Daily Rounds: Defining Rape; Directors' Pay Challenged; Dangerous Produce; Fast-Tracked Health Law

How many rapes in US? Depends on the definition - Nation - The Boston Globe "The definition of rape used by the FBI - “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will’’ was written more than 80 years ago. The yearly report on violent crime, which uses data provided voluntarily by the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies, is widely cited as an indicator of national crime trends. But that definition, critics say, does not take into account sexual-assault cases that involve anal or oral penetration or penetration with an object, cases where the victims were drugged or under the influence of alcohol, or cases with male victims. As a result, many sexual assaults are not counted as rapes in the yearly federal accounting." (bostonglobe.com)

LegalNewsline | Coakley, lawmakers testify in support of director pay bill "In her testimony, the attorney general pointed out that the practice of paying board members creates an unavoidable conflict between board members' personal financial interests and their obligation to safeguard the organizations charitable resources." (Legal NewsLine)

Experts fear listeria may be moving into produce - USATODAY.com "Listeria monocytogenes are bacteria that can grow even at refrigerator temperatures. Historically they have have been considered mainly a problem in cold cuts, hotdogs and soft cheeses such as Mexican queso fresco. In 1998, an outbreak linked to hotdogs from Bil Mar Foods in Michigan sickened 101 people and killed 21, according to the CDC. However, the bacteria also have been occurring more frequently in produce. An outbreak in sprouts in 2008 sickened 20, sending 16 people to the hospital. In 2010, an outbreak in celery from SanGar Fresh Cut Produce in Texas sickened 10 people and killed five. Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest, called upon the FDA to quickly release new guidelines and regulations to help keep pathogens out of produce as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act, which was signed into law on January 4." (yourlife.usatoday.com)

Justice Dept. Asks Supreme Court for Health Care Ruling - NYTimes.com "The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to hear a case concerning the 2010 health care overhaul law. The development came unexpectedly fast and makes it all but certain that the court will soon agree to hear one or more cases involving challenges to the law, with arguments by the spring and a decision by June, in time to land in the middle of the 2012 presidential campaign." (nytimes.com)