Georgian negotiators said Thursday that they had accepted a Swiss compromise that would clear Russia’s path to join to the World Trade Organization, but Russian negotiators made no immediate comment.

Read the original post:
Georgians Suggest World Tade Organization Deal Is Near for Russia

Over at the New York Times’ Economix blog, Catherine Rampell digs up an unexpected chart showing that Americans enjoy some of the shortest commutes in the developed world. As much as we might hate our grinding trips to the office, we have it easy compared to Italy or Japan: But why is this? Isn’t the conventional wisdom that Americans have brutally long, soul-crushing commutes? Part of the trick here is that “average commute times” can obscure a lot of variation. Looking through the most recent census data , the basic pattern in the United States seems to be that people who live in big cities have longer commutes, and people who live in small towns and rural areas can get to work more rapidly. New York City and Washington have average commutes of about 34 minutes, which is near the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average. By contrast, Decatur, Ill., sports an average commute time of less than 17 minutes. Great Falls, Mont.? Just 14 minutes. Read full article > >

See more here:
Americans have some of the quickest commutes in the developed world

NPR on Sunday named Gary Knell, who has headed the organization that produces “Sesame Street,” as its new chief executive and president. Knell replaces Vivian Schiller , who left NPR in March after a succession of controversies that started with the firing of commentator Juan Williams last fall and ended after conservative activists secretly taped two NPR fundraisers appearing to make disparaging remarks about conservatives. Since then, the company has been run by an interim CEO, Joyce Slocum , while the organization’s board searched for Schiller’s replacement. Read full article > >

Here is the original post:
NPR names Gary Knell, head of nonprofit behind ‘Sesame Street,’ as chief executive

NPR on Sunday named Gary Knell, who has headed the organization that produces “Sesame Street,” as its new chief executive and president. Knell replaces Vivian Schiller , who left NPR in March after a succession of controversies that started with the firing of commentator Juan Williams last fall and ended after conservative activists secretly taped two NPR fundraisers appearing to make disparaging remarks about conservatives. Since then, the company has been run by an interim CEO, Joyce Slocum , while the organization’s board searched for Schiller’s replacement. Read full article > >

Go here to see the original:
NPR names Gary Knell, head of nonprofit behind ‘Sesame Street,’ as chief executive

In previous summers, it was unusual to see more than a handful of players on the ice at the Washington Capitals ’ practice facility with more than a week to go before the official start of the training camp. On Tuesday, though, a group of 15 that included Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom , two of the team’s three highest-paid players, went through a workout that included rigorous, timed skating drills. It’s not much to read into, but it’s the earliest on-ice example of the more focused tone that many within the organization have said is a necessity this season if the Capitals want to achieve greater success. Read full article > >

Go here to read the rest:
Washington Capitals look more focused ahead of start of training camp

Over the weekend, the Washington Post’s ombudsman — essentially the voice of readers within the walls of the organization — questioned whether Texas Rep. Ron Paul was getting coverage commensurate with his standing in the 2012 presidential race . His conclusion? “I think The Post could have done much better on Ron Paul.” Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton agrees. “Dr. Paul has emerged as a top-tier candidate in this race and deserves coverage befitting that status,” he wrote in an email to The Fix. Read full article > >

Read more from the original source:
Is Ron Paul being ignored?

A little-known group of World War II veterans had a lot to share Saturday at their last official meeting of Prometheans Inc. Veterans — most of them nearing 90 — friends and family members made toasts and speeches at the group’s banquet in Silver Spring. D.C. chapter President Friason Travis, 90, called the organization a “guiding light and power.” The Prometheans, as they call themselves, are similar to the Tuskegee Airmen in that they were among the African Americans who fought for their country in World War II. But they weren’t master aviators and never swooped down on enemy fighter planes during the heat of battle, which may be the reason why their name may not sound familiar to most. Read full article > >

See the original post:
World War II black veterans group disbands, but friendships remain

Amid news that the International Monetary Fund had been hacked, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said he will run for managing director of the organization, posing a potentially serious challenge to frontrunner Christine Lagarde. The position…

Go here to see the original:
Israeli Bank Chief to Challenge Lagarde

Almost exactly 15 years ago, top officials of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met in Atlanta to strategize for what would have been one of the most remarkable public health victories in history: the eradication of measles, one of the most infectious microbes known to humankind. By the mid-1990s, widespread use of the measles vaccine had halted transmission of the virus among residents of the United States and Britain. A CDC report noted that the major obstacle to eradication was that public and political support would wane as fears of the disease receded. There was no mention of parental concern that the measles vaccine might actually be harmful. Read full article > >

Read more:
An early cure for parents’ vaccine panic

The E. coli strain that’s infected more than 1,500 people in Germany is a previously unknown and unusually deadly strain, the World Health Organization reports. According to a Chinese laboratory working with German scientists, the contagion is caused…

Read more:
E. Coli Strain Is New Mutation

The E. coli strain that’s infected more than 1,500 people in Germany is a previously unknown and unusually deadly strain, the World Health Organization reports. According to a Chinese laboratory working with German scientists, the contagion is caused…

See the original post:
E. Coli Strain Is New Mutation

LONDON — The E. coli bacteria responsible for a mysterious outbreak that has left 18 people dead and sickened hundreds is a new strain that has never been seen before, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Preliminary genetic sequencing suggests the strain is a mutant form of two different E. coli bacteria, with aggressive genes that could explain why the outbreak appears to be so massive and dangerous, the agency said. “This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before,” Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at WHO, told The Associated Press. The new strain has “various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing” than the many E. coli strains people naturally carry in their intestines. Read full article > >

Excerpt from:
WHO says E. coli strain responsible for European outbreak is new strain never detected before

A day after the Washington Capitals were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs , General Manager George McPhee said he expects Bruce Boudreau to return as head coach. “I expect him to be back,” McPhee said. “He’s a good coach. Someone said he’s not a playoff coach, there’s no difference between a playoff coach and a regular season coach. You’re either a good coach or you’re not. He’s a good coach.” But as the Capitals returned to Arlington on Thursday to clean out their lockers and conduct final interviews before dispersing for the summer, there were plenty questions about what changes might happen within the organization that has been unable to advance beyond the second round since 1998. On his personal blog, owner Ted Leonsis said there would not be any rash reaction to yet another stunning playoff exit. Read full article > >

Link:
Capitals General Manager George McPhee expects Bruce Boudreau will return as head coach

On the morning of Dec. 13, Bruce Boudreau arrived at the Washington Capitals’ Arlington training facility as he would any morning during the season, just after 7. In the restless hours immediately preceding, Boudreau’s club had endured the most ignominious defeat of his three-year tenure as coach: a 7-0 humiliation by the New York Rangers, the team’s sixth loss in a row. In the hours ahead, nothing short of a sea change awaited the organization. “We had to do something,” Boudreau said.

See the original post here:
Stanley Cup playoffs: Washington Capitals put philosophical differences to the test

A NATO general has struck back at French criticism and said his organization is indeed protecting civilians in Libya. As a result of the stalemate on the ground, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said earlier that NATO was not doing enough to take…

See the original post here:
NATO: We’re ‘Doing a Great Job’