The presidential conventions are underway, and corporate donors and lobbyists are taking full advantage of loopholes to schmooze with political bigwigs. A $112 million flood of special interest money, and the lavish parties and wining and dining it pays for at the conventions, runs counter to the spirit of ethics rules. Much of this money is given under the pretense of boosting the economies of the host cities; in fact, the benefits of this boosterism are minimal.
Government brochures warning of the dangers of mercury in fish cannot justify shutting the courthouse doors to consumers who bring legal claims under state law, an appellate court has ruled. The court revived a lawsuit brought by a Public Citizen client who contracted severe mercury poisoning after making Tri-Union Seafoods' Chicken-of-the-Sea canned tuna fish a major part of her diet.
