TIME: After Avandia - Does The FDA Have a Drug Problem? 
This article investigates how drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, producer of the diabetes drug Avandia, convinced the FDA to keep the medication on the market for years by hiding and downplaying important evidence linking Avandia to heart problems, and calling the evidence "inconclusive."
The FDA's handling of the Avandia case (which greatly involves GAP client and noted whistleblower Dr. David Graham) highlights large systemic problems with the agency, including its reliance on drug companies for safety testing and reporting, and an approval process that is not tough enough. GAP's 2009 report, The ABCs of Drug Safety -- Accountability, Balance, and Citizen Empowerment, discusses these issues.
Washington Examiner: Metro Strengthening Protections for 'Whistleblowers'
The D.C. Metro Board of Directors has approved implementation of federal laws that strengthen whistleblower protection policies. Metro has also created a Whistleblower Hearing Panel to discover whether punitive and retaliatory measures were enacted on whistleblowers in the past, and to encourage Metro employees to report future safety concerns without fear of punishment.
These actions are being taken amidst much criticism of Metro management's failure to institute a safe workplace with a culture that is conducive to whistleblowing, along with last week's National Transportation Safety Board formal issuing of new safety recommendations.
Metro General Manager Richard Sarles claims that as Metro moves forward with reorienting its safety culture, it has already made significant changes which include adding staff to its safety department, establishing an anonymous hotline for reporting concerns, and developing a Safety Management System to track incidents.
BBC: Michael Howard urges Dr. David Kelly inquest
Years later, the death of British whistleblower Dr. David Kelley remains controversial. English political leaders have called for a full inquest into his death, which has been officially ruled a suicide for some time. His death came after he was exposed as the source for a BBC story on the reasons England went to war with Iraq.
The Washington Post: New Whistleblower Reward Program Has Law Firms Gearing Up
Law firms are taking notice about the implications of a new law which rewards whistleblowers for bringing fraud claims and "original information" to the Securities and Exchanges Commission.
Lindsay Bigda is Communications Fellow for the Government Accountability Project, the nation's leading whistleblower advocacy organization.
