Dismayed by Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg Will Endorse Hillary Clinton
By ALEX BURNSJULY 24, 2016

Michael R. Bloomberg, who bypassed his own run for the presidency this election cycle, will endorse Hillary Clinton in a prime-time address at the Democratic convention and make the case for Mrs. Clinton as the best choice for moderate voters in 2016, an adviser to Mr. Bloomberg said.

The news is an unexpected move from Mr. Bloomberg, who has not been a member of the Democratic Party since 2000; was elected the mayor of New York City as a Republican; and later became an independent.

But it reflects Mr. Bloomberg’s increasing dismay about the rise of Donald J. Trump and a determination to see that the Republican nominee is defeated.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-hillary-clinton-dnc.html

Did Melania Trump include a Rickroll in the middle of her convention speech?
Updated by Dylan Matthews on July 19, 2016, 12:43 a.m. ET @dylanmatt dylan@vox.com

At first glance, Melania Trump’s Republican convention speech on Monday was a pretty ordinary candidate’s spouse address, but subsequent readings suggest a whole lot went awry here.

For one thing, she or her speechwriter appears to have cribbed a whole paragraph from Michelle Obama’s Democratic convention speech from 2008. For another, she and/or her speechwriter included a full-on Rickroll...

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/19/12221654/melania-trump-rickroll

One striking chart shows why pharma companies are fighting legal marijuana
By Christopher Ingraham July 13 at 10:01 AM

There's a body of research showing that painkiller abuse and overdose are lower in states with medical marijuana laws. These studies have generally assumed that when medical marijuana is available, pain patients are increasingly choosing pot over powerful and deadly prescription narcotics. But that's always been just an assumption.

They found that, in the 17 states with a medical-marijuana law in place by 2013, prescriptions for painkillers and other classes of drugs fell sharply compared with states that did not have a medical-marijuana law. The drops were quite significant: In medical-marijuana states, the average doctor prescribed 265 fewer doses of antidepressants each year, 486 fewer doses of seizure medication, 541 fewer anti-nausea doses and 562 fewer doses of anti-anxiety medication.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/13/one-striking-chart-shows-why-pharma-companies-are-fighting-legal-marijuana/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_1_na

Gilead, maker of $84,000 Hepatitis C drug, avoided $10 billion in taxes, report says
By Renae Merle and Carolyn Y. Johnson July 13 at 6:00 AM

Over the last few years, Gilead Sciences has grown into one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, fueled by the sales of expensive specialty treatments for hepatitis C. The company’s revenue has tripled since 2012, to $32.6 billion last year.

According to a report to be released Wednesday, Gilead has also developed another specialty: Avoiding billions in taxes.

The California-based pharmaceutical giant moved some of its assets to Ireland, apparently allowing income from some U.S. drug sales to be shifted abroad and taxed at a lower rate, according to Americans for Tax Fairness, a liberal advocacy group. It has also avoided nearly $10 billion in taxes by not bringing some of its foreign profits back to the United States, the group says.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/13/maker-of-84000-drug-avoided-10-billion-in-u-s-taxes-report-says/

A Hidden Ingredient In Your Candy Bar: Exploited Labor
A new Rainforest Action Network video uncovers palm oil’s high human cost.
07/12/2016 10:55 am ET Dominique Mosbergen Reporter, The Huffington Post


What’s in that candy bar you’re munching on or the shampoo lathered in your hair? Along with the sugar and the chemicals, there may be a hidden ingredient you didn’t bargain for: exploited workers.

The Rainforest Action Network released a video Tuesday highlighting the human cost of palm oil, the ubiquitous commodity found in everything from ice cream to detergent. The video describes how the palm oil industry exploits its labor force, exposing workers to hazardous chemicals without adequate protection and turning a blind eye to the use of child labor on plantations, among other abuses.

RAN says the animated clip tells the real stories of three palm oil workers: Manik, who was trafficked into work on a Malaysian palm oil plantation; Sutantri, a young mother who was exposed without proper equipment to toxic chemicals; and Adi, a father who brings his children to work to help him meet his unrealistically high daily quotas.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/palm-oil-labor-abuse-video_us_57847ce2e4b0e05f052340bb?section=

Emerging Republican Platform Goes Far to the Right
By JEREMY W. PETERS JULY 12, 2016

CLEVELAND — Republicans moved on Tuesday toward adopting a staunchly conservative platform that takes a strict, traditionalist view of the family and child rearing, bars military women from combat, describes coal as a “clean” energy source and declares pornography a “public health crisis.”

It is a platform that at times seems to channel the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump — calling to “destroy ISIS,” belittling President Obama as weak and accusing his administration of inviting attacks from adversaries.

But the document positions itself far to the right of Mr. Trump’s beliefs in other places — and amounts to a rightward lurch even from the party’s hard-line platform in 2012 — especially as it addresses gay men, lesbians and transgender people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/us/politics/republican-convention-issues.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

BERNIE MAKES IT OFFICIAL: I’M WITH HER


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

GOP operatives dread Trump convention
‘This ship can sink without me as a passenger,’ said one party strategist.
By ALEX ISENSTADT 07/12/16 05:25 AM EDT

Each presidential election year, Republicans eagerly await their national convention — a four-day celebration that draws thousands of GOP operatives, donors and lobbyists who are ready to party.

This year — the year of Trump — it’s anything but a party.

Many GOP regulars are skipping Cleveland entirely. (“I would rather attend the public hanging of a good friend,” says Will Ritter, an up-and-coming Republican digital strategist who worked on the three previous conventions.) And among those who are making the trek, there’s an overwhelming sense it won’t be fun at all. At a time when many Republicans are deeply dissatisfied with their nominee, pessimistic about their prospects for victory in the fall and alarmed about the direction of their party, there’s a reluctance about attending the convention more typically reserved for going to the DMV, being summoned for jury duty or undergoing a root canal.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/republican-convention-trump-operatives-225393

Clinton and Sanders unite for the war on Trump
Clinton operatives have been quietly working to court Sanders supporters in battleground states.
By GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI 07/12/16 05:15 AM EDT

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — For weeks now, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been engaged in a project to win over the staunchest — and loudest — of Bernie Sanders’ supporters in the places where they’ll matter most in November.

Using one-on-one meetings, social gatherings, and public campaign events, Clinton’s operatives have been quietly working to court his backers in battleground states Sanders won during the primary or where they fought in especially contentious contests — in some cases relying on personal appeals from staffers as senior as campaign manager Robby Mook.

The first return on that investment comes Tuesday when Sanders joins Clinton on stage here for the formal display of unity the party’s been waiting for in advance of the July convention. In announcing the event Monday, both campaigns synchronized their press releases and shared similar language that the two former rivals will “discuss their commitment to building an America that is stronger together and an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/clinton-and-sanders-unite-for-the-war-on-trump-225396