Controversies
Alabama Anti-Immigrant Law Nets German Mercedes-Benz Manager and Honda Executive
Alabama’s tough anti-illegal immigrant law, intended to nab undocumented Hispanics, wound up ensnaring two foreign automaker executives.
First, police arrested a German manager with Mercedes-Benz for not having a driver’s license with him afte... read more
Texas Sues AT&T for Polluting Water with Gasoline and Benzene
32,000 days. That’s how long AT&T has been in violation of environmental laws in Texas for polluting large areas with leaky underground gasoline tanks, according to state and county officials.
Harris County (which includes the city of Houston)... read more
Growing Number of Police Fired for Opposing Anti-Drug Laws
Being in law enforcement and speaking out against the nation’s drug laws can be professionally hazardous. But a growing number of police and others are doing just that, and suffering the consequences.
Those who have lost their jobs for persona... read more
Sheriffs and Movers Refuse JPMorgan Chase Order to Evict 103-Year-Old Georgia Woman
JPMorgan Chase ordered a 103-year-old woman and her 83-year-old daughter out of their northwest Atlanta home after trouble arose over mortgage payments. But Fulton County sheriff’s deputies and the moving company hired to evict the women refused t... read more
iPhone Siri Won’t Locate Abortion Clinics
It will tell you where to get breast implants and where to score drugs, but the Siri virtual assistant software on Apple’s new iPhone 4S won’t tell you where to get an abortion.
Pro-choice advocates are urging Apple to correct Siri, which curr... read more
Treasury Secretary Paulson Gave Hedge Fund Managers Advance Warning of Collapse of Fannie and Freddie
The summer of 2008 was a jittery time on Wall Street. A crippled Bear Stearns had already sold itself off at a bargain rate to JPMorgan Chase, the housing market was turning to quicksand, and whispers were circulating about the health of Fannie Ma... read more
Marine Medal of Honor Winner Sues Defense Contractor BAE for Defamation
Dakota Meyer, the first U.S. Marine since the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor while still alive, has gone from war hero to whistleblower in just a couple of months.
Having left the service and been celebrated in the press for his her... read more
Obama Administration Afraid to Share Evidence with Bradley Manning Defense
Bradley Manning, the Army private awaiting trial for allegedly giving thousands of classified government documents to WikiLeaks, is being denied evidence for his defense by the Obama administration.
David Coombs, Manning’s defense attorney, wa... read more
Prosecutors Fighting the Use of DNA Evidence in Order to Save Face
Since DNA testing became available two decades ago, about 280 convicted felons in the United States have been exonerated of their crimes. In the process, serious flaws in the legal system have become exposed, including misconduct by law enforcemen... read more
First Ohio Case of Child Taken from Family for being Obese
In a first for Ohio, officials in Cleveland Heights have removed a child from his home on grounds of being severely obese.
The Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services put the third grader, who weighed more than 200 pounds, i... read more
Border Fence in Texas Cuts through Private Property
Tim Loop of Brownsville, Texas, is now living in no-man’s land, thanks to the Department of Homeland Security.
Loop and his family reside on farmland settled by his grandfather almost a century ago near the U.S.-Mexico border. But their proper... read more
EPA Adds Chicago to List of Lead-Polluted Areas
President Barack Obama’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois, has been added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of areas with too much lead in the air.
Along with Arecibo, Puerto Rico; Belding, Michigan; Saline, Kansas; and Pot... read more
Should Postal Service Offer eMailboxes and Data Storage? Other Countries Do
The U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general has suggested the cash-strapped agency consider offering email, secure document storage, and other online services as a way to bring in new revenues.
According to the IG, the Postal Service is one of... read more
Most Dangerous Jobs…Fishing and Logging Workers
Being a cop may seem like dangerous work, but it’s not nearly as fatal as those who catch fish. The profession with the highest rate of fatalities last year was fishermen, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After that it was loggers; air... read more
Federal Court Sanctions FBI for Lying about Surveillance Records
A federal court in California has admonished the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for misleading it about the existence of records pertaining to spying on Muslims in the U.S.
The judicial criticism rose out of the case Islamic Shura Counc... read more
Merck Pays $950 Million for Vioxx Illegal Marketing and Dangers…But No Jail Time
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck continues to pay a steep price for its former money-making drug Vioxx, a painkiller that once earned the company more than $2 billion a year.
The latest settlement for Merck originated with the U.S. Department... read more