Negotiations move forward as NY rail strike looms

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- The chief negotiator for unions at the nation's largest commuter railroad was set for a second day of renewed talks Thursday after vowing to keep working toward a deal that would avoid a strike this weekend.

The unions and the Long Island Rail Road said they would continue face-to-face negotiations Thursday in New York City and were maintaining informal contact while meeting separately and "crunching numbers."

The sides, urged on by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, held a five-hour session on Wednesday after two days of increased tension and bleak prospects for resolution stemming from a railroad proposal to make future employees contribute to their to health and pension plans.

"The message to the riding public is what we've said all along: We are not going to leave the table until we can do everything in our power to prevent a work stoppage," the unions' chief negotiator, Anthony Simon, said Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the railroad, declined to characterize the talks but said it remained committed to negotiating.

Cuomo said everything must be done to prevent the railroad's 300,000 daily riders "from being held hostage" by a strike, set for 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

Simon credited Cuomo with prodding the MTA back to the bargaining table after talks broke down Monday. At an impasse, the union had started telling members and riders to prepare for a strike that would create a commuting nightmare in and around the nation's largest city.

The railroad's 5,400 unionized workers have been without a contract since 2010.

President Barack Obama appointed two emergency boards to help resolve the dispute, but the MTA rejected both nonbinding recommendations. The emergency board's last proposal called for a 17 percent raise over six years while leaving work rules and pensions alone.

The MTA offered a 17 percent wage increase over seven years but also wants pension and health care concessions, which both sides agree is the sticking point holding up an agreement.

MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast has said the agency is trying to reach an agreement with the LIRR unions that avoids a potential rate increase in the future.

The state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, has estimated a strike would be a "devastating blow" to a region that is still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy and the recession. He estimated economic losses of $50 million a day.

Riders have complained that the MTA's contingency plans for a possible strike may be inadequate. The MTA has encouraged those who can to work from home. It has arranged for commuters to use large park-and-ride parking lots in Queens, where they can access subway stations.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio took a ribbing from Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert about his plans to go to Italy with his family during the potential rail strike. De Blasio quipped Wednesday night during a taping of his first appearance on "The Colbert Report" that stranded riders would have to talk to his wife about whether they could crash at the mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion.

Blidner reported from New York. Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in New York and David Klepper in Albany contributed to this report.

Novartis cites momentum in 3 percent profit rise

GENEVA -- Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG says its second-quarter profit rose 3 percent from a year earlier, reflecting solid growth and an increased focus on core products.

The Basel-based company reports that profit during the April-June quarter rose to $3.28 billion, up from $3.18 billion in the same quarter of 2013, helped by "strong innovation momentum" and rising sales in some of its household brands.

Novartis said Thursday that its outlook for 2014 is mid-to-high single-digit sales growth, partly due to its confidence from progress and approvals for cancer and heart drugs that are in development.

CEO Joseph Jimenez told reporters the company delivered a solid quarter and is benefiting from "a sweeping transformation" of its commercial portfolio.

Lebanon's Arabic press digest – July 17, 2014

The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

An-Nahar

Salaries, students hostage to intransigence

The effects of this unprecedented reality of the political conflict, which is now threatening, for the first time, the salaries of public employees, is something Lebanon has not seen at the height of the Civil War.

The conflict, due to a battle over “speech correction” between Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil and his political team on the one hand and the Future bloc and its allies, was even more serious and devastating for some 100,000 students stuck between unions’ intransigence and gross political negligence.

As-Safir

Government almost out of "coma"

Disaster threatens thousands of students

Fears have mounted that tens of thousands of students will soon join the list of victims of the ongoing political deadlock due to the fact that until now the correction of official exams, tied to the approval of a salary raise, did not yet begin.

And if this situation dragged on, the students will face a real disaster of not being able to attend college inside or outside Lebanon at the start of the academic university year.

Al-Akhbar

Hariri not launching initiative

Amid Cabinet and Parliament paralysis, wrangling continues between the finance minister and the Future Movement over civil servants’ salaries.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday will not launch an initiative, but would declare a new stance that could revive the presidential election and kill the dreams of the "four Maronite" leaders.

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Durant, Rousey win top athlete honors at ESPYs

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Durant won two ESPY Awards, including male athlete of the year, and mixed martial arts star Ronda Rousey earned female athlete honors, becoming the first UFC fighter to claim a trophy in the biggest category at the show honoring the year's best performances Wednesday night.

Durant also won best NBA player, ending LeBron James' two-year reign in both categories.

"Everybody helped me out along the way," the Oklahoma City Thunder star said. "My beautiful mom watching at home who couldn't be here. My favorite teammate, Russell Westbrook."

Durant beat out fellow male athlete nominees Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos and boxer Floyd Mayweather during the show hosted by rapper Drake at the Nokia Theatre.

