Hong Kong Tensions Spike as China Issues Ominous Warnings

    Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying refused to resign in a midnight press conference Thursday, saying the chief secretary of the territory, Carrie Lam, would open a dialogue with student leaders as soon as possible. As a midnight deadline approached, tensions were pitched in Hong Kong, where a large and growing crowd of “Umbrella Revolution”…

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      Wall Street lawyer on shortlist for Trump's SEC chair: report

      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…

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        As Health Nonprofit Cashes In, Cystic Fibrosis Drug Remains Unaffordable for Most

        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…

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          'Do No Harm': Doctors Blast Medical Professionals for Role In CIA Torture Regime

          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…

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            Transgender Youth's Tragic Suicide Galvanizes Movement

            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…

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