{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=54724ED3-4811-4FA5-8511-CB143F0A9C48", "News August 16", "2013-08-16", "2013", "2013-08", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "News August 16\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tFriday, August 16, 2013\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tSenator Sanders\r\nGMO Labeling\u00a0Vermont Public Interest Research Group on Thursday held a Statehouse rally to unveil some 30,000 signatures in support of labeling foods that contain genetically modified organisms. Sen. Bernie Sanders told the crowd it\u2019s a matter of consumers having the right to know what\u2019s in their food, WPTZ-TV, FOX44, ABC 22, Vermont Public Radio and vtdigger.org reported.\u00a0Sanders tried unsuccessfully to push through a farm bill amendment that would have allowed states to approve such laws, the Brattleboro Reformer reported. VIDEO, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK\r\nUSPS\u00a0The Postal Service would have posted a profit for last quarter without the \"unnecessary burden\" imposed during the Bush administration that it must sock away more than $5 billion a year in a fund that already has enough set aside to pay for future retirees\u2019 health care, Sen. Sanders told Ed Schultz on Thursday. AUDIO\r\nThe Fed \u201cOne reason passions run so strong about the next Fed chair is that this is more than a choice between Larry Summers and Janet Yellen. It's also a debate between the \"Wall Street Wing of the Democratic Party\" -- represented by Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Timothy Geithner and Gene Sperling -- and the \"Main Street Wing\" of the party -- represented by Sherrod Brown, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren,\u201d Bill Press wrote in a syndicated column in the Anchorage Daily News. LINK\r\nWorld\r\nEgypt Braces for More Bloodshed Egypt is bracing for more violence after the Muslim Brotherhood called for nationwide marches after Friday prayers and a \"day of rage\" to denounce this week's unprecedented bloodshed in the security forces' assault on the supporters of the country's ousted Islamist president that left more than 600 dead. The government authorized the use of deadly force against protesters targeting police and state institutions, CBS News reported. Egyptian State TV reported Friday that army troops had been deployed to guard \"vital installations\" around the country. LINK\u00a0\r\nObama: Violence in Egypt 'Needs to Stop'\u00a0President Barack Obama announced Thursday that the United States had canceled joint military exercises with Egypt in the wake of a devastating crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters, The New York Times reported. \u201cThe Egyptian people deserve better than what we\u2019ve seen over the past several days,\u201d the president said, adding that the \u201ccycle of violence and escalation needs to stop.\u201d\u00a0LINK\r\nSyrian Hacker Group Targets Washington Post\u00a0Hackers from a group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have targeted The Washington Post website as well as other American media outlets.LINK\r\nNational\u00a0\r\nNSA Routinely Broke Privacy Rules, Audit Finds\u00a0The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents. Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order. Documents provided to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden include details and analysis that is not routinely shared with Congress or the special court that oversees surveillance. LINK\r\nWounded Veterans Feel Budget Cuts\u00a0Wounded veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center are bearing the burden of federal budget cuts, according to a Fox News report. The Army decided this month to invalidate meal tickets for recovering veterans and reduce hours the center's dining facility. The decision means recovering vets who would normally have a government-funded meal just down the hall must travel nearly a half-mile across the Walter Reed campus to the temporary \"food trailer\" for breakfast, lunch and dinner.\u00a0LINK\r\nVA Sued Over Same-Sex Couples Benefits An 18-year Navy veteran from Norwich is joining forces with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal to try to persuade the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to abide by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning gay marriage and extend all federal benefits to veterans with same-sex spouses. Carmen Cardona filed the lawsuit after being denied a $150 increase in her monthly disability compensation from the VA, something she would\u2019ve automatically received if she\u2019d married a man, Military Times reported. LINK\r\nPentagon Unveils Plan to Combat Sex Assualts\u00a0The Pentagon announced a plan Thursday to combat sexual assaults, USA Today reported. Among the initiatives included in the plan: establishing a victim advocacy program to provide legal advice for those bringing complaints, giving commanders the authority to transfer accused offenders to another unit and regular reporting from the inspector general on investigations of sexual assaults in the ranks.\u00a0LINK\r\nChild Rearing Expenses Rise\u00a0Raising a child from birth to age 17 costs $241,080, according to data from a new Department of Agriculture study cited by CBS News. Sending a child to college could cost parents double that amount. In 1960, children cost their parents 23 percent less, a total of $195,690 in inflation-adjusted dollars.\u00a0LINK\r\nPrescription Drug Abuse\u00a0An ongoing Reuters study said that one in 10 Americans admit taking prescription drugs they have not been prescribed. One quarter of those people have used prescription drugs to get high. For some, using others' prescription drugs is a way to save on healthcare costs. Those without insurance are often unable to receive the medicine they need, so they turn to friends and family members for drugs.\u00a0LINK\r\n'Meet The Press' Ratings Fall Ratings for \"Meet the Press\" have plummeted to their lowest level in 21 years, according to The Huffington Post. After disappointing numbers, NBC News is dismissing rumors that host David Gregory could be dropped from the show.\u00a0LINK\r\nVermont\r\nStudent Immunizations\u00a0Vermont's Health Department announced Thursday that 87 percent of students going into kindergarten have had a full round of vaccines, The Associated Press reported. Less than six percent of kindergarten students did not get at least one of the vaccine shots because of a philosophical exemption. Vermont has the second highest rate of philosophical exemptions in the country.\u00a0LINK\r\nLeahy Photo Exhibit Sen. Partrick Leahy was guest of honor at the kickoff reception for a photo exhibition at the Catamount Film and Arts Center in St. Johnsbury, Vt. Leahy has become recognized as the senator with a camera forever fused to his hand, who \"hovers and cranes over\" historic events while his colleagues step back to take it in. \u201cI've often joked that if I could do whatever I wanted to do, it'd be a photographer full-time,\" Leahy - the most senior senator on Capitol Hill and third in the line of presidential succession - told CBS News. 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