Whoever wins the presidential election, he'll likely increase funding for all forms of stem cell research, predicts University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan. Caplan tells Wired that, as stem cell research matures and the pile of money available for it grows, questions about ethics are likely to take a back seat to practical considerations. But he thinks there will still be arguments over what use to make of stem cells in humans and when to move them from the lab to actual use.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Fundraising and hitting the campaign trail are not the only key tasks in running for President. Business Week's Technology Insider traces how "technology and an appreciation of how to use it have always been important to political campaigns," from FDR's pioneering use of radio to today's use of microtargeting of voters and online social networks.

Web pick posted by CQ Staff

The candidates will reportedly respond to a list of 14 broad questions, such as: "What steps, if any, should the United States take during your presidency to protect ocean health? "

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Shawn Zeller, CQ Staff

LBJ had his war on poverty. Then there was Ronald Reagan's war on drugs and George W. Bush 's war on terror. Public health advocates are hoping a Barack Obama administration will wage war on fat.

They're encouraged by language in the Democratic platform, which for the first time mentions the need to combat obesity -- not just once, but three times.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Last week's military incursion into Georgia by Russian troops was preceded by an attack on government computers, and the same thing could happen here, experts warn. According to CNN, computer security experts say no one has devised a way to protect against online attacks on government systems. The fact that the U.S. is so dependent on the Internet makes us all the more vulnerable, they say.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Penelope Lemov, Governing.com

CalPERS is a very big fish. When California's $250 billion employee pension plan flexes its muscle in boardrooms, corporate CEOs sit up and take notice. When it dumps stocks from countries with morally offensive policies, leaders of those nations hear about it.

None of the other public employee pension plans in this country has quite that much clout. But quite a few are starting to gain some. "Public pension plans were for decades sleepy things that nobody paid attention to," says Beth Almeida, executive director of the National Institute of Retirement Security. But in recent years, these funds have grown to some $3 trillion in value. "Obviously, with an investment that large," Almeida says, "they become a focus."

A blogger can tout a particular political candidate, even coordinating with the campaign, without being subject to campaign finance restrictions, the Federal Elections Commission ruled recently. A Hillary Clinton supported had alleged that Gordon Fischer, the former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, coordinated his criticism of Clinton with Barack Obama's campaign, reports Online Media Daily. The FEC said even if he had, which it did not believe, Fischer's comments are protected by the First Amendment.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

The contested election in Florida during the 2000 presidential race put the focus on problems with ballots. But despite the concerns it stirred, the Brennan Center on Justice at New York University says "eight years after the 2000 election, and billions of dollars spent on new voting technology, the problems caused by poor ballot design have not been fully and effectively addressed." And the cost of that is disenfrachisement. To help address this the Brennan Center has done a study that points to where improvements need to be made.

By Rob Margetta, CQ Staff

U.S. caution over China's access to technology has extended to the Olympics, says the surveillance camera manufacturer Axsys Technologies, which went through a lengthy waiver process so its military-grade high-definition cameras could be used at the games.

Axsys found out the White House approved its waiver only a week before the Olympics began, concluding six months of feeding the State Department information about the V14 High Definition camera systems slated to be mounted on helicopters and boats to film outdoor events including cycling, rowing, the marathon and the opening and closing ceremonies.

from Governing.com Idea Center

Half of the 42,000 automobile-crash-related fatalities that occur in the United States each year are on two-lane rural roads. To help drivers and public officials make smarter, safer choices about transportation, especially in rural areas, the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota created a new interactive map that plots out every traffic fatality in the nation in 2006.

Using the Internet or text messages to harass one's fellow students could become illegal under a bill making its way through the California legislature. The Associated Press reports that the cyberbullying bill passed the state Senate on a 21-11 vote and is headed to the Assembly.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Matt Korade, CQ Staff

Top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee vowed to expand their investigation of security risks at labs used to study lethal pathogens -- including a review of personnel security at Fort Detrick, Md.

Fort Detrick was the workplace of Bruce Ivins, the suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks who committee suicide last month.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Karoun Demirjian, CQ Staff

The prospect of comprehensive immigration overhaul legislation died a public death in June 2007, but the notion of targeted immigration changes has continued to live on in proposals seeking to provide special help for narrow categories of foreigners, one at a time.

