links for 2009-10-30

New York, California and 13 other states filed suit against Amgen Inc. today, alleging that the Thousand Oaks biotech company offered kickbacks to medical providers to boost sales of its anemia drug, Aranesp.

The suit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, also alleges that Amgen and two other defendants — a group drug-purchasing network and the drug wholesaler ASD Healthcare — "would encourage medical providers to bill third party payers such as Medicaid for free Aranesp that were provided at no cost," according to a statement issued by New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo.

In a statement, Amgen said, "We believe that the allegations are without merit, and we look forward to the opportunity to examine these matters with the states before the court."

The company said it would not comment further because the case is in litigation.

Democrats want you to know that your McDonald's Angus Burger meal has about 1,500 calories — before you buy and burp.

Buried deep in the House health care bill is a provision, likely to raise nanny-state hackles, requiring fast-food chains and vending machine owners to notify customers of calorie counts — by conspicuously posting nutritional information on menus or machines.

The provision — Section 2572 — requires retail food establishments "part of a chain with 20 or more locations" to list calorie counts "on the menu board including a drive-through board," as is currently required in New York City and other localities.

A "vending machine operator shall provide a sign in close proximity to each article of food or the selection button" that includes similar data.

One name is notably absent from the list of prominent conservatives who have lined up against the GOP nominee in the Nov. 3 New York special election: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Even as other past and prospective Republican presidential candidates have offered their endorsements, Huckabee has conspicuously declined to officially support Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, a decision that has left bewildered many of the social conservatives whom he assiduously courted in his 2008 bid.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council. “You have names out there like Sarah Palin, Fred Thompson and Tim Pawlenty who are willing to take a stand. You’d think that would have pushed him to make a decision.”
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Same with Mitt Romney.

The investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), as well as others who helped steer federal funds to clients of the PMA Group. The lawmakers received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients. A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny also include Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.), James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) , C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.).

Republican Chris Christie continues to hold a three-point advantage over incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey's down-to-the-wire race for governor.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state, conducted Thursday night, shows Christie with 46% of the vote and Corzine with 43%. Those numbers are unchanged from earlier in the week and little changed from polling conducted the week before.

Iran told the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Thursday that it would not accept a plan its negotiators agreed to last week to send its stockpile of uranium out of the country, according to diplomats in Europe and American officials briefed on Iran’s response.

The apparent rejection of the deal could unwind President Obama’s effort to buy time to resolve the nuclear standoff.

In public, neither the Iranians nor the watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, revealed the details of Iran’s objections, which came only hours after Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, insisted that “we are ready to cooperate” with the West.

Senate Environment and Public Works committee chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Ca.) said that she plans to mark-up her climate bill on Tuesday, moving forward despite Republican concerns about the pace of the legislation.

"There objections don't pass the smell test," she said. "It seems to me they just want to delay this and delay it, so we don't make progress on this crucial issue."

All the Republicans on the committee are expected to vote against the legislation.

Nevertheless, Republicans have said that they would like more time to review the chairman's mark up, and to see a Congressional Budget Office score for the bill and a more throughout analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency before a vote by the committee.

“Why are we trying to jam down this legislation now?” asked Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to take our time and do it right like we didn’t last year.”

A spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown acknowledged Thursday that he taped a phone conversation with a reporter for The Chronicle this week without disclosing the fact or asking permission – and admitted he has taped conversations with other news reporters.
Scott Gerber, spokesman for Brown's office, made the admission after the publication of a story in the newspaper that detailed consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield's criticisms of revisions the attorney general made to the summary of a ballot measure that deals with car insurance rates.

California Penal Code Section 632 prohibits the recording of private telephone conversations without consent, and the state is one of 12 states that require notification of all parties prior to taping.