NEWS:
FBI Forensic Analysts under Investigation for Falsifying Tests Wife of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Starts Conservative Lobbying Group Millionaires on the Rise Again The Oldest Unanswered Freedom of Information Act Requests High School Valedictorian Sues to Stop Graduation Prayer Collapse of Lehman Brothers: What Did Geithner Know and When Did He Know It? Senate Rejects Equal Sentences for Crack and Powder Cocaine House Impeaches Judge Thomas Porteous…Only 15th in 207 Years Taxpayers Lose as Treasury Helps Midwest Banc Holdings Legalize the Selling of Bone Marrow: Steve Chapman Pentagon Propaganda Machine Rolls on in Afghanistan Federal Court Rules “In God We Trust” and “Under God” are Not Religious Expressions Record-Setting Number of Americans Pay No Income Tax German Intelligence Agency Fights to Keep Nazi Files Secret after 50 Years Rising Seed Prices Pressure Farmers, Draw Attention of Obama Administration Fighter Jet Costs Jump 50%, Triggering Congressional Review and Lockheed Defense Ohio Keeps Prisoner Alive So That He Can Be Executed Federal IT Purchasers Win Worst Open Government Award for Not Saving E-Mails Montgomery and Stockton Tie for Most Obese Cities, Colorado Dominates Least Obese Afghan District Governor Pleads for U.S. Troops U.S. Budget Deficit Grows $1 Million Every 11 Seconds 33 Government Auto Regulators Now Work for Auto Industry House Democrats Ban Earmarks to Corporations State Department Tour for Pakistan Legislators Falls Apart over Body Scanning Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water Investigation Heats Up The Payday Lender Senator: Corker of Tennessee Pfizer CEO Gets 12.5% Raise for Successful Lobbying Taxpayers Footing the Bill for Breast Augmentations Jury Orders Hog Farm to Pay Locals $11 Million for Foul Odors Gospel Label Delayed Album Release Because God Did Not Approve Army vs. Lockheed Martin in Battle to Cancel Missile Defense System 16 Midwest Cities Sue Maker of Weed-Killer Found in Tap Water House Ethics Probe Avoided Interviewing Members of Congress in PMA Case New York City Police Accused of Arrest Quotas and Doctoring Figures Brazil, with Rare WTO Approval, Threatens U.S. with Trade Sanctions U.S.-Supported Afghan Chief Served Prison Time in Germany Sentencing Reform Reduces Prison Population without Increasing Crime Online Security Questions Need Improving First Commercial Brain-Operated Computer Detroit Settles Perfume Allergy Case for $100,000 Judge Allows Torture Lawsuit against Donald Rumsfeld to Proceed DC First City to Distribute Free Female Condoms U.S. gave $107 Billion in Contracts to Companies Doing Business with Iran Defense Contractor Agrees to Pay $400 Million Criminal Fine Veterans’ Courts May Go National U.S. Government to Experiment with New Definition of Poverty Obama Administration Withdraws Plans for Yucca Mountain Nuclear Dump Homeland Security Not Following Rules in Awarding Contracts Swiss Vote on Providing Lawyers for Animals Federal Reserve Proposes Protecting Credit Card Users from Excessive Fees and Penalties Journalist Attacked by Assassins While Speaking on Live Radio Justice Dept. Investigates Voting Machine Merger for Possible Anti-Trust Violation Civilians Account for One-Third of Drone Attack Deaths in Pakistan Democratic Senators Move to End Ban on Gay Blood Donations Venus de Milo Snow Sculpture Forced to Wear Bikini in New Jersey IRS Holding $1.3 Billion in Unclaimed Refunds 8 Senators Who Voted Against Jobless Benefits Come from States with High Unemployment Accused Death Squad Leader on Verge of Election to Iraqi Parliament Cost of Foodborne Illnesses Estimated at $152 Billion a Year Israel Calls Off West Bank Raid after Leak on Facebook Obama Wants to Close International Labor Statistics Office Families of Murdered U.S. Missionaries Sue Chiquita for Supporting Terrorists Pentagon Fines KBR…Then Gives it a $2.8 Billion Contract Glaxo Pays Out $1 Billion in Birth Defect Cases with 600 Lawsuits to Go Army Considers Need for Better Bullets and Rifles in Afghanistan VA Agrees to Review Gulf War Illness Claims Lobbyists Treated as Analysts on TV News New Orleans Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Post-Katrina Killing Cover-Up Exotic Bank Loans Strip States and Cities of Tens of Billions of Dollars Court Rules Zombies Allowed to Roam the Streets New Military Helmets to be Fitted Based on Laser Scan of Pilot’s Head Supreme Court Rulings Open Loopholes for Water Polluters German Family Granted Asylum in U.S. in Order to Home School Bush Administration Spied on Planned Parenthood It Pays Well to Join the Military Overdue Since 1921, Next Solar Storm Could Disrupt Much of World Supreme Court Decision May Allow Corporations and Unions to Make Anonymous Political Donations Widow of Texas IRS Building Terrorist Attack Victim Sues Widow of Killer Pentagon Agrees to Unblock Social Networking Sites for All Personnel Dr. Seuss’ Lorax Stands Up To Coal Gasification Iceberg the Size of Luxembourg Could Threaten Marine Life National Archives Wants Investigation into Destruction of John Yoo Torture Emails California to Sell State Building Named after Ronald Reagan Fortune Cookies to Promote 2010 Census VA Accused of Destroying Documents Sought by Freedom of Information Request CBS Billboards: Anti-Abortion Yes; Marijuana Legalization No Gun Rights Expand under Obama Average Wall Street Bonus Jumps 25% Obama Subsidies to Nuclear Power Industry Put Taxpayers at Risk Bank Sues Employees Who Demand Bonuses FTC Attacks Fake “Free Credit Report” Ads Contractors Outnumber Employees at Department of Homeland Security Give Haitian Garment Workers a Raise…to $5 a Day: Robert Naiman Cuban Political Prisoner Dies after Hunger Strike E-Waste Poses Growing Threat Around the World Navy Set to End Ban on Women in Submarines Defense Secretary Gates Attacks NATO’s Pacifism House Democrats Complain that Senate Democrats are Stalling 290 Bills Eric Cartman Accused of Stealing Weapons Meant for Afghan Police Toyota Acceleration Doubts May Give Hope to Man Imprisoned for Killing 3 in Car Crash
Featured News
FBI Forensic Analysts under Investigation for Falsifying Tests Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Faulty, and in some cases falsified, forensic work by FBI experts has raised questions about the validity of 100 criminal cases in the District of Columbia since the mid-1970s.

