Controversies
Fracking Contamination Report Kept Hidden for 24 Years
If something is repeated enough times by enough people, it can take on the status of fact. That is until the truth is revealed.
For the controversial drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, better known as “fracking,” in which chemically-la... read more
National Institutes of Health Drops Conflict-of-Interest Disclosures for Universities
A year after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a new requirement for universities and medical schools to put up websites disclosing any financial arrangements between corporations and NIH-funded researchers, the Obama administrat... read more
Army Prepares to Fire 8,700 Civilians
With the Department of Defense expected to have fewer resources next year, the U.S. Army has announced plans to eliminate more than 8,700 civilian jobs by the end of September 2012.
Army officials have instructed various commands to figure o... read more
JPMorgan Takes over Finances for Kentucky State Government
The bank that played a major role inflating the house bubble, and consequently helped cripple Wall Street in 2008, has become the state bank of Kentucky.
Name the financial transaction and JPMorgan Chase is now in charge of it: deposits, pay... read more
Christian Bishops Claim Alabama Immigration Law Criminalizes Being Good Samaritan
Alabama’s new anti-immigration law is so harsh it could turn Good Samaritans into outlaws, according to leaders in the Catholic, Episcopal and Methodist churches.
Three bishops and an archbishop are suing Governor Robert Bentley because they... read more
Former Classification Chief Files Complaint against Overclassification
You know the government has gone too far with classifying information when the person who spent more than three decades secreting away documents comes out and says enough is enough.
J. William Leonard, Washington’s former classification czar... read more
New “Less-Lethal” Weapons Spread to Police
Running amok in the streets is going to get a lot tougher if law enforcement picks up the latest crowd-control “toys” developed by the U.S. military.
One system under consideration by police is the Active Denial System (ADS), which operates ... read more
Environmentalists Fight Forest Service over Molybdenum Mining in Idaho
Environmentalists have taken the U.S. Forest Service to court over its approval of mineral mining in Idaho that, they say, could pollute local waterways and habitat.
With the approval of the Forest Service, Mosquito Consolidated Gold Mines o... read more
CIA Escapes Prosecution for Criminal Destruction of Torture Tapes
Amounting to less than a slap on the wrist, the CIA was ordered by a federal judge on Tuesday to reimburse the American Civil Liberties Union for legal fees after it failed to have the spy agency sanctioned for destroying evidence of torturing det... read more
Dept. of Transportation Refuses to Delay (Some) Passenger Rights Rules
Federal transportation officials have decided to not delay three “airline passenger rights” provisions from taking effect this year, much to the consternation of airlines and travel agents.
The new rules require airlines to pay customers mor... read more
Federal Court Approves Patenting of Human Genes
Opponents of patenting human genes lost a key battle in federal court this week, as a panel of judges overturned a lower court ruling that said the government could not exclusively restrict scientific work on DNA.
The U.S. Court of Appeals f... read more
Biden Charges Rent to Secret Service
The Secret Service pays (quite literally) for the duty of protecting Vice President Joe Biden.
Whenever Biden returns to his waterfront home in Wilmington, Delaware, Secret Service agents stay in a cottage on the property—and pay $2,200 a mo... read more
Air Force Halts “Jesus Loves Nuclear Weapons” Training for Missile Officers
For 20 years U.S. Air Force officers training to operate America’s missile silos were instructed on the morality of war and the launching of a nuclear attack—with the aid of quotes from the Bible and a former Nazi SS officer.
The two-decade ... read more
FDA Warns that Testing Company Falsified Data for 5 Years
Described as a potential nightmare for pharmaceutical companies, a Texas-based laboratory has been found by the Food and Drug Administration to have falsified data for clinical trials over a period of five years.
The findings by the FDA coul... read more
Black Men Safer in Prison than Out
Statistically-speaking, a black man is better off behind bars if he wants to live longer, according to a new study out of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After examining the health records of African-Americans inside and out... read more
Judge Slams Government Lawyers in Failed Whistleblower Case
Federal Judge Richard Bennett made it clear recently just how out-of-bounds the Obama administration was in going after former National Security Agency (NSA) official Thomas Drake for allegedly leaking classified information to the media.
Du... read more