Controversies
Bank of America Smacked with Foreclosure Fraud Lawsuits
Although Bank of America (BoA), along with other big banks like Wells Fargo, Citibank, Ally/GMAC and JPMorgan Chase, recently reached a very favorable settlement of potential criminal fraud charges related to their mortgage lending practices, two ... read more
Judge Orders Justice Dept. to Release Document about FBI Helping Ronald Reagan’s Political Career
A California journalist has won his fight with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to get the Department of Justice to release documents that may show the FBI, although a government entity, was helping advance Ronald Reagan’s political caree... read more
Law Professors Accuse Law Schools of Sending False Information for College Rankings
The business of law school rankings can be downright unlawful, according to two professors at Emory University.
In their research paper (“Law Deans in Jail”), Morgan Cloud and George Shepherd accuse some law schools and their deans of submitti... read more
What Chemicals are Used in Fracking?
The good news with respect to the contents of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids is that about 99% consists of water. The bad news is that the remaining 1% includes highly toxic chemicals that can cause harm even in tiny amounts. The subject h... read more
Federal Sentencing Shows Dramatic Differences by Judge, but Not by Party
Regardless of which political party chose them or the circumstances of the cases presided over, federal judges have varied widely in their sentencing decisions, according to an investigation by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC)... read more
Police Union Tries to Block Portions of Report on Campus Pepper-Spray Incident
A local judge in California has temporarily blocked the release of a university report on the pepper-spraying of UC Davis student protesters on November 18 by campus police.
Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo’s ruling came after a police union... read more
Republicans in Congress Zero in on FDA Email Surveillance Scandal
Republican lawmakers from the government oversight and judiciary committees are investigating whether the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broke the law when officials spied on employees’ emails.
California Representative Darrell Issa, chair... read more
Pentagon Relocates Stars and Stripes into Same Building as Defense Public Affairs Office
Stars and Stripes, the military’s newspaper that operates independently from the armed services, has been told to relocate its offices from downtown Washington, DC, to a military base where it will share the same building used by a key public affa... read more
Pentagon Lowers Standards to Allow Joint Strike Fighter to Pass Performance Tests
What could become the most costly weapons program in U.S. history is moving forward because leaders in the Department of Defense decided to lower the plane’s performance standards.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter reportedly passed a key test of ... read more
Emergency Room Dental Visits on the Rise…Costly Health Care Failure
With no available insurance to defray the cost of going to the dentist, many Americans have been forced to visit hospital emergency rooms for critical dental care.
According to a new report by the Pew Center on the States, there were 830,590 E... read more
Navy Use of Old Ships for Target Practice Criticized by Recycling Firms and Environmentalists
The U.S. Navy’s preferred way of disposing of old vessels is to use them for target practice, resulting in more than a hundred ships now resting at the bottom of the ocean where they contribute to environmental problems.
An investigation by t... read more
Drug Czar Kerlikowske Suddenly Discovers Prescription Drug Death Crisis
Admitting the issue deserved his attention much sooner, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske told Congress this week that prescription drug abuse is “a national crisis” that must be addressed.
Kerlikowske, the director of the Office of Nation... read more
Judge Orders Obama Administration to Release Classified Document
In a rare demonstration of judicial independence from the national security state, a federal judge last Wednesday ordered the federal government to release a document it says is classified. The case is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit file... read more
Georgia Law Would Outlaw Picketing Homes of Corporate Executives
Coming only days after a protest outside a major telecommunications company, Republican lawmakers in Georgia have introduced a bill that would subject non-violent demonstrators involved in a labor dispute to heavy fines and felony convictions.
... read more
Federal Government Moves to Combat Violence and Corruption in Detroit
Federal authorities launched a two-pronged attack crime in Detroit, holding press conferences to announce crackdowns on both violence and corruption.
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, surrounded symbolically by city, state and feder... read more
Man Denied Liver Transplant for Using Prescribed Marijuana: “Probably Too Late for Me”
Norman B. Smith, the 63-year-old cancer patient at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles who was denied a liver transplant because he used medical marijuana, says in a new interview that it’s probably too late for him to make a recovery even ... read more