Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton is on the short list to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in President-elect Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in…
Years after investing in the small biotechnology company Vertex to encourage the development of drugs to fight cystic fibrosis—a deadly disease that attacks the lungs and digestive system—the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced Wednesday that it has sold its royalties for the medication that resulted from that investment for $3.3 billion—the largest windfall ever made by…
For the third time in less than a year, an Egyptian court has issued a mass death sentence, adding to mounting concerns about state brutality under the regime of U.S.-backed coup leader Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Judge Mohammed Nagi Shehata, head of the Giza Criminal Court, on Tuesday condemned to death 188 alleged members of…
A group of doctors and ethicists has released a searing report (pdf) slamming medical professionals for playing an “essential” role in the CIA’s torture program, thereby violating “the most fundamental duty of the healing professions” and potentially committing crimes against humanity. Published by Physicians for Human Rights, the analysis comes a week after the release…
The apparent suicide of 17-year-old Leelah Alcorn, a transgender girl from Ohio who documented her struggle and loneliness online, is galvanizing a movement against transphobia. Several vigils are planned in the U.S. and Canada for Friday and Saturday; petitions calling for Alcorn’s family to use her chosen name on her headstone and for President Barack…
Kenyan police fired tear gas at a crowd of children protesting the seizure of their school playground by a property developer on Monday. About 100 children between eight and 13 years old from Langata Road primary school in Nairobi, along with a smaller group of parents and activists, converged in front of a newly built…