Big Pharma meets weak resistance at Canadian medical schools: study

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The first comprehensive study of conflict-of-interest guidelines at Canadas 17 medical schools has uncovered big holes in the policies intended to restrict the influence of the pharmaceutical industry.

Despite the pervasive presence of Big Pharma on medical school campuses, policies regarding conflict of interest are generally permissive, the study found, raising questions about the role commercial interests are playing in educating Canadas doctors.

The faculty and student relationships with industry are very poorly regulated, said study author Adrienne Shnier, a PhD candidate at York Universitys School of Health Policy and Management. This means that industry has the ability to influence the resources that are provided to medical students . . . and influence the information that is taught to medical students.

Published on Thursday in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, the study ranked Canadian medical schools on the strength of their conflict-of-interest policies. Scores were based on guidelines in place as of September 2011 across 12 categories, including samples, curriculum and scholarships. Researchers searched university websites for policies, and reached out to administrators for anything theyd missed.

With restrictive policies in all but three categories, Western University was ranked No. 1.

In more than half of all schools, however, the researchers found that policies were either permissive or nonexistent in most categories. The worst offender was the recently established Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in Sudbury, followed by the University of Alberta and Queens University.

Most people dont expect that the biggest schools in the country and the most influential schools in the country actually scored some of the lowest (scores), said Shnier. Thats problematic . . . because when you see a diploma on the wall in a physicians office from one of these reputable schools, you expect that theyve received a balanced education.

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Big Pharma meets weak resistance at Canadian medical schools: study

Statue of Liberty officially reopens for July 4th

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Visitors poured off the ferry Thursday to greet the nation's gatekeeper. NBC's Katy Tur reports.

By Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News

The Statue of Liberty reopened to visitors Thursday during an Independence Day ceremony, eight months after the island Lady Liberty calls home wasflooded and destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.

The National Park Service closed the site just a day after the statues crown had been reopenedfollowing a year of renovations.

Nine long months have passed since anyone has been allowed to visit the Statue of Liberty due to damage from Superstorm Sandy, but the nation's gatekeeper will be welcoming visitors once again, starting fittingly on Independence Day. NBC's Katy Tur reports.

Even though the storm surge covered 75 percent of the island, damaging New York Harbor docks andislandwalkways, as well as buildings and electrical systems, the statue managed to withstand the intensity of the storm.

The statue's 126-year-old iron framework designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel allowed for the Statue of Liberty to withstand the storm's intense winds, the National Park Service said.

The agency brought in workers from all over the country to clean up the mess Sandy left behind. Meanwhile, it suggested moving the storm-battered security checkpoints to Ellis Island, which is a short ferry-ride away from Liberty Island. The New York Police Department argued that metal detectors should remain in Manhattans Battery Park to better ensure the safety of one of the nations most famous and visited landmarks.

The statues crown had been closed to visitors from 2001 to 2009, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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Statue of Liberty officially reopens for July 4th

The Statue Of Liberty Reopens

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The Statue of Liberty reopens July 4, for the first time since Hurricane Sandy damaged the statue's pedestal and flooded park service offices. We look at what it took to reopen the iconic statue and why nearby Ellis Island remains closed indefinitely.

Copyright 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish. The Statue of Liberty is once again welcoming visitors to New York Harbor. Lady Liberty reopened for tours today for the first time since Hurricane Sandy, more than eight months ago. While the statue itself was not harmed, the storm did cause extensive damage to the island below it.

The National Park Service has been working towards today's reopening ever since. Here's NPR's Joel Rose.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: They came from all over the country and the world to see Lady Liberty up close for the first time since Sandy.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's kind of a special thing to be here. It's kind of, for me, a symbolic idea that liberty endures, whether it's after a storm or a revolution.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: 'Cause it's one of the emblematic piece of New York, so there's no sense to come to New York and not go to the statue anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: This is the most beautiful lady in the United States, offered freedom to so very many people. So I always wanted to see her and here I am. I'm a lucky girl.

ROSE: Philip Seltzer(ph) of Bloomfield, Michigan, Lunir Barada(ph) of Morocco and Joyce Bresnahan(ph) of Naples, Florida, waited in line to board the ferry from Manhattan. The Statute of Liberty's crown and torch were relit just weeks after the storm but the other repairs to Liberty Island and nearby Ellis Island will take a lot longer and cost close to $60 million.

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The Statue Of Liberty Reopens

Libertarian Gary Johnson: ‘this Independence Day feels different’

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Former Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson hopes you have a nice picnic, parade or BBQ to attend, and a flag to wave. But he is not delivering the typical feel-good Fourth of July message this year.

This Independence Day feels a little different, he says. The news in recent weeks about the IRS using its force against certain targeted groups has reminded us that, absent vigilance on our part, the government will abuse the power it has accumulated. Likewise, as we learn more about the massive surveillance being conducted by the NSA and the FBI, a lot of Americans are today thinking and talking about the 4th Amendment and its intended protections against unreasonable searches.

Mr. Johnson continues, These revelations are bringing long-overdue attention to the liberties the Founding Fathers worked so hard and sacrificed so much to provide and protect. It is more than a little ironic that the Revolution was prompted, in part, by abusive tax policies and unreasonable searches - on the part of tyrants.

He concludes, Regardless of our plans for this Independence Day, I hope they include remembering that the battle for freedom never ends, and dedicating ourselves to restoring the liberty on which our great nation was founded. That is the most patriotic thing we can do on the Fourth, and in all the days that follow.

Mr. Johnson is speaking from a new political perch, incidentally - one geared to 2014 and 2016, of course. He is chairman of Our America Initiative, a grassroots group centered on smaller government and a frugal mindset. His fellow board members include Barry Goldwater Jr., former independent presidential hopeful Buddy Roemer and Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey.

Our purpose is simple, yet vital, Mr. Johnson says. To redefine the liberty movement in America. We aim to restore liberty, responsibility and economic freedom as the true American values.

See their big doings here.

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Libertarian Gary Johnson: 'this Independence Day feels different'