Mass. Senate releases $28B version of state budget plan

"It may yet come back in the Legislature. I acknowledge it's hard."

As Senate leaders unveiled a $28 billion budget Wednesday that relies heavily on new taxes and savings, Republicans pledged to file Gov. via WHDH

Would You Allow Your Child to Participate in Medical Research?

"We know that parents, quite reasonably, may be concerned about having their children participate in medical research"

ANN ARBOR, Mich - Advances in medicine - new treatments, cures, vaccines and medicines - are driven by research involving humans. via Health News Digest

Quaid testifies of peril to newborn twins

AP Photo Actor Dennis Quaid testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 14,2008, before the House Reform and Government Oversight Committee hearing on Food and Drug Administration drug and medical ... via The Olympian

Japanese steakhouse to pay $80K over harassment of women

"Sex, race and national origin discrimination continues to be a widespread problem in workplaces across the country"

A White Marsh Japanese restaurant and sushi bar will pay $80,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit claiming Hispanic women were harassed there. via Baltimore Examiner

STATE: State jobless rate drops to 6.9 percent

Michigan's jobless rate dropped below 7 percent for the first time in nearly a year last month. via LivingstonDaily

Major Initiative To Ease Health Care Workforce Crisis Receives Overwhelming Support

"The number of unfilled health care positions is staggering"

The American Society of Association Executives & The Center for Association Leadership , and the American Hospital Association , today announced that leading health care associations have joined in support of ... via MediLexicon

OSHA cites Salem plant owners for fatal explosion

"The company must initiate and maintain effective safeguards to identify and eliminate such hazards, both to protect its employees, and to prevent future leaks, ruptures, or explosions"

The owners of a Salem power plant are facing federal citations for alleged safety violations after a steam explosion last year that killed three workers. via Boston Globe

U.S. Officials: Polar Bear Now Threatened Species

The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday, saying it must be protected because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne cited dramatic declines in sea ice over the last three decades and projections of continued losses. These declines, he told a news conference, mean the polar bear is a species likely to be in danger of extinction in the near future.

Kempthorne also said, though, that it would be "inappropriate" to use the protection of the bear to reduce greenhouse gases, or to broadly address climate change. Read more

Feds raid suspected illegal dump, arrest 2

"These type of materials also have the potential of ... damaging our ocean, our fish population and our reefs. Finally, these materials also have the potential of seeping downward into our precious drinking water and possibly poisoning our people"

NANAKULI - Armed federal agents yesterday raided a suspected illegal dump for hazardous waste and arrested two men. via The Honolulu Advertiser

Three former SEC chiefs back Obama

"Each of us has been committed to prudent economic policy and effective financial regulation for many years"

Three former chairmen of the US Securities and Exchange Commission endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today. via The Irish Times

Range Resources senior vice president Mark D. Whitley sells 15,522 shares

A senior vice president of oil and gas company Range Resources Corp. sold 15,522 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. via Canadian Business Magazine

Great Wolf compromises, settles with stockholder

"Management welcomes the perspectives and insights of our new directors."

Great Wolf Resorts - parent company of Sheboygan's Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center - has reached an agreement with a disgruntled stockholder, staving off a proxy showdown that would have occurred later ... via WisInfo