Top Stories
Regulators Ignored JPMorgan Unit that Lost Billions
As Congress and the Executive branch investigate the recent trading disaster at the nation’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), many are asking what role bank regulators played in the debacle, expected to cost JPM between $2 billion and $7 bill... read more
SEC in the Pocket of Huge Serial Violators, Brags about Catching Small Fry Companies
Why aim high when it’s so much easier to bust the little guy? That’s the approach being employed these days by those running the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone.
Taibbi has drawn attention ... read more
CIA Publication Review Board Accused of Politically-Motivated Censorship
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of playing favorites when it comes to clearing material in books authored by former government officials.
At the center of the controversy is the CIA’s Publications Review Board, which i... read more
Obama Administration Stonewalls Declassification of Secret Court Rulings
The Obama administration was supposed to begin declassifying key rulings of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) two years ago. But to date nothing has been made available.
The court is responsible for hearing requests by federal... read more
Is Obama the Real One-Man Death Panel for Alleged Terrorists?
When it comes to authorizing the killing of terrorists, including American citizens by U.S. forces, the buck really does stop with President Barack Obama.
John Brennan, Obama’s counter-terrorism chief, has been portrayed recently as the one-ma... read more
Obama Administration Steps up Deportations in an Election Year…Again
For the second consecutive election, the Obama administration has touted efforts to arrest illegal immigrants with criminal records.
Six months before voters decide whether to grant President Barack Obama a second term, the Immigration and Cus... read more
Congress Insists on Increasing Funding of General Dynamics Tank Despite Pentagon Pleas that It’s not Needed
“We don’t need the tanks,” was the message delivered to Congress in March by Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno and Army Secretary John McHugh, who were criticizing calls to force the Army to spend more than it proposed on the M1A2, the w... read more
Congress Blocks Use of Alternative Fuels for the Military
Despite testimony from the Pentagon’s top leaders that energy diversification is a key component of American military and security strategy, the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 24 voted 13-12 to prohibit the U.S. military from buying biofu... read more
If Violent Crime Rate is at 40-Year Low, Why is U.S. Spending S100 Billion a Year on Police?
From the amount of money spent each year in the United States on law enforcement, one might assume crime continues to be a growing problem.
But that’s not the case at all.
Crime rates today are at their lowest levels in 30 years and the ra... read more
Last Year Saw Most Large Strikes and Lockouts in 4 Years
The year 2011 was the most active in four years in terms of strikes and lockouts across the United States.
There were a total of 19 major work stoppages in 2011 involving 1,000 or more employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BL... read more
Senate Reports U.S. Weapons Systems Contaminated with Fake Parts from China
At least one million parts used in U.S. military aircraft, vehicles and other hardware were produced by overseas counterfeiters in China and other countries.
A 14-month investigation by a U.S. Senate committee found Chinese companies were the ... read more
Chinese Firm Buys AMC Movie Theater Chain in Largest Sale Ever of U.S. Company to China
In another first for China, the Asian giant’s largest entertainment group has reached a deal to purchase the second biggest theater chain in the U.S., making the sale the largest to date of an American business to the Chinese.
The Dalian Wanda... read more
Mothers of Murder Victims Pay for Billboards of their Lost Relatives
Mothers for Justice and Equality, a Boston-based advocacy group, is sponsoring billboards around the city that carry the message that it’s time to stop the killings in minority neighborhoods.
Accompanying photos of murder victims, the billboar... read more
U.S. Has Spent $642 Billion on Afghan War, Including almost $200 Billion for This Year and Next
While Washington’s rhetoric has focused recently on the coming end to the war in Afghanistan, its spending on the conflict is not at all waning.
Between this year and next, the federal government plans to spend nearly $200 billion on the war. ... read more
Another $250 Million Spent on a Missile Defense System (Almost) No One Wants
The Department of Defense has refused to give up on a costly missile defense system that has yet to prove its worthiness for the battlefield, arguing that hundreds of millions of dollars more should be spent to keep the program alive.
The prog... read more
White Births in U.S. Drop below 50% of Total
In another sign of the coming end of the United States’ Caucasian orientation, the majority of babies born last year were minorities—a first in American history.
Just over half (50.4%) of the U.S. population younger than age 1 were minorities ... read more