 
A legal review was launched earlier this year after a DC court overturned the conviction of Donald E. Gates, who served 28 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. FBI analyst Michael Malone, who testified at Gates’ 1981 trial that one of his hairs scientifically matched a hair found on the body of Georgetown student Catherine Schilling, is one of a half dozen forensic specialists whose testimony and work have come under scrutiny.
 
Patricia Riley, special counsel to U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen Jr., has said her review of other cases has not turned up any indication that more convictions could be thrown out. Riley said her office performed a “preliminary review” of 78 of the cases and found “no misconduct,” according to The Washington Post. Nothing has been said so far about the remaining 22 cases to be reviewed.
 
Overturning Gates’ conviction as a result of DNA evidence marked the first time the U.S. Attorney’s office in DC had done such a thing.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
 
Suspicions about FBI Analysts Growing (by Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post)
Prosecutor Reflects on Wrongful Conviction in D.C. Killing (by Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post)
Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (National Research Council of the National Academies)
more
Latest News
Wife of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Starts Conservative Lobbying Group   -  Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Millionaires on the Rise Again   -  Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Oldest Unanswered Freedom of Information Act Requests   -  Tuesday, March 16, 2010
High School Valedictorian Sues to Stop Graduation Prayer   -  Tuesday, March 16, 2010
 
Top Stories
FBI Forensic Analysts under Investigation for Falsifying Tests
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Faulty, and in some cases falsified, forensic work by FBI experts has raised questions about the validity of 100 criminal cases in the District of Columbia since the mid-1970s.   A legal review was launched earlier this year after a DC court overturned the conviction of Donald E. Gates, who served 28 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. FBI analyst Michael Malone, who te ...
 
