Background checks are back, reports Slate. Last week, Vice President Biden said that five U.S. senators—enough to change the outcome—have told him they’re looking for a way to switch their votes and pass legislation requiring a criminal background check for the purchase of a firearm. Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who led the fight for the bill, is firing back at the National Rifle Association with a new TV ad. The White House, emboldened by polls that indicate damage to senators who voted against the bill, is pushing Congress to reconsider it.
2014 Sets New Record as Year of the Most Automobile Recalls Ever
A Ford announcement today recalling more than 200,000 of its vehicles for everything from gas leaks to stalling problems helped solidify 2014′s place as the year of the most-ever automobile recalls. Automakers have issued more than 550 recalls for more than 52 million vehicles, according to the Associated Press. The previous record, set in 2004, was 30.8 million recalled automobiles.
Big Soda Pours Money into Berkeley Soda Tax Vote
Next week residents of Berkeley, California, will decide whether to place a penny-an-ounce tax on sugary beverages, writes Mother Jones. The beverage industry has fought off similar taxes and restrictions in every American city where they’ve been proposed, but it has never faced a more formidable challenge than it does in this overwhelmingly liberal and well-educated college town. The soda fight is, if nothing else, a case study in whether truckloads of cash can sway a politically engaged citizenry.
Guns Laws Bring Cash Into Campaigns
Money on both sides of the gun-control debate is pouring into the governor’s race in Connecticut, reports the Wall Street Journal, where the issue has taken on deep resonance since the deadly shooting at a Newtown school. Americans for Responsible Solutions, founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, has spent about $750,000 on the race. The National Shooting Sports Foundation says it will be spending “a multiple of seven figures” on races in Connecticut and Colorado, which also has recently passed gun restrictions.
The Gun Lobby Lap Dogs of Congress
PR Newswire reports that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has launched a video, website and scorecard exposing members of Congress for the campaign dollars they have taken from the corporate gun lobby, while blocking life-saving legislation that would keep guns out of the hands of criminals. The lapdogscorecard.org website and video calls out all legislators based on two simple criteria: do they take money from the corporate gun lobby, and do they support expanding Brady background checks to online and gun show sales?
Toyota Recalls Mount as Automaker Faces Increasing Scrutiny
Automotive News reports that Toyota Motor Corp. made its fourth global recall involving more than a million vehicles this year, as the world’s largest automaker begins operating with stricter supervision over safety from U.S. regulators. The carmaker is calling back 1.75 million vehicles, including 759,000 Toyota and Lexus sedans to repair fuel pipes that could leak and raise fire risks.
Law Center and Americans for Responsible Solutions Release Toolkit on Guns and Domestic Violence
To recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Americans for Responsible Solutions has released a new report, Commonsense Solutions: State Laws to Address Gun Violence Against Women. This toolkit for legislators and advocates both documents existing laws on guns and domestic violence and offers suggestions for commonsense gun laws to better protect victims of domestic violence.
G.O.P. Error Reveals Donors and the Price of Access
Recently published documents, reports The New York Times, show that many of America’s most prominent companies, from Aetna to Walmart, have poured millions of dollars into the campaigns of Republican governors since 2008. “This is a classic example of how corporations are trying to use secret money, hidden from the American people, to buy influence, and how the governors association is selling it,” said Fred Wertheimer, the president of Democracy 21, a nonpartisan group that advocates more transparency and controls over political money.
Lawmakers Probe ‘Staggering’ Price Hikes for Generic Drugs
In response to recent reports that the cost of some generic drugs has been unexpectedly rising at a rapid clip, reports the Wall Street Journal, two members of Congress have launched an investigation and asked 14 generic drug makers to provide data about what the lawmakers called the “escalating prices they have been charging” for generic medicines.
A Million Ways to Die in the U.S.
In a commentary entitled A Million Ways to Die in the U.S. on the Daily Show, noted public health analyst John Stewart asks why America is eager to take action on threats to health from abroad but unwilling to act on those hazards manufactured in the US of A.
Corporations and Health Watch 