Rousey, the first female UFC champion, won over WNBA star Maya Moore, Olympic champion skier Mikaela Shiffrin and Brenna Stewart of national champion Connecticut.

The winners in most categories were determined by fan voting.

Rousey didn't attend, with presenter Chrissy Teigen saying the fighter had surgery a day earlier.

Manning didn't go home empty-handed. He collected two trophies: best NFL player and record-breaking performance. Manning won his fifth MVP award last season, when he set single-season records by passing for 55 touchdowns and more than 5,500 yards.

The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks won best team. Their All-Pro cornerback, Richard Sherman, won breakthrough athlete.

The best game was the Iron Bowl matchup between No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Auburn, with the Tigers winning 34-28 on the final play to spoil the Tide's BCS hopes.

Led by goalie Tim Howard, the U.S. men's soccer team won best moment for its run to the round of 16 in the World Cup.

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal won best international athlete.

Drake zinged Howard and Sherman in his opening monologue. The rapper joked about banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling, saying, "We're a few hundred yards from Staples Center, which is as close as Donald Sterling is allowed to get."

Clippers star Blake Griffin laughed until the camera caught him and he acted serious, drawing laughs. Griffin and Drake teamed up for a funny pre-taped bit in which they pretended to be each other while spewing insults, with rapper Chris Brown joining in. Brown, who has been in and out of jail, jokingly introduced himself as "America's sweetheart."

James wasn't on hand, but Drake noted the superstar's recent decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers after winning two NBA titles in Miami.

"You know what 40 million gets you in Miami? A really nice house," Drake said. "You know what 40 million gets you in Cleveland? Cleveland, you get the whole thing."

Drake mixed in song, too. He crooned "Honorable Mention," a tune he said was dedicated to the runner-ups, including Triple Crown loser California Chrome and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick.

Lil' Wayne cracked up as Drake sang "Side Pieces," full of references to the on-the-road cheating that goes on in sports. Drake noted a lot of men in the audience wanted the song to be over.

Drake revisited Sterling with a rap accompanied by video of the Clippers owner saying he isn't a racist. The screen displayed the hashtag of Sterlingneverlovedus.

Later, Drake teamed up with WNBA star Skylar Diggins for a sketch. She went in to kiss Drake, who has acknowledged his affection for her, but the smooch landed on his forehead and not his lips.

Gregg Popovich won best coach-manager for guiding the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA championship. Spurs player Kawhi Leonard earned the championship performance award to go with his MVP award from the NBA Finals.

Westbrook won best comeback athlete, having overcome his latest knee surgery to help the Thunder reach the Western Conference finals.

Stewart won best female college athlete, while Creighton basketball star Doug McDermott won male college athlete.

Olympic snowboarders Jamie Anderson and Sage Kotsenburg won best female and male Olympian. Kotsenburg won the first gold medal of the Sochi Games in men's snowboard slopestyle.

The Arthur Ashe Courage award went to St. Louis Rams draftee Michael Sam, who announced earlier this year that he is gay. The former Missouri defensive end will be trying to make the Rams' roster when training camp opens. If he does, Sam would be the NFL's first openly gay player.

Sam teared up throughout his speech and his voice faltered at times.

"Great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself," he told the audience.

Hall of Famer Jim Brown hugged Sam on his way to the stage.

The Ashe award is named for the late tennis player who died in 1993 after contracting AIDS from a blood transfusion.

The Jimmy V Award for Perseverance was given to ESPN "SportsCenter" anchor Stuart Scott, who is fighting a recurrence of cancer first diagnosed seven years ago.

The Pat Tillman Award for Service was given for the first time to Josh Sweeney, a retired Marine who lost both his legs after an explosion in Afghanistan. He scored the lone goal for the U.S. sled hockey team that beat the Russians for gold earlier this year at the Paralympics in Sochi.

Senate panel examining role of GM legal department

WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel will pose questions to a new set of key players Thursday as it delves deeper into General Motors' delayed recall of millions of small cars.

GM CEO Mary Barra will certainly be asked about how she's changing a corporate culture that allowed a defect with ignition switches to remain hidden from the car-buying public for 11 years. It will be Barra's second time testifying before the panel.

But Senators at a hearing of the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection might sling their most pointed questions at GM General Counsel Michael Millikin as they drill down on the role the company's legal department played in the mishandled recall.

An internal investigation led by former federal prosecutor Anton Valukas — paid for by GM — showed that even as GM lawyers recommended the settlement of similar cases involving crashes where front air bags failed to deploy in Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions, they didn't alert higher-ups, including Millikin, to a potential safety issue.

Lawmakers may also question Valukas about the report's conclusion that a lone engineer, Ray DeGiorgio, was able to approve the use of a switch that didn't meet company specifications, and years later, to order a change to the switch without any senior executives at GM being aware.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a Senate subcommittee member who has criticized the Valukas findings as "the best report money can buy," says he'll ask Valukas at the hearing "why they failed to go beyond the low-level management and engineers."