Whether Bruce Ivins, the scientist who killed himself last month as the FBI was closing in, was indeed the person who mailed deadly anthrax in 2001 or not, there is at least a legacy that could help the nation in a future emergency, the Associated Press reports. The attacks spurred a new branch of science, microbial forensics. Investigators used it to identify the unique genetic signature of the spores from the attack and trace them back to a specific flask, which they then linked to Ivins.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

The Department of Defense, which accounts for 1.5 percent of U.S. energy consumption, wants to get greener, and hopes its efforts will translate into benefits for civilian society as well, Reuters says. The military wants 25 percent of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2025. Among their goals are the development of portable solar and wind power stations.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Bruce Schneier writes in his "memo" to the next President: "You have the buying power to get your vendors to make serious security improvements in the products and services they sell to the government, and then we all benefit...."

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Rob Margetta, CQ Staff

Kathy Kraninger, head of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Screening Coordination, gave a rundown today on progress made in the highest profile screening programs, including:

The Electronic System for Travel Authorization

Kraninger called the program "the biggest thing we're working through and certainly the thing that's gotten the most attention." ESTA deals with how DHS processes foreign air passengers who can travel to America visa-free, because their countries are members of the Visa Waiver Program. It requires such travelers to fill out an online form with biographical and security information three days prior to departure.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Aliya Sternstein, CQ Staff

A proposed rule for country of origin labeling is meeting resistance from food safety advocates in Congress as the Sept. 30 deadline for implementation approaches.

The law requires retailers to label the source of many foods, including beef, chicken, produce and pecans, by Sept. 30. But the Agriculture Department (USDA) plan for implementing the law "does not make sense," said one of the House's primary food safety watchdogs, Agriculture Appropriations Chairman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.DeLauro said.

The Federal Communications Commission wants to bring high-speed Internet access to the 40 percent of American homes that lack it. Business Week tells us that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to provide government incentives for private companies to provide more broadband service. He wants to auction off wireless spectrum and have the winning bidder commit to bringing at least minimal broadband service to 95 percent of the country within 10 years.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Whitney Blair Wyckoff, CQ Staff

A study evaluating different scenarios that would allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines found that 12 million previously uninsured people would be able to get insurance if there were competition between states.

The study was presented during an American Enterprise Institute panel discussion on interstate competition for individual insurance as a way to increase access to the uninsured. But it's already generating disagreement from some health policy analysts.

California's Community Stabilization Home Loan Program. California is among the states hardest-hit by the foreclosure crisis. Its program offers 30-year loans at below-market interest rates to eligible first-time homebuyers in communities with some of the state's highest foreclosure rates. Several lenders have agreed to price properties in these communities at 12 percent below market value. Down payments are not required, but families must meet specific income levels to participate. Overseen by the California Housing Finance Agency, the program is expected to help 800 to 1,000 Californians, and will be offered until the $200 million bond fund allocation is spent.

Connecticut's Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program. In June, Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed comprehensive legislation that not only increases funding to existing foreclosure assistance programs but also connects the dots between the mortgage crisis and unemployment. The program, which may be the first of its kind in the nation, targets unemployed and underemployed workers who are at least 60 days behind in their mortgage payments, and provides job training and placement assistance. Participants also receive financial education and credit counseling.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Rob Marghetta, CQ Staff 

The technology and communication provider Harris Corp. has announced its contender in a market the Department of Homeland Security is pushing private industry to invest in: handheld interoperable emergency communications,

Just two months ago, DHS's Science and Technology Directorate said it wants companies to find ways to allow local, state and federal law enforcement and emergency officers to talk to one another, and that's exactly what Unity, its new family of multiband software-defined radios does, Harris said Friday.

A law enacted this week allows cities and counties in California to make loans to homeowners wishing to install solar panels on their houses or upgrade to energy-saving appliances. According to the Los Angeles Times, the law allows residents to pay back the low-interest loans over decades through their property taxes. Lawmakers hope the program will boost the installation of solar panels, which can cost $15,000 to $30,000 per house.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Anticipating a day when enemy combatants will be armed with lasers capable of melting holes in its equipment and weapons, the U.S. Air Force is looking for technology that will protect its weapons. Among the possibilities listed in a request for proposals is a spray-on coating to deflect laser energy or a broadband reflector that can be embedded in a weapon's skin, Wired tells us. Such technologies, the Air Force suggests, could also protect commercial airliners from terrorists with lasers.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

By Whitney Blair Wyckoff, CQ Staff

Growing evidence has shown that vaccines and antibody medications could prove effective at treating drug and nicotine addiction, said scientists at a Capitol Hill briefing.

Research in this field is encouraging -- there have been successful animal trials and a few promising human trials -- but studies would progress faster if pharmaceutical companies were more invested, they said during Tuesday's briefing sponsored by the Friends of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.