Controversies
Pentagon Begins Massive Suicide Study
With more soldiers dying of suicide than in combat this year, the military is looking for a solution to this problem through a three-year, $50 million study. The study will include psychological assessments and DNA samples of half a million soldie... read more
Too Much Salt Costs U.S. $26 Billion in Health Care Costs a Year
A blander diet could mean a richer wallet for the United States, if only Americans could cut back on their salt intake. A new study conducted by researchers at the RAND Corporation found Americans consume about 3,400 milligrams of salt per day—whi... read more
Unregulated, Banks Prepare to Buy and Package Life Insurance Policies
No matter how many times Wall Street gets zapped by risky investment schemes, it seemingly has no limit for sticking its finger back into the light socket…and plugging in our fingers as well. Last year’s financial collapse triggered in large part ... read more
Denny’s Sued over Salt
Denny’s restaurant might be a “grand slam” of a deal, but the salt content of the food might be enough to strike out those with high blood pressure. A lawsuit filed by an Illinois man claims Denny’s food is dangerously high in salt, and that the r... read more
Vigilantes Gone Wild in Mississippi
Residents of Tallahatchie County in Mississippi recently endured an ugly flashback to the pre-Civil Rights era when a mostly white mob conducted a vigilante hunt for an African American accused of committing a burglary.
In the same county wher... read more
Mattel Allowed to Avoid Independent Safety Tests
Last summer, after numerous types of toys were recalled because of unsafe concentrations of lead, Congress mandated that all toy manufacturers submit their products to independent testing to ensure compliance with new safety rules. Among the compa... read more
How to Identify Phony “Grassroots” Groups on the Internet: Anne Landman
With front groups, defined as organizations that claim to represent one agenda while really serving another, popping up everywhere these days, Anne Landman at PR Watch has offered up ways to figure out who really is behind the likes of FACES of Co... read more
CIA Refuses to Release Original Bush Directive on Secret Prisons
Documents compiled by the CIA’s inspector general relating to the agency’s secret interrogation program will not be released, according to CIA’s National Clandestine Service office. The agency is refusing to turn over materials to a federal court ... read more
EPA Takes Aim at Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming
Following up on its promise in April to go after greenhouse gases, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday that it will declare carbon dioxide a dangerous pollutant if Congress does not act soon. EPA chief Lisa Jackson told la... read more
Mother Loses Baby in Mississippi Because She Doesn’t Speak English
Not knowing English apparently disqualifies a woman from being a good mother, according to some health officials in Mississippi. Cirila Baltazar Cruz is a 34-year-old illegal immigrant and restaurant worker from Mexico who speaks neither English n... read more
California Town Debates Naming Park after Famous Racist
Twenty years after his death, Nobel Prize-winning physicist William B. Shockley is still creating controversy because of his support for eugenics, the long discredited belief that intelligence is hereditary and racially based, thus justifying huma... read more
Forest Service Sued over Logging of Sequoias
The conservation group Sequoia Forestkeeper has sued to stop the U.S. Forest Service from logging 639 trees in the Giant Sequoia National Monument in the southern Sierra Nevada in Central California. The logging has been proposed by government for... read more
Wal-Mart Sued for Pushing Out IT Consultant Who Prayed in Men’s Room
All Mohammed Zakaria Memon wanted to do was pray five times a day while working as an IT consultant for Wal-Mart in their Arkansas-based corporate offices. But this rite of Islam was allegedly unacceptable to Wal-Mart, according to a lawsuit filed... read more
41% of Latinas Don’t Graduate High School On Time
Young Latinas do not lack for professional aspirations, but the inability of many to complete high school on time is preventing them from realizing their career goals. A new study sponsored by the National Women’s Law Center and the Mexican Americ... read more
20 From Camp Lejeune Marine Base Developed Male Breast Cancer, Blame Toxic Water
Less than 2,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States each year, compared with 192,000 cases for women. The rare occurrence of this condition in men has many wondering about the water supply at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, one... read more
How to Read vs. Love of Reading Ends “Reading Rainbow’s” 26-Year Run
Only Sesame Street and Mister Rogers have had longer runs on PBS than Reading Rainbow, which ended its more than two-and-a-half-decade broadcast history on Friday. The show, hosted by Lavar Burton and winner of two dozen Emmy awards, became a vict... read more