PBC News & Comment: New TPP Leak Shows Pharma’s Muscle

New Zealand, other partners push US to abandon protections for pharmaceutical giants, according to new documents from “watchdog group” WikiLeaks…
--Public Citizen says the secret deal could prevent Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices in US
--Obama dispatches 450 more troops to Iraq for pointless training, says new approaches to IS fight aren’t new
--State Department spokesman says fighting IS will take at least 3-5 years
--in the multi-sided war in Syria, Hezbollah repels IS attack at Lebanon border
--Secretary of State Kerry shown in hospital photo recovering from bike accident, directs Iran negotiations
--a setback for Israel, as EU requires products made in Israeli settlements on West Bank be labeled
--Baha Hilo, a Palestinian who doesn’t identify with Hamas or Fatah, explains Israel’s “separate but equal” segregation policies in our latest in-depth interview
--Sens. Feinstein and McCain draft new ban on US torture, but so far no “teeth” are apparent
--in sign of our tarnished stature, UN officer on torture pens op-ed about pending extradition of suspect to Mexico
--New Orleans appeals court defies Supremes, upholds most of Texas abortion restrictions that are clearly unconstitutional
--despite court order, Louisiana has not released Albert Woodfox, who spent 40 years in “the hole”
--new study show female veterans commit suicide at 6 times the rate of males
--6 Raging Grannies arrested in Seattle protest of Shell Oil