, Aedes aegypti, has not been seen on the island of Oahu since 1949. State health officials are concerned because the Aedes aegypti can quickly spread dengue and yellow fever if it acquires the infection, according to KHON2.com.

Hawaii’s health department recently announced that vector control teams found eight of the mosquitoes at a trap set up near the airport.

“Aedes aegypti are commonly found throughout the Pacific area where there are serious outbreaks of dengue fever,” Bruce Anderson, a former State Health Director, said, KHON2.com reports.

The trap was examined for mosquito eggs in late January. Out of 20 mosquito eggs present, eight were thought to be Aedes aegypti. Vector control’s beliefs were confirmed as they watched the four male and four female mosquitoes grow into adulthood.

“They are aggressive mosquitoes,” Anderson said, KHON2.com reports. “They bite many people in sequence, which allows them to transmit the disease.”

Courthouse News Service.

MANHATTAN (CN) – After criticism from the United Nations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it is “taking action to investigate” reports that 16 gay and transgender detainees have been tortured in U.S. immigration prisons.
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez first questioned the United States about the allegations August 2011. On Feb. 29, Mendez said that he “regrets” that the United States did not respond to his inquiry.
“Given the lack of any evidences to the contrary, the special rapporteur believes that the facts reveal that there have been various violations of the provisions under the Convention against Torture, in particular breach of articles 7 and 12,” Mendez wrote in the 81-page “Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishments, Addendum, Observations on Communications Transmitted to Governments and Replies Received.” The U.N. General Assembly report is dated Feb. 29.

Circling the Lion’s Den: Army killer a known conman.

Army killer a known conman

So it turns out that mass killer Staff Sgt Robert Scott Bales, who shot 16 men, women and children dead in Panjwai last week, is a conman who “engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, churning, unauthorised trading and unsuitable investments.” America’s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority found that while Bales had been working as a stockbroker in 2003 he had taken a client’s stock to sell, but had not handed over any money.
Following arbitration Bales was ordered to pay $637,000 in compensation to the elderly couple he defrauded, a similar amount in punitive damages and $216,000 in legal fees. Instead of paying up, Bales – who had been banned from working as a broker – joined the Army and ‘disappeared’, declining even to show up at the disciplinary hearing that barred him from associating with “any NASD member in any capacity”. Doubtless he “can’t remember” that incident either.