House Impeaches Judge Thomas Porteous…Only 15th in 207 Years
Monday, March 15, 2010
Not a single member of the House of Representatives objected to the impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous, making him the 15th judge indicted by Congress since the founding of the country. Lawmakers voted 412-0, 410-0, 416-0 and 423-0 on the four articles of impeachment brought against Porteous, who serves on the U.S. District Court in New Orleans.   The 16-year veteran of the federal ben ...
 
Pentagon Propaganda Machine Rolls on in Afghanistan
Sunday, March 14, 2010
When is a city not a city? When the media actually does its homework and stops taking the Department of Defense at its word.   In February, the U.S. and NATO allies launched a major offensive against the Taliban, during which troops had the task of taking back Marja in Helmand province. Beginning with an Associated Press article on February 2, the American media began parroting the same &ld ...
 
Unusual News
Ohio Keeps Prisoner Alive So That He Can Be Executed
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Prison officials in Ohio prevented convicted killer Lawrence Reynolds from taking his own life, and are now nursing him back to health so they can execute him. Reynolds took an overdose of prescription drugs just prior to his execution date. After receiving medical care at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, the 43-year-old inmate was placed in an isolation cell on suicide watch. Reynolds was co ...
 
Montgomery and Stockton Tie for Most Obese Cities, Colorado Dominates Least Obese
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Americans could stand to lose a few pounds in parts of Alabama and California, while Colorado has demonstrated itself to be quite lean when it comes to obesity. Gallup and Healthways teamed up to examine body mass index data and figure out which parts of the United States have high and low obesity rates.   Montgomery, Alabama, and Stockton, California, tied for the most obese urban areas, a ...
 
Gospel Label Delayed Album Release Because God Did Not Approve
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Gospel recording label Habakkuk Music delayed payment of a $30,000 advance to singer Isaiah D. Thomas because God had not told company executives when to proceed. Thomas is now suing Habakkuk and its owner, April Washington-Essex, who reportedly informed the singer when he inquired about his advance: “I have been seeking God about the timing of your next recording. To date, God has not ...
 
Where is the Money Going?
Millionaires on the Rise Again
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Last year may have been bad for a lot of American families struggling to survive the bad economic times, but the wealthy had no trouble rebounding from the 2008 downturn and expanding their ranks.   A survey conducted by the Spectrem Group found the number of millionaires in the U.S. grew by 16% in 2009. A millionaire is defined as someone with a net worth of $1 million, not including a pri ...
 
Taxpayers Lose as Treasury Helps Midwest Banc Holdings
Monday, March 15, 2010
Deciding a big loss is better than a complete loss, the Department of the Treasury chose to buy shares of Midwest Banc Holdings at above market value in order to keep the ailing institution from sliding even further into trouble. The U.S. government will accept $84.8 million of preferred shares from Midwest Banc in exchange for $15.5 million of common shares resulting in an 80% loss for the Treasu ...
 
Record-Setting Number of Americans Pay No Income Tax
Sunday, March 14, 2010
It used to be the only Americans not required to pay income taxes were the poor. But thanks to changes in federal law since the early 1990s, a growing number of the middle-class have had no income tax obligation—meaning they get everything back from what was withheld in their paychecks after filing with the IRS.   In fact, 2008 was a record-breaking year, with 51.6 million Americans n ...
 
Controversies
Wife of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Starts Conservative Lobbying Group
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has drawn criticism from liberals and some legal experts for launching Liberty Central Inc., a conservative activist organization linked to the Tea Party movement.   The non-profit group plans to rank members of Congress on their performance and be involved in the November election, although Virginia Th ...
 
The Oldest Unanswered Freedom of Information Act Requests
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The U.S. government has a long way to go before it fulfills decades-old requests for classified documents, despite the promises made by President Barack Obama to make federal agencies more open to the public.   According to The National Security Archive at George Washington University, the Executive Branch still has not responded to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed during th ...
 
High School Valedictorian Sues to Stop Graduation Prayer
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Eric Workman, the top student at Greenwood High School in Indiana, does not want the coming graduation ceremony to feature a student-led prayer, and has filed a lawsuit to stop the religious activity. Aided by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, Workman plans to argue in court that the prayer represents a violation of federal law and conflicts with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. ...
 
