Controversies
Pentagon Ignores Congressional Order on Brain Tests for Returning Troops
The Department of Defense was told by Congress in 2008 to administer tests to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in order to check for possible brain injuries. But more than half a million troops have not received such screening upon com... read more
Congressional Ethics Office Investigates 8 Members for Fundraising on Eve of Wall Street Reform Vote
Forty-eight hours before the House voted in December on a reform plan affecting the financial industry, at least eight lawmakers held fundraisers or received substantial contributions from special interests that had a stake in the legislation. Tho... read more
BP Hires Private Security to Keep Away Media
Acting as though it has martial-law authority, BP has hired private security to guard beaches contaminated by the oil spill—and in the process prevented journalists from interviewing clean-up crews.
For two days in a row, news anchor Scott Wal... read more
Are Drones Coming to U.S. Skies?
It likely is just a matter of time before unmanned aircraft, including the type being used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, are flying over America’s friendly skies. State and federal officials, especially the Department of Homeland Security, ar... read more
Somali Militants Kill Two for Watching World Cup on TV
Watching the World Cup can be bad for your help, if you live in Somalia. On June 12, Islamic fundamentalists of the Hezbal Islam rebel group killed two Somalis who were watching the soccer match between Argentina and Nigeria in a home near Mogadis... read more
Oil Spill Forces Shutdown of 134-Year-Old Oyster Supplier
It survived Hurricane Camille in 1969. It survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It survived more than a century’s worth of economic recessions and depressions. But P&J Oyster Company couldn’t withstand the oil spill of 2010.
First opened for bus... read more
Japan Accused of Trading Money and Sex for Whaling Votes
Japan’s effort to overturn the moratorium on commercial whaling may have hit a snag following an investigation by the Sunday Times of London that found Japanese officials are bribing officials on the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
Pos... read more
Arizona Immigration Law Succeeds in Driving Hispanics out of State
Hispanics are exiting Arizona before the state’s controversial immigration law goes into effect in July. Citing anecdotal evidence, USA Today reported that schools in Hispanic neighborhoods are experiencing unusual declines in enrollment and busin... read more
5 New Orleans Police Officers Indicted in Henry Glover Murder Case
Federal prosecutors filed indictments on Friday against five current or former New Orleans police officers for the killing of Henry Glover days after Hurricane Katrina in September 2, 2005. The U.S. Department of Justice claims rookie officer Davi... read more
Coast Guard Puts Out Call for Private Sector Solutions to Oil Spill
Perhaps bowing to public pressure to stop the oil spill, the U.S. Coast Guard has decided to reverse its earlier position to not reach out to the private sector for solutions to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. The Coast Guard Research and Develop... read more
Mississippi Man Tried for Sixth Time for Same Crime
So much for double jeopardy. The provision in law that forbids an individual from being tried twice for the same crime has not applied to Curtis Flowers. The African-American man is now facing his sixth trial for allegedly killing four people at a... read more
211 Bodies Misplaced and Misidentified at Arlington Cemetery
At least 211 graves at Arlington National Cemetery have been mishandled, provoking scorn and promises of investigation by lawmakers in Congress. The discovery was made by the inspector general for the U.S. Army who found remains interred at the hi... read more
FTC Cracks Down on Another Dubious Claim by Kellogg
The Federal Trade Commission is not letting up on the Kellogg Company, the world’s largest cereal producer. Executives have agreed to stop marketing Rice Krispies as a food that boosts the immune systems of children after FTC regulators filed a co... read more
Surprise: FBI Figures Show Border Cities Less Violent than Rest of U.S.
Is the United States’ side of the border with Mexico a region of dwindling crime and violence, or an exploding threat to American national security? Statistics would say it’s the former, but political rhetoric the latter.
A report from the FBI... read more
Obama Leaves CIA Watchdog Post Vacant
If there’s one agency in the federal government whose secretive nature cries out for internal oversight, it’s the CIA. And yet it is this very same spy operation that has gone without an inspector general for more than a year.
Former CIA watch... read more
More Americans in Jail than in Alaska and More in State Prisons than in New Hampshire
Incarceration levels in U.S. jails and prisons are in decline, with state penitentiaries recording their first year-to-year reduction since 1972. But even with the shrinking numbers in jail and prison populations, the country still has more Americ... read more