Republicans looking into royalty payments made to govt. public health employees at NIH

Royalty payments made to National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers are being called into question by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and fellow Republicans on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC).

Upon reviewing recently disclosed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents secured by the nonprofit Open the Books, the lawmakers sent a letter to Acting Director of the NIH, Lawrence Tabak, about royalty payments made by third-party providers to NIH employees.

NIH only provided names of the employees receiving the payments and number of payments they received between 2009 and 2014. The amounts of the individual payments, the innovation in question, and the names of third-party payers were redacted by NIH.

The FOIA redactions contradict a previous NIH statement claiming an entity “would have to make a request via the Freedom of Information Act to find out royalty payments to individual researchers.”

The senators wrote:

In 2005, the NIH implemented a policy requiring its employees to disclose royalty payments on the consent forms for clinical trial participants; however, the agency has taken no action to disclose such payments to the public at large.

Nevertheless, we believe that the American taxpayer deserves to know the degree to which government doctors and researchers have a financial interest in drugs and products they support, and whether any relationship exists between federal grants awarded by NIH and royalty payments received by NIH personnel.

Additionally, Americans deserve greater transparency in how the hundreds of millions in royalty payments NIH receives are distributed, and the degree to which NIH's leadership- already among the highest-paid individuals in the federal bureaucracy - has benefited from this "hidden" revenue stream.”

Sens. Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, and Republican committee members of HSGAC

Under 5 U.S.C. § 2954, "[a]n Executive agency, on request of the Committee on [Oversight and Reform] of the House of Representatives, or of any seven members thereof, or on request of the Committee on [Homeland Security and] Governmental Affairs of the Senate, or any five members thereof, shall submit any information requested of it relating to any matter within the jurisdiction of the committee."

More at: https://sharylattkisson.com/2022/06/republicans-looking-into-royalty-payments-made-to-govt-public-health-employees-at-nih/

In case you lose power this summer…..

https://nypost.com/2022/06/06/arizona-man-cooks-burgers-pizza-and-cake-inside-200-degree-car/

f you can’t take the heat, take your kitchen outside.

An Arizona man has used the sweltering desert heat of his home state to reportedly cook burgers and steaks — and even bake a cake — inside his 200-degree car.

Joe Brown, from Phoenix, has attracted millions of viewers to his unconventional cooking show on TikTok.

The 20-year-old’s culinary experiments began in March 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic forced many people his age back home for lockdown. Brown started by using the roof of his home as an environmental oven before shifting his trials to his car in April this year.

During the summer’s brutal midday heat in the West, Brown’s closed 2022 Honda Accord Sport apparently creates a similar dry heat environment as an oven.

“My car always gets SO HOT so I decided to check the temperature one day,” he told South West News Service. “I wondered how long a cake would take to bake so I tried it … and the rest is history!”

“If you’re ever too lazy to cook on your grill, just cook it in your car,” Brown said of his dash steak, cooked to a perfect medium.

More at: https://nypost.com/2022/06/06/arizona-man-cooks-burgers-pizza-and-cake-inside-200-degree-car/

>>16405502

Mexico president's summit snub shows limits of US reach in Latin America

MEXICO CITY : The Mexican president's refusal to attend a U.S.-hosted summit because of disputes over the guest list highlights how Latin America's leftists are pursuing an increasingly independent foreign policy from Washington.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had said he would not go to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this week led by U.S. President Joe Biden unless all governments in the region were asked.

On Monday, he followed through as Washington said it was not inviting its antagonists Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua on the grounds of human rights and democratic shortcomings.

Lopez Obrador's firm line over the past few weeks won backing from other left-leaning governments across Latin America eager to stand up to Uncle Sam, fanning diplomatic tensions just as Washington tries to re-engage with its southern neighbors.

Luis Guillermo Solis, a center-left former Costa Rican president, said Lopez Obrador's determination to clamor for an inclusive discussion showed off his anti-imperialist credentials, striking a tone with centuries of resonance in the region.

"The easiest way to do it is to symbolically fight with the United States," Solis said. "It's a well-known play in our neighborhood."

The summit aims to promote democratic unity, but the dispute exposed divisions between Washington and governments sympathetic to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, self-styled leftists who have long been reviled by the U.S. foreign policy establishment.

Leftist leaders in Argentina, Chile, Honduras, and Bolivia have echoed Lopez Obrador's sentiments, taking U.S. officials by surprise and leaving them scrambling to ensure Biden is not left talking to empty chairs when he arrives on Wednesday.

More at: https://www.todayonline.com/world/mexico-presidents-summit-snub-shows-limits-us-reach-latin-america-1917931?cid=internal_mcdrecs_07062022_tdy#mdcrecs_s

>>16405737

The US military is watching China's presence grow in Latin America, and it doesn't like where things are going

As the US increases its focus on global competition with China, officials have singled out Beijing's inroads into Latin America as a growing threat to countries there and to US interests in the region.

At recent congressional hearings and public events, those officials have cautioned that China is investing in digital and physical infrastructure, natural resources and extractive industries, and in political and military relationships across Latin America and the Caribbean in a multipronged effort to secure access and influence and gain leverage over countries there in order to advance its own commercial and strategic interests.

Although China's engagement with the region has focused on economic ties and it has not established a military presence there, US military commanders, national-security officials, and lawmakers believe Beijing's investments have implications for US security.

At an August 2021 hearing on her nomination to lead US Southern Command, which is responsible for Central and South America, Gen. Laura Richardson said China comes to the region "with very sophisticated plans in order to capture the interests of the countries, willing to loan billions of dollars."

More: https://news.yahoo.com/us-military-watching-chinas-presence-110100878.html