Also testifying will be Rodney O'Neal, the CEO and president of Delphi. His company manufactured the ignition switches. Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg will testify about the plan he recently unveiled for compensating victims of crashes caused by the faulty switches.

Some other questions senators may ask:

BARRA

—Q: How does GM plan to change the corporate culture exposed by Valukas's report? In light of the revelations, was the termination of 15 employees sufficient?

Valukas's investigation found a dysfunctional culture in which people didn't take responsibility for fixing problems. Barra has said that GM has restructured its process for making safety decisions, elevating it to the company's highest levels.

Senators also may have more questions on how much Barra knew about the problem with the ignition switches when she was GM product development chief.

MILLIKIN

—Q: What role did the company's legal department play in the delayed recall?

GM attorneys signed settlements with families of some crash victims in cases where the switch defects figured. Blumenthal said in an interview he wants to know, "Why did GM insist on keeping the settlements secret?"

O'NEAL

—Q: Why did Delphi send GM the switches even when its own tests showed that the force needed to turn them didn't meet GM's specifications?

Delphi, once a GM division, didn't allow Valukas's investigators to interview its employees and turned over a limited number of documents.

Senators likely will ask O'Neal whether Delphi should have notified GM higher-ups after DeGiorgio approved the out-of-spec switches. DeGiorgio also told Delphi to alter the switches in 2006 but not change the part number, making the change hard to track. That raises the question of why Delphi agreed to keep the part number the same.

Panel members will want to know when Delphi found out that the switches began causing fatal crashes, and why the company continued to provide them to GM after knowing about the deaths.

FEINBERG

—Q: Should the compensation program be extended to victims of crashes involving cars that GM recalled on June 30 — mainly older, midsize vehicles where ignition keys are the issue rather than switches?

Feinberg has presided over compensation plans for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other disasters. He has said GM placed no limit on what it will pay for crashes caused by faulty ignition switches. Victims of the June 30 recalls, affecting 8.2 million cars, can't file claims to the fund.

In the original recall, the ignition switches didn't meet GM's specifications but were used anyway, and they slipped too easily out of the "run" position.

The vehicles recalled last month have switches that do conform to GM's specifications. In these cases, the keys can move the ignition out of position because of jarring, bumps from the driver's knee or the weight of a heavy key chain, GM says. The recalled cars will get replacement keys. The 2.6 million small cars recalled in February are getting new ignitions.

VALUKAS

—Q: Do the actions that GM has taken so far appear sufficient to prevent the problem from happening again?

Valukas has acknowledged that his report leaves open some questions, notably whether there was civil and criminal culpability; whether GM will make the right decisions to stop this from happening again; and what specific crashes were caused by the ignition switch problem.

Skepticism from senators over Valukas's "lone engineer" finding can be expected to be thick.

AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

Bank of America takes $4 billion litigation hit

NEW YORK -- Bank of America said Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings were hit by higher litigation expenses.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank earned $2 billion in the second quarter after payments to preferred shareholders, compared with $3.6 billion in the same period a year earlier, a decline of 43 percent.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $21.9 billion from $22.9 billion.

Per share, the bank's earnings worked out to 19 cents, compared with 32 cents a year ago.

The bank's litigation costs of $4 billion crimped earnings by 22 cents a share.

Bank of America also said that it had reached a $650 million settlement Tuesday with American International Group Inc. to resolve all outstanding residential mortgage-backed securities litigation between the two companies.

The bank said that "substantially all" of the litigation expenses incurred in the second quarter of the year were related to existing mortgage issues that have been previously disclosed.

Like its competitors, Bank of America is still dealing with the fallout from the financial crisis that began in 2007 and the subsequent collapse of the housing market. For example, the bank said in March that it will spend $9.33 billion to resolve a dispute over mortgage securities with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

However, unlike JPMorgan and Citigroup, Bank of America has yet to settle a federal investigation into its handling of risky subprime mortgages. Citigroup said on Monday that it had agreed to a $7 billion settlement with the Department of Justice, while JPMorgan reached a $13 billion settlement in November.

"We feel like we've gotten a large chunk of this behind us ... Clearly, the DOJ is the most significant matter that's out there remaining," Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson said on a call with reporters.

Bank of America's lawyers met with Justice Department officials Tuesday, but the two parties were unable to reach an agreement, according to a person familiar with the meeting. The Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America had offered to pay $13 billion in both cash and consumer relief in the meeting, while the department asked for "billions more." Jerome Dubrowski, a spokesman for Bank of America, said he couldn't comment on the discussions.

In April, Bank of America was forced to shelve plans to increase its dividend and stock buyback program. The bank said the move came after it realized that it had incorrectly valued securities that it had obtained through its acquisition of Merrill Lynch in 2009. As a consequence, the lender said it needed to hold a higher level of capital.