Opinion from the Left
Give Haitian Garment Workers a Raise…to $5 a Day: Robert Naiman
Friday, February 26, 2010
If the United States really wants to help earthquake-ravaged and poverty-stricken Haiti, it can do more than just send emergency relief, says foreign policy analyst Robert Naiman. Washington could use its influence to convince the Haitian government to raise the minimum wage for garment workers to at least $5 a day. As low as that sounds, such an increase would represent more than a 50% increase ...
 
Dead Foreigners are Good for Ratings, but Not Dead Americans: Dave Lindroff
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Bringing out someone else’s dead, as long as they’re from another country, is fine on network television, writes Dave Lindroff at The Public Record. But forget about it if the deceased are Americans, especially those in uniform fighting terrorists overseas.   Lindroff has taken exception to NBC’s decision last week to show, without reservation, the grisly footage of Notar ...
 
Create a Non-Military Draft: William L. Hauser and Jerome Slater
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Military veterans William Hauser and Jerome Slater want to bring back the draft—the likes of which America has never experienced. Hauser, a retired Army colonel and Vietnam veteran, and Slater, professor emeritus of political science at SUNY Buffalo and former naval officer, argue the war against terrorism is going to be a long one, and the military today just isn’t large enough to mee ...
 
Opinion from the Right
Legalize the Selling of Bone Marrow: Steve Chapman
Monday, March 15, 2010
It is for good reason that there are laws on the books preventing people from buying and selling organs in the United States, writes Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune. But concerns about ghoulish markets developing around dying patients should not apply to those in need of bone marrow transplants to combat cancer.   Unlike livers or kidneys, which can’t be replaced by a donor, bone ...
 
Education…Let Parents Choose: John Stossel
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Leaving education in the hands of the government has resulted in rising costs and flat-lining tests scores, notes Fox News television correspondent John Stossel, who wants to give parents the choice of sending their kids to private schools.   He says government spending on education has nearly doubled over the past 30 years, but hasn’t resulted in greater achievement by students. Furt ...
 
Conservative Solutions to Health Care: R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr., founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator, has several conservative alternatives to the Democrats’ healthcare reform “monstrosity.” For starters, the expense of the American medical system, which has kept millions from accessing care, could be offset by allowing every citizen, except Medicare recipients and military personnel, to receive a refun ...
 
U.S. and the World
Afghan District Governor Pleads for U.S. Troops
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Adding tens of thousands of American troops to Afghanistan this year will still leave some provinces short on help, even in areas where the Taliban is well established. Abdul Qayoom Khan, governor of Zabul province, has begged for more U.S. soldiers to bolster what is only a thousand men guarding an area with about 300,000 Afghans belonging to more than twenty tribes. Zabul also shares a 40-mile s ...
 
State Department Tour for Pakistan Legislators Falls Apart over Body Scanning
Friday, March 12, 2010
Six members of the legislature from Pakistan, invited to visit the United States by the State Deparatment, left the country early because they refused to go through additional screening at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC.   The delegation was planning to catch a domestic flight to New Orleans as part of their tour, but became insulted when two of them were pulled aside from ...
 
Brazil, with Rare WTO Approval, Threatens U.S. with Trade Sanctions
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
After eight years of complaints, Brazil is now threatening to impose stiff trade sanctions against the United States over U.S. subsidizing of cotton production. Brazil has appealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which first ruled that the American subsidies were a violation of international law and then approved Brazil’s list of pending tariffs on U.S. exports.   A total of mo ...
 
Appointments and Resignations
Ambassador to Australia: Who is Jeff Bleich?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The government of Australia is got none other than an Elvis Presley-loving California lawyer and friend (and fundraiser) of President Barack Obama as the new American ambassador. Jeffrey Bleich was confirmed by the Senate November 11, 2009.   Bleich attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science, magna cum laude, in 1983. He received a fellowship ...
 
Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services: Who Is Janey Thornton?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
On April 1, 2009, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, with the approval of President barack Obama, appointed Dr. Janey Thornton the next Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services administers programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps), the Food Program for Women, Infan ...
 
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services: Who is Jim Miller?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
James W. “Jim” Miller, confirmed as under secretary of agriculture for farm and foreign agricultural services on April 2, 2009, is a longtime farmer from the state of Washington who also has lobbied on behalf of agricultural interests in Washington, DC.   Miller, 59, graduated from Washington State University, where he received a degree in business administration, with an emphas ...