A top official of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation who was involved in the controversy over the group’s funding of Planned Parenthood resigned Tuesday. Karen Handel, vice president for public policy, acknowledged that she had supported Komen’s decision to pull funding for Planned Parenthood in a resignation letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal Constitution. However, she said the decision-making process began before she joined the organization last year, and the policy change was thoroughly vetted at every level within the organization and unanimously agreed to by the board at a November meeting. Read full article > >

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Komen vice president Karen Handel resigns

In a somewhat confusing news release responding to the firestorm concerning the decision to cut off grants to Planned Parenthood, the Susan G. Komen Foundation announced that it is backing off its decision not to defund groups under investigation, as is Planned Parenthood for allegations of illegally using federal money to pay for abortions. (“We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.”) But what is not clear is whether an alternative justification for the cut-off, namely that Planned Parenthood doesn’t actually provide breast cancer services, only referrals, will result in a cut-off of future funds. Read full article > >

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Jennifer Rubin: Susan G. Komen Foundation vs. Planned Parenthood bullies

Forget the whole kerfuffle in which the Susan G. Komen Foundation stopped its donations to Planned Parenthood , an organization that provides 4 million breast exams annually . I’m sure it had good reasons for that. Good, non-political reasons, having to do with the way the organization was “evolving,” or something. This decision is not transparently political in any way. Read full article > >

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Alexandra Petri: Komen Foundation’s lamentable choice

THE OBAMA administration infuriated women’s groups and reproductive-health advocates last month when it rejected a request backed by its own Food and Drug Administration to let girls younger than 17 obtain the Plan B emergency contraceptive without a prescription. This was a difficult call involving issues of policy judgment as well as science, but we disagreed with the decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, backed by President Obama. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board: Respecting religious exemptions

In the daily newspaper Izvestia, Vladimir V. Putin on Monday published his most personal explanation to date of his decision to return to the Russian presidency.

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Vladimir Putin Explains His Decision to Seek Presidency Again

French PM Francois Fillon defends his government’s economic policies following the decision by Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the country’s credit rating.

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France downplays rating downgrade

French PM Francois Fillon defends his government’s economic policies following the decision by Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the country’s credit rating.

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France downplays rating downgrade

The selection of Bill O’Brien, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, as the Nittany Lions new coach has left players and some observers highly critical of the decision and process.

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Former Penn State Players Unhappy With Choice of Bill O’Brien as Coach

Talk about fairweather friends. Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson (R), who was Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann ’s state campaign chairman, endorsed Texas Rep. Ron Paul Wednesday night. At a rally in Des Moines, Sorenson told the crowd , “We’re going to take Ron Paul all the way to the White House.” He did not tell Bachmann of his decision until he was en route to the Paul rally, billed as an event for veterans. Read full article > >

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Kent Sorenson, Bachmann’s Iowa chair, defects to Paul

(This story has been updated.) The White House on Thursday stood by the decision of the Department of Defense to award the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Dakota Meyer despite a report that the Marine Corps embellished some of Meyer’s actions in presenting his story to the public as President Obama awarded him the military’s highest honor. Read full article > >

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White House stands by story for Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer

David Cameron will face MPs later to explain his decision to veto EU treaty changes – a decision his coalition partners say was bad for Britain.

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Cameron to face MPs over EU veto

Nick Clegg launches an attack on David Cameron for blocking EU treaty changes, saying his decision could leave the UK as “the lonely man of Europe”.

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Clegg attacks Cameron over veto

PRESIDENT OBAMA, backing the decision to prevent the Plan B emergency contraceptive from being sold to girls under 17 without a prescription, emphasized the need to “apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.” We agree with that standard, and we understand Mr. Obama’s instinctive reaction, as the father of two daughters, that parents should be involved before girls resort to emergency contraception. But the Obama administration ultimately made the wrong call on this difficult and emotionally charged issue. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board:
Obama administration’s bad call on Plan B

Traders in India observe a day-long strike in protest at the decision to open up the retail market to global chains.

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India traders strike over reforms

The Obama administration Friday revoked the approval of the best-selling drug Avastin for treating advanced breast cancer in the United States, despite appeals from distraught women, some patients advocates and the company that makes the drug. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg issued a 69-page decision outlining her decision, which was based on the recommendation of a six-member FDA advisory committee that unanimously concluded in June that the drug was harming women more than it was helping them. Read full article > >

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FDA revokes Avastin’s approval for breast cancer treatment