Tom Ramstack – AHN News Legal Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – A congressional committee took on part of the nation’s illegal immigration problem Thursday during a hearing on guest worker programs. A House Judiciary subcommittee heard from witnesses from state agricultural programs in California, Georgia and North Carolina who support the idea of using foreign workers to harvest their crops. However, almost no one wants them to stay in the United States after they complete their work, which would add to a problem that has created about 12 million illegal immigrants. “There is no numerical [...] Continue Reading…

Tejinder Singh – AHN News Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama on Thursday released ten states, from controversial burdens of the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), to go ahead with their reform programs as the country struggles to raise educational standards to compete on a global scale. Addressing a select audience of state education officials, teachers, civil rights and business leaders, President Obama said, “After waiting far too long for Congress to act …We are giving 10 states, the first 10 states the green light to continue making the reforms [...] Continue Reading…

Windsor Genova – AHN News News Writer
Philadelphia, PA, United States (AHN) – Three U.S. women born with a rare inherited eye disease that impairs vision have improved their sight after normal genes were injected in their retinas to replace mutant genes that cause the disorder. The gene therapy performed by Jean Bennett of the University of Pennsylvania’s Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences and her colleagues shows promise in treating Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA), wherein mutant genes prevent photoreceptors or light-sensitive cells in the retina from functioning properly to produce vision. In their study published in the Feb. [...] Continue Reading…

AHN News Staff
Paris, France (AHN) – French aviation workers continued their strike for a third consecutive day Wednesday, forcing carrier Air France to cancel 30 percent of its domestic flights and 40 percent of long-haul flights. The strike has not only affected Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and regional airports but also thousands of passengers. Aviation workers organized the four-day strike in protest of a proposed law that would require them to individually give at least 48 hours notice before they go on strike. The French Lower House approved the bill last month and is in [...] Continue Reading…

St. Paul, MN, United States (KaiserHealth) – Minnesota lawmakers are grappling with a new question: How close can they get to setting up a health insurance exchange without passing a new state law? The state, which has a Democrat in the governor’s mansion and Republicans in control of both houses of the legislature, saw exchange legislation fail in the last session. And prospects for a law’s passage are not much better in the current session. The exchanges are online marketplaces, established by the federal health law, that will allow consumers and small businesses in a given state [...] Continue Reading…

The Media Line Staff
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Rob L. Wagner / The Media – Abu Dhabi’s resurrection of its three-museum project to promote the emirate as a go-to tourist destination will give a boost to its beleaguered local economy. But the presence of local outlets of the Guggenheim and Louvre museums also highlights the prickly issue of what role Western cultural institutions should play in a Muslim country. In a surprise move, Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council brought back to life plans to complete the Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Louvre Abu Dhabi – three massive [...] Continue Reading…

United States (KaiserHealth) – When the oversized postcard arrived last August from Provena St. Joseph Medical Center promoting a lung cancer screening for current or former smokers over 55, Steven Boyd wondered how the hospital had found him. Boyd, 59, of Joliet, Ill., had smoked for decades, as had his wife, Karol. Provena didn’t send the mailing to everyone who lived near the hospital, just those who had a stronger likelihood of having smoked based on their age, income, insurance status and other demographic criteria. The nonprofit center is one of a growing number of hospitals [...] Continue Reading…

Tejinder Singh – AHN News Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States this week expanded cooperation with India on labor and employment issues with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was hailed by both as a tool to enhance strong bonds between the two democracies. Calling the MoU “an essential part of our bilateral relationship,” Mark Toner, the State Department spokesman, told journalists on Friday, “When you look at our relationship and the strategic dialogue that we have with India, there’s many baskets of issues that fall under that rubric, and certainly labor [...] Continue Reading…

Tejinder Singh – AHN News Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States this week expanded cooperation with India on labor and employment issues with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was hailed by both as a tool to enhance strong bonds between the two democracies. Calling the MoU “an essential part of our bilateral relationship,” Mark Toner, the State Department spokesman, told journalists on Friday, “When you look at our relationship and the strategic dialogue that we have with India, there’s many baskets of issues that fall under that rubric, and certainly labor [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – Malaria may be killing twice as many people as experts previously thought, and it could also be affecting older children and adults, long considered to be the least susceptible, according to a study published Friday in the journal Lancet. The World Health Organization reports that malaria cases and deaths have been falling since 2004. The decline is largely attributed to large campaigns to distribute bednets, spray homes with insecticides and make better drugs available. In December, the WHO reported about 655,000 had died from the disease [...] Continue Reading…