Bank of America had intended to buy $4 billion of its own stock and raise its dividend from a penny per share to 5 cents per share. The plan had been approved by the Federal Reserve. The bank said May 27 that it had resubmitted its capital plan to the Federal Reserve.

Thompson told reporters on Wednesday that he couldn't comment on "supervisory matters."

Bank of America's stock fell 29 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $15.53.

Associated Press Writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington.

Preparing Communities for the Impacts of Climate Change

We've been talking a lot recently about the need to rebuild and strengthen our nation's infrastructure. As the President has made clear, a world-class infrastructure system is a vital part of a top-performing economy.

But there's another important reason why we need to rebuild our infrastructure: climate change.

Communities across America need more resilient infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of climate change -- like more extreme weather and increased flooding. That's part of the reason why the President established the State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience last November.

The Task Force, made up of 26 governors, mayors, and county and tribal officials from across the country, advises the President on how the federal government can best help American communities dealing with the effects of climate change. Today, the Task Force came to the White House for their fourth and final meeting, and will give the President final recommendations this fall.

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Giving Working Families a Voice

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the U.S. Department of Labor's blog. See the original post here.

Last night, New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy participated in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game – proof positive that you can perform peerlessly at your job while still taking care of your family at critical moments. Murphy made headlines a few months ago when he chose to miss the first game of the season to be with his wife after she gave birth to their child.

Murphy’s story is one about having the right priorities and being faithful to your values, even in the face of criticism. But his story is about something else very important – the power of membership in a strong labor union, which can use collective bargaining to secure paternity leave and other essential benefits.

Three weeks ago, a crowd of more than a thousand – workers, business leaders, policymakers, advocates, and more – gathered at the first White House Summit on Working Families to ignite a conversation about how to provide more people with the same workplace benefits and protections enjoyed by Daniel Murphy. And the labor movement, which has been in the vanguard of this struggle, played a prominent role.

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Patients With Low-Cost Insurance Struggle To Find Specialists

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hide captionDr. Charu Sawhney examines patient Mang Caan. Sawhney supports the Affordable Care Act, but has been frustrated by how difficult it is to find specialists who accept some of the plans her patients bought.

Carrie Feibel for NPR

Dr. Charu Sawhney examines patient Mang Caan. Sawhney supports the Affordable Care Act, but has been frustrated by how difficult it is to find specialists who accept some of the plans her patients bought.

Carrie Feibel for NPR

Shots - Health News

So You Found An Exchange Plan. But Can You Find A Provider?

The Hope Clinic in southwest Houston is in the very heart of Asia Town, a part of the city where bland strip malls hide culinary treasures — Vietnamese pho, Malaysian noodles, Sichuan rabbit and bubble tea.

Inside the clinic, internist Charu Sawhney sees patients from many countries and circumstances. She's a big believer in the Affordable Care Act since most of her patients have been uninsured. She actively pushed many of them to sign up for the new plans.

But now she's seeing something she didn't expect. When patients need treatment unavailable at the clinic, it's been hard to find specialists and hospitals that accept the insurance.

"I was so consumed with just getting people to sign up," she says, "I didn't take the next step to say 'Oh, by the way, when you sign up, make sure you sign up for the right plan.' "

Understandably, a lot of her patients picked lower-cost plans, she says, "and we're running into problems with coverage in the same way we were when they were uninsured."

One of her patients is a Chinese immigrant to Houston who purchased a Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO silver plan. Soon after, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Sawhney found an oncologist to coordinate his treatment, but she and the oncologist ran into trouble trying to schedule chemotherapy and radiation. "The process just isn't as easy as we thought it would be," she says.

That's because the two largest hospital chains in Houston, Houston Methodist and Memorial Hermann, are not in that plan's network. Neither is Houston's premier cancer hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Those are the hospitals that the patient's oncologist, Paul Zhang, calls on the most. He says coordinating surgery or radiation usually isn't a problem, because most of his patients have insurance plans with wide networks.

"I could not find a surgeon," says Zhang. Eventually Zhang found one who took the insurance, though they'd never worked together. After the surgery, Zhang tried to set up the patient's chemotherapy and radiation at Houston Methodist. But that hospital wasn't taking the plan.

Zhang says he cannot refer patients with these narrow plans to the specialists he thinks are best, and that's a problem if the cancer is particularly complicated.

"You have limited options. So you're like a second-class citizen, you know. That's my feeling, you have this insurance and you cannot see certain doctors," he says.

Sawhney was less surprised by the barriers. Medicaid patients have similar problems finding doctors, and her uninsured patients have always struggled to find care. But she thought the Affordable Care Act would be an improvement.

Her patient with stomach cancer thought so too. He asked not to be identified because he has not shared his diagnosis with close family members.

"The (insurance) agent said that a lot of doctors will accept that insurance — but when I got sick I found out nobody wants that kind of insurance."

The biggest irony, she added, is that even Harris Health, the county-wide public hospital system in Houston, doesn't take all the new marketplace plans. Yet Sawhney can still send uninsured patients there for cancer treatment. As people learn that some doors are closed, she worries people will decide insurance isn't worth the money.

"I don't want patients to get discouraged," she says. "I don't want patients when they have a choice again to say, 'You know what? I'm just not going to sign up because it doesn't matter if I have insurance or I don't have insurance, I still have problems getting health care.' "

Narrow networks of doctors and hospitals aren't new, but they've attracted attention with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Analysts point out that narrow networks are a powerful tool for insurance companies seeking to control costs – especially since they can no longer control costs by excluding sick people or adjusting premiums by gender or age.

By restricting the choices in a plan, the insurer can promise more customers for the doctors and hospitals that are included. In exchange, the insurers can get a break on what they pay those doctors and hospitals.

Louis Adams with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas says if patients want access to more hospitals and more specialists, it's available, but usually at a higher price.

"Our goal was to offer an array of plan choices," he explains. "We created more focused networks as a way to offer a broad range of plans with lower premium prices."

Sawhney and Zhang eventually found a place for the patient to get chemotherapy and radiation.

Despite the delays and difficulties, Sawhney still believes it's better to have insurance, and she still believes in the law. But, she says, from now on she'll tell her patients to shop more carefully, taking into account price and whether they have a chronic illness. It won't be about the cheapest plan anymore, but rather the plan that best meets their medical needs.

This story is part of a reporting partnership between NPR, Houston Public Media and Kaiser Health News.

Miss. Primary Saga Rolls On, As McDaniel Refuses To Back Down

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Six weeks after the Mississippi GOP Senate primary, controversy still swirls around the outcome, as defeated challenger Chris McDaniel continues to dispute the election's results.

With A Rules Change For A Lever, Senate Ends Judge's 17-Year Wait

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Senate has voted 53 to 44 to confirm Ronnie White for a federal court judgeship in Missouri, 17 years after he was first nominated by President Bill Clinton.

Like Clockwork, Impeachment Talk Surfaces — But Action's Unlikely

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Citing a laundry list of grievances, some conservative advocates have begun raising the possibility of impeaching President Obama. But, as NPR's Don Gonyea reports, the calls have become routine, even expected, in the second term of the modern presidency.

Democratic Effort To Overturn Hobby Lobby Ruling Fails

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hide captionGOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire complained about a Democratic effort to reaffirm a contraceptive mandate at a Tuesday news conference

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire complained about a Democratic effort to reaffirm a contraceptive mandate at a Tuesday news conference

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

A Democratic effort to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling on contraceptive coverage failed in the Senate on Wednesday.

Bill sponsors fell four votes short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the measure.

But the purpose of the vote may have been less about trying to move legislation than to put Republicans on record, NPR's Laura Sullivan reports. Democrats are using the issue of contraception policy in heavily-contested Senate races in states such as Kentucky and Colorado.

"Every senator must take a stand for individual liberty," said Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. "Women are watching."

The Court's decision last month in the Hobby Lobby case allows some private companies to withhold coverage of contraception if it violates their religious beliefs.

The Democratic bill, which was supported by the Obama administration, would make it clear that any employer providing health insurance would have to pay for any type of coverage specified by federal law. (The Affordable Care Act calls for contraceptive coverage.)

"It shouldn't be up to your boss whether you as an employee get access to health care or not," said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, during floor debate. "We are entering into a new era in which five men on the Supreme Court are going to make decisions about what kind of health care you get as a result of decisions made by your boss."

Republicans dismissed that argument, saying that Democrats were simply trying to score political points.

"Nothing in the Hobby Lobby ruling stops a woman from getting or filling a prescription for any form of contraception," Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, both Republican senators, wrote in The Wall Street Journal. "No employee is prohibited from purchasing any Food and Drug Administration-approved drug or device, and contraception remains readily available and accessible for all women nationwide."

Along with other Republicans, they cosponsored legislation to counter the Democratic bill. The GOP's measure would "reaffirm that no employer can prohibit an employee from purchasing an FDA-approved drug or medical device, including contraception."

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz described the Democratic bill as part of an ongoing attack on religious liberties, citing the lawsuit filed by the Little Sisters of the Poor against the Obama administration fighting the birth control mandate.

"When did the Democratic Party declare war on the Catholic church?" Cruz asked on the Senate floor. "Right now, the Obama administration is litigating against the Little Sisters of the Poor, trying to force them to pay for abortion-producing drugs."

Cory Booker Wants To Help Ex-Offenders Be Economically Productive

Sens. Cory Booker and Rand Paul have proposed legislation that would overhaul the American criminal justice system. For more about the REDEEM act, guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Booker.

