Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: ethics

Spouses Put Obama's Lobbying Rules to Test

President-elect struggles with ethical promises

(Newser) - The spouses of some of Barack Obama’s top appointees are lobbyists, the New York Times reports, presenting a test to strict ethics policies the Democrat pushed on the campaign trail. Health Secretary-designate Tom Daschle’s wife, Linda, is one of Washington’s top aviation lobbyists, and reported energy-czar pick... More »

Legalize Ritalin-Like Drugs as Brain Boosters: Experts

But Will Employers Turn into Pushers?

(Newser) - Attention-disorder drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall are becoming so commonly used for the off-label purpose of gaining a mental edge that they should be legalized for such use, says a team of neuroscientists and ethicists. They make their case in Nature, arguing that laws "should be adjusted to... More »

Pols Flout Ethics Law on Trip to Carib Isle

Opulent weekend was funded by top corporations

(Newser) - Six US lawmakers, all members of the Congressional Black Caucus, have been caught rubbing shoulders with lobbyists on a trip that violates federal ethics laws, the New York Post reports. Joining them were three New York officials, including the state's governor—who avoided breaking the law by paying his own... More »

Obama Team Lays Out 'Strictest' Ethics Rules

Lobbyists, corporations banned from contributing to transition

(Newser) - Barack Obama's transition team has set out what one official called "the strictest, most far-reaching ethics rules of any transition in history,” the Hill reports. Lobbyists, corporations and PACs will be barred from donating funds to the transition operation, and lobbyists on the team won’t be allowed... More »

Lobbyists Lavish Gifts on Lawmakers' Fave Charities

More than $13M donated to charities and nonprofits in name of House, Senate members

(Newser) - New congressional ethics rules are showing the public for the first time how much money lobbyists and companies are donating to charities and nonprofits to woo lawmakers, the New York Times reports. Companies and interest groups donated more than $13 million to such groups associated with more than 200 House... More »

McCains Get Free Cell Towers at Ranch

Ethics lawyers cite his Senate post overseeing telecom industry

(Newser) - Verizon and AT&T provided portable cell phone towers to John McCain's Arizona ranch free of charge soon after he launched his presidential bid, the Washington Post reports. The companies say it's a unique situation—a modern candidate has to be plugged in, after all—but ethics lawyers say it's... More »

Ethics Report Zeroes in on Todd Palin

First Dude had 'significant influence' over state politics

(Newser) - Sarah Palin is back in the headlines with official findings that she abused her power as governor of Alaska—but her husband is the main character in the 300-page tome issued by the state legislature last week, reports AP. Alaska's “First Dude” spent half his time in Palin’s... More »

Confident Palin: 'You Got to Read the Report'

She says she didn't abuse her power as Alaska governor

(Newser) - Sarah Palin says she did not abuse her power as governor, despite the findings of an ethics investigation, CNN reports. “If you read the report, you will see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member,” she said. The report, however, did not fault... More »

Sensitive Swiss Ban Plant Humiliation

Genetic research must not violate the dignity of wheat

(Newser) - Swiss scientists eager to carry out genetic experiments on plants can’t be rash—they must first consider the how their actions make that tulip feel. Government-backed ethicists studied the effects of such experimentation on plants’ dignity; they found that it was wrong to hurt plants for no reason, or... More »

Rangel Won't Step Down From Tax Panel

Says Pelosi in favor of him staying as chair of Ways and Means

(Newser) - New York Rep. Charles Rangel will remain in his post as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee while an ethics investigation takes place, the New York Times reports. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supports the move, said his attorney, and Rangel "believes that the facts should prevail, not... More »

Interior Dept. Scandal Rocks Drilling Debate

Lawmakers, voting next week, question ability to handle lease revenues

(Newser) - Revelations that Interior Department employees were literally in bed with Big Oil have given fresh ammunition to congressional Democrats seeking to limit offshore drilling, the AP reports. Lawmakers say serious question have been raised about the agency's integrity after investigations found that employees responsible for collecting oil and gas royalties... More »

Palin Was Warned Over Troopergate

Governor's ethics adviser urged her to apologize

(Newser) - An attorney who acted as an informal ethics adviser to Sarah Palin urged her to apologize for her role in firing Alaska's safety commissioner before it grew into a scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The situation is grave," he wrote shortly before Palin was picked for the... More »

Sex, Ethics Scandal Rocks Interior Dept. Oil Agency

Probes reveal sex, drugs, improper dealings in 'culture of ethical failure'

(Newser) - It's not quite the Interior Department Gone Wild, but it's not that far off, either. A dozen current and former employees of the departmental agency that deals with oil and gas royalties have been accused of having sex with reps of the energy industry, illegally accepting gifts, using cocaine in... More »

House Dems Told to Pony Up for Kanye Show

Senate rules OK the freebie; House says it's an ethics violation

(Newser) - Tonight's Kanye West concert at the Democratic Convention is the unlikely source of an ethics quandary, ABC News reports, as Senate Democrats attend for free while the House is making staffers pay up. Under new rules intended to reduce the influence of lobbyists, members of Congress aren't allowed to take... More »

Social Responsibility Costs Calif. Pension Funds Billions

Keeping pension money out of tobacco, emerging markets has cost billions

(Newser) - California's plan to put state pension funds in socially responsible investments means those funds are worth billions less than they would be if they'd been allowed to invest in tobacco companies and emerging markets, BusinessWeek reports. The initiative, launched in 2000, also pushed investment in California real estate—where the... More »

Big Pharma Sickens Universities

It's too easy for drug companies to skirt lax academic regulations

(Newser) - Weak legislation allows professors to collect huge under-the-table payments from Big Pharma, and it’s time to fight back, Dan Greenberg writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Pharmaceutical companies pay professors to shill drugs and lend their names to industry research, and the only oversight is an honor-system mechanism... More »

Ten House Races to Watch

GOP, Dems getting ready to duke it out in several key races

(Newser) - Time profiles the top 10 House races to watch this fall:
  • Calif., 11th District: Dem Jerry McNerney bested an ethically questioned rep in 2006. He’ll get an incumbency boost this time, but opponent Dean Andal has plenty of money.
  • Conn., 4th District: Chris Shays is one of the most
... More »

Writing About Your Kids? Set Some Limits

Some have age limits, others won't address certain topics

(Newser) - Writers can throw themselves head-first into the nasty, permanent archive that is the Internet—but what of their kids? Emily Bazelon polled writers for Slate and found that while details may differ, the general policy is, the more privacy the better. "The blog medium has a certain kind of... More »

McCain Helped Donor Developer Win Contracts

Decades-old friendship built on fundraising, land deal assistance

(Newser) - John McCain has repeatedly done favors a wealthy Arizona real estate developer who is a major donor, sponsoring legislation that swapped public land for his land and stepping in to speed a lucrative land deal with the Pentagon that netted him $20 million in a quick flip. The relationship with... More »

Merck Used Ghostwriters to Draft Rosy Vioxx Studies

Company downplayed risks in medical articles on drug found to be a killer

(Newser) - Merck used its own ghostwriters to draft articles minimizing risks of its drug Vioxx, then found medical researchers to lend their names to the research, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merck, which pulled the painkiller from shelves four years ago over heart-attack risks, rejects the claims as "misleading."... More »

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne