Good morning — and happy May Day! What will you do to help the workers of the world today?
Stat of the day: $211.16 — last year’s hourly wage for the 42 senators who filibustered a $10.10 minimum wage hike yesterday.*
Worker solidarity? Not so much –> At The Nation, Jon Wiener explains why the US is the only country to officially recognize May 1 as “Loyalty Day.”
Cheery news –> The World Health Organization warned that the “planet may be headed toward a ‘post-antibiotic era’ when common infections once easily controlled by antimicrobial medicines may be lethal.” Lenny Bernstein reports for WaPo.
More misconduct –> The Pentagon will announce a 50 percent increase in reported sexual assaults, according to Reuters.
New “netroots” campaign in the works –> The WSJ reports that Google, Netflix and other online heavy hitters are working on a strategy to protest the new FCC Net neutrality plan, announced last week. (via Reddit Edit)
Rare setback for Big Pharma –> At the WSJ, Ed Silverman reports that the office of the US Trade Representative refused to add Canada to its list of countries that don’t respect intellectual property rights, dealing a blow to Eli Lilly’s attempts to to force Canada to change its patent laws.
Battle for Bubba is over –> At Salon, Heather “Digby” Parton argues that Democrats are no longer trying to appeal to white Southern men as they did throughout the 1990s, and says that’s ultimately a good thing for the party in a world of changing social mores.
Regulatory capture –> Cole Stangler reports for In These Times that a federal inspector tipped off a railway about a “surprise” inspection that was part of a federal crackdown on unsafe oil carriers.
Transparency –> The Border Patrol is dealing with a growing controversy over its use of lethal force on the border. NPR reporter John Burnett was thrown out of the agency’s training academy for asking what the “hierarchy of responses” to someone throwing rocks is supposed to be.
“Reckless push” –> Greenpeace activists were arrested in the Netherlands after blocking a Russian oil tanker in a Dutch port, reports Jon Queally for Common Dreams. “This tanker is the first sign of a reckless new push to exploit the Arctic,” explained one activist.
Low-income kids (used to) thrive in Salt Lake City –> At The Atlantic Cities, Nancy Cook looks at why a city that was once exceptional for its opportunities to move up the ladder is losing that mobility — and what city officials are trying to do about it.
World’s deadliest workplace? –> The Nation’s Michelle Chen on how a lethal disaster on Mount Everest has developed into a huge labor dispute between foreign adventurers and their Sherpa guides.
ObamaScare –> TNR’s Jonathan Cohn says a new report on Affordable Care Act enrollments produced by House Republicans is “wildly misleading,” and an example of “the Benghazi treatment.”
Fox News denies stuff –> Fox News denied reports that senior news editor Shepard Smith was demoted after asking the network if he could come out of the semi-closet (it’s no secret away from Fox headquarters). Fox also denied Scientific American editor Michael Moyer’s account of being told that he couldn’t talk about climate change on “Fox and Friends.”
Enjoy your day –> Because the Internet is what it is, here’s a video of a tiny hamster eating a teeny-tiny handmade burrito, courtesy of Little Green Footballs.
* Based on days the Senate was in session — does not include schmoozing, fundraising, appearing on “Meet the Press,” etc.