Palin's Call For Impeachment Reopens Debate Over ... Sarah Palin

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hide captionFormer Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin introduces U.S. Senate challenger Chris McDaniel at a May 29 rally in Ellisville, Miss.

George Clark/AP

Former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin introduces U.S. Senate challenger Chris McDaniel at a May 29 rally in Ellisville, Miss.

George Clark/AP

It's nice to see Sarah Palin back in the news. Nice, that is, if you're a Sarah fan — or if you're a Democrat, or a member of the media.

Palin's fans, and they are legion on the right, love her reliably tough-talking take on how conservatives should fight President Obama and his use of executive power to circumvent Congress.

Writing for Breitbart.com and speaking to Sean Hannity on FOX, Palin has insisted the required "high crimes and misdemeanors" are in evidence. All that's lacking, she adds, are party leaders with "cajones."

That's delightful for Democrats, who often say the struggles in Washington are driven by rabid, anti-Obama haters. The other lip-smacking sound you hear comes from all the media operations starved for domestic political news in the doldrums of July. Check out the number of websites (including this one) that got a chance to haul out their Palin photo files this week.

But none of this is nearly so nice for Republicans who've been trying to channel anger at President Obama in directions that could do the GOP more good. Speaker John Boehner has tried to take impeachment off the table in the House and stifle talk of it whenever he could. The House is moving this week to authorize Boehner to sue the president, a move Palin mocked as "bringing a lawsuit to a gunfight."

Hers was not the first, nor perhaps the most compelling voice urging impeachment in public. But Sarah Palin continues to command a special level of attention when she does or says things most people would not. After she weighed in, every prominent Republican in the country was suddenly getting questioned about it.

Their response, at least in the office-holding and office-seeking class, ranged from noncommittal to a flat out "not happening."

Even on Fox, Bill O'Reilly and others dismissed the impeachment gambit immediately. They clearly recall the bruising Republicans took for making that move against Bill Clinton in 1998 — when they scuttled their own chances for gains in that year's midterm elections and saw public approval of Clinton actually go up.

So the Palin thrust was parried, and serious talk of impeachment effectively squelched. Given this blowback, what has she accomplished?

First, and perhaps foremost, there is this: Once again the national political conversation includes the name Sarah Palin. She is once again the tip of the spear, at least in the realms of the right, and not just another spear carrier.

In the current election cycle, Palin had become primarily a celebrity endorser for various other "Tea Party" standard bearers — Chris McDaniel in Mississippi, T.W. Shannon in Oklahoma — because she has shown so little interest in running for office herself. She wants to be very much a public figure — on reality TV and news programs and magazine covers — without becoming some kind of public servant.

Palin entered public service a decade ago seemingly fired by public spiritedness. As mayor of Wasilla, she established herself as a populist and reformer, enabling her improbable and rapid rise to the governorship of Alaska in 2006.

Two years later, she became a public figure in a way perhaps no one else has ever experienced. Elevated overnight to the national ticket, Palin redefined the role of the running mate and became the cutting edge of John McCain's presidential campaign. All the media wanted Sarah, from CBS to Runners' World to Saturday Night Live. And she sat for them all.

Having lived on this media mountaintop for a fleeting moment, Palin had to trudge back to Alaska and the routines of state government. Her very notoriety continued to distract her. So after a few months back in Juneau, she resigned in the midst of her term. She flirted with the notion of a presidential candidacy in 2012 but never made serious preparations for one. She had the opportunity to run for the Senate this year and let it go by.

At this point, though she is still addressed as "Governor Palin," it is hard to imagine her seeking an actual public office again. Still a public figure with a universally recognized brand, she seems unsure about how to use her assets. She has hinted at leaving the GOP altogether — much as Pat Buchanan did after his thwarted candidacies in the 1990s.

This week's events suggest Palin's brand of politics and personality still has some of that 2008 potency. More than Buchanan, she could bedevil her erstwhile party as an independent candidate in some future race. That is, if the public figure is seriously interested in another public office.

Lebanon fireworks spark stricter regulations

BEIRUT: A coalition of local NGOs in collaboration with the Interior Ministry have called for an awareness campaign on the dangers of fireworks Wednesday, urging the implementation of stricter regulations in light of an increasing use of rocket and cracker fireworks recently.

“Why do we allow moments of happiness to result in annoyance and pain for others, to terror, fear and sickness?” asked Fadi Abi Alam, president of the Permanent Peace Movementm in a news conference at the NGO’s headquarters in Mkalles, Mount Lebanon.

“Expressing happiness by using fireworks will often lead to the distress of others because of the sound and smell."

Permanent Peace Movement, YASA and the Lebanese Fire Prevention Committee organized the news conference in collaboration with the Interior Ministry.

The groups reiterated the need for stricter protocols surrounding the use of fireworks and called for the import of firework crackers to be controlled and the establishment of specific time slots for setting off fireworks. They also spoke about the need to abide by rules and protocols banning the use of illegal fireworks, and urged people not to fire fireworks from balconies and narrow streets.

Those present also called for the formation of a unit that coordinates between Internal Security Forces and municipalities to manage the use of fireworks.

“Fireworks known as crackers are banned completely and so is the import of rocket fireworks that exceed 5 inches [in length],” said ISF representative Capt. Rabih Fakhri. He added that “fireworks could be released between 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. from Oct. 15 until April 15, and from 8:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. from the period between April 15 and the [following] October.”

The Interior Ministry in collaboration with local municipalities released a memo in 2012 that stressed the need to ban the use of cracker fireworks and set up a framework regulating their use.

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Fate of Cabinet session hangs in the balance

BEIRUT: Officials have so far failed to resolve disputes over the Lebanese University decree, leaving the fate of a future Cabinet session hanging in the balance, ministerial sources said Wednesday.

Recent contacts between a number of ministers and Prime Minister Tammam Salam failed to yield an agreement on the LU decree that would pave the way for the prime minister to call for a Cabinet session on the issue.

The decree would resolve two vital points – the appointment of deans to the university council and the hiring of contract professors as full-timers, a longtime demand by LU lecturers.

While Progressive Socialist Party ministers insist on having the dean of the Medical College, Pierre Yared, remain in his post, the Kataeb party has upheld its demand for a share in the university council particularly and have nominated one of their own as a commissioner.

The prime minister informed ministers that he would not call for a Cabinet session until a comprehensive agreement on the education dossier is reached that would allow the Cabinet to pass the LU decree in its first session, the sources told The Daily Star.

The Cabinet had initially approved giving full-time status to the LU contract professors, but several ministers refused to finalize the professors’ status without approving the appointment of new deans at the university, saying it should be a package deal.

According to a new governing mechanism in light of a presidential void, any decree requires the approval of all 24 ministers.

In terms of the equally divisive subject of extra-budgetary spending, the prime minister will not make any decision until the outcome of ongoing contacts between heads of political groups emerges over the possibility of convening a legislative session to pass an urgent law, the sources said.

Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, who held talks with Salam earlier in the day, has refused to authorize extra-budgetary spending for ministers unless the draft state budget for 2014 he prepared is approved or passed via a Parliament law. Khalil’s decision had raised fears that the salaries of public sector employees would not be paid at the end of the month.

The sources, however, said there was a way out of the spending predicament.

“A possible exit that could be used to pay the public sector employees their salaries is that if Khalil goes on Eid vacation a few days before the end of Ramadan, Economy Minister Alain Hakim is the acting finance minister and could sign off on the salaries,” a source said.

Separately, the prime minister has not yet decided whether he will attend military celebrations on Army Day in August as a substitute for a president, given that the Constitution vests full executive powers as well as those of the president in the Cabinet in the event of a vacuum.

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Lebanese doctors set their sights on Gaza

BEIRUT: The Gathering of Lebanese Doctors launched a campaign in solidarity with Gaza Wednesday, organizing demonstrations in front of ESCWA headquarters in Beirut and announcing a call for medical volunteers to assist in the treatment of residents of the war-torn strip.

“We gathered the Syndicate of Doctors and other concerned parties so we can collect nutritional and medical aid,” the organization's president, Dr. Ghassan Jaafar, told The Daily Star. “Gaza’s hospitals are suffering from extreme shortages in medical equipment and supplies that are necessary for treating the injured and wounded.”

The initiative was launched by the National Initiative Committee to Break the Gaza Siege in cooperation with the Lebanese Gathering of Doctors.

The campaign coincided with the National Initiative's call for volunteers Tuesday, urging doctors, nurses and specialists to travel to Gaza and assist in the treatment of local residents.

The call for volunteers is open indefinitely and the group is accepting applications from specialists in the medical field.

Jaafar said “there is a special need for surgeons, anesthesiologists and psychiatrists.”

According to Jaafar, the campaign has already received calls from 25 volunteers since the announcement was released late Tuesday.

“We are processing their documents and preparing for visa applications to be sent out to the Egyptian embassy,” Jaafar said.

Volunteers will fly to Cairo and will then take a bus to Rafah - a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza strip.

“All volunteers will meet in the European Hospital in Rafah, before they are assigned to different hospitals across Palestine,” said Jaafar, who will be accompanying the volunters.

He said a similar initiative was launched in 2010, when doctors and nurses volunteered to travel to the occupied territories.

“This time around the operation was easier than we expected,” Jaafar said, referring to an almost immediate approval from Egyptian officials to facilitate the transfer of supplies and volunteers from Egypt to the Gaza Strip.

“When we went in 2010, it took us a long time to get Egyptian approval under Hosni Mubarak’s regime,” he added.

Jaafar said that the bus trip would take almost half a day.

“On our last trip in 2010, we left Egypt at 7 a.m. and got to Palestinian territory at around 9 p.m. after being subject to strict inspection from several check points erected along the way” he said.

AUB honors Shatah with scholarship fund

BEIRUT: The American University of Beirut Wednesday announced the establishment of the Dr. Mohammad Chatah Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will support students from north Lebanon.

The fund targets students from the underprivileged northern region who seek studies in economics, political studies and public administration.

A former Lebanese ambassador to the U.S. and a former Cabinet minister, Shatah was assassinated in a bombing in downtown Beirut on Dec. 27, 2013.

Hailing from the northern city of Tripoli, Shatah graduated with a BA in Economics from AUB in 1974 and then continued his studies in the United States and graduated in 1983 with a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas.

He worked at the International Monetary Fund, where he held several positions including adviser on external communication as well as alternate executive director for the Middle East.

“He was an especially astute observer of Lebanese politics and advised many of Lebanon’s leading politicians including former Prime Ministers Fouad Siniora and Saad Hariri,” AUB said in a statement.

“We are deeply honored,” AUB President Peter Dorman said, “that Dr. Chatah’s family and friends have chosen to honor our alumnus and his extraordinary life, legacy, and memory by establishing an endowed scholarship fund in his name.”

“It is one of our top priorities to ensure that all those who merit entry to AUB are not barred by financial constraints.”

Former AUB faculty member Nadim Munla said an endowed scholarship fund was an especially appropriate memorial for his good friend and former classmate.

“Mohammad was a firm believer in knowledge, education and critical thinking. We hope this scholarship will be a modest contribution to his values."

Shatah’s wife, Nina, thanked AUB for allowing the family to continue her husband’s vision for the country.

“On behalf of our entire family, I am deeply thankful to all who worked and contributed to establishing the endowed scholarship fund,” she said. “Through your support, we will be able to realize the potential of students from the north, and carry on Mohammad’s vision of a better Lebanon. I know that Mohammad is looking upon all of us with great pride, in particular to AUB for being the unwavering source of optimism for our country.”

A prominent economist, Shatah, who left behind two sons, was seen as a voice of moderation in Lebanon.

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BEIRUT: The head of the Journalists Union, Elias Aoun, called on the rival Christian leaders, Michel Aoun and Samir Geagea, to take the initiative to end the presidential deadlock in Lebanon.

“Dear General [Aoun], Dear Dr. [Geagea], ... what is needed from you is to take the initiative together, to sit with yourselves and review the series of pain, and stretch your hand out to one another,” Elias Aoun said Wednesday in an open letter to Michel Aoun and Geagea.

“You are both required to reach an inevitable solution: agree on the principle that priority goes to the nation and to the Christian presence in a sovereign and independent Lebanon,” he wrote.

Calling on them as leaders of the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces, two of Lebanon's main Christian parties, the head of the Journalists Union urged Aoun and Geagea to urgently agree that one of them must reach the presidential post.

"Or [agree] on a third qualified and honorable Maronite [figure],” Aoun added.

“Would you do this so Lebanon would have a president in the July 23 [voting] session?”

President Michel Sleiman’s term ended May 25 with MPs failing to elect a new head of state over lack of consensus on a presidential candidate.

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Jumblatt sticking with Helou

BEIRUT: MP Walid Jumblatt Wednesday denied his party’s willingness to withdraw the nomination of MP Henry Helou from the presidential race, saying the lawmaker represented needed moderation in the face of existing political divisions.

“It is not accurate that the party is willing to withdraw its nomination of MP Henry Helou, particularly at a time when the local and regional events prove day by day the need to stick to such a candidate because he could represent the only end to the deadlock amid such sharp divisions,” Jumblatt said.

In comments to As-Safir published Tuesday, Jumblatt was quoted as saying that he “did not mind withdrawing Helou’s nomination if others withdrew their nominations.”

The March 14 coalition has maintained its nomination of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea for the country’s top Christian post, while rival MP Michel Aoun has been the March 8 group’s undeclared candidate.

Parliament has failed to convene eight times as March 8 lawmakers maintain a boycott of legislative sessions to elect a new president, saying such sessions are futile unless political parties agree on a consensus candidate.

Jumblatt reiterated that Helou was a needed candidate for Lebanon in light of the circumstances in the country.

“The bloc considers Helou as representing the path of moderation, consensus and dialogue, which should contribute to producing political solutions amid the continued Syrian war and the involvement of Lebanese forces in it,” he said.

“What is needed is to affirm the policy of disassociation and restore legitimacy to the Baabda Declaration, which represents the most appropriate agenda for any new president.”

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party also made an appeal to some lawmakers, who he said were “hostage to ideological and delusional prisons,” to attend parliamentary session and elect a new president.

Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai held talks with Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh at the former’s summer residence in Diman.

The two discussed the presidential stalemate, now its second month, as well as pressing social and economic issues.

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