Top Stories
Teen Pregnancy Rate Lowest in At Least 90 Years
After experiencing its highest teen pregnancy rates, the United States is now witnessing its lowest in at least nine decades.
In 1990 the rate of teenagers becoming pregnant (116.9 per 1,000 individuals) reached a modern high. Since then, the ... read more
House of Representatives Waters Down Insider Trading Bill to Protect “Consultants”
Ignoring the wishes of their counterparts in the Senate, the House of Representatives on Thursday adopted an ethics bill that lets private industry consultants who take advantage of legislative intelligence off the hook.
The Stop Trading on Co... read more
33 Members of Congress Directed Federal Projects within 2 Miles of Own Property
Another example (33 to be precise) of why earmarks are a bad idea has come by way of a Washington Post investigation.
After going through congressional records on spending, the newspaper found 33 representatives and senators had directed more ... read more
U.S. Constitution Losing Influence as Model for Other Nations
Once the standard by which new governments modeled their own public contract with citizens, the U.S. Constitution is losing its appeals with other countries, particularly regarding human rights.
Three decades ago, it was estimated that 160 nat... read more
Petraeus and Obama Accused of Lying to Public about Afghanistan War Situation
After his second deployment to Afghanistan, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis came to the conclusion that things were not going well for the U.S. and that the Obama administration had misled the public on the war’s progress.
Instead of... read more
New York Sues 3 Major Banks over Mortgage Fraud
The business practices of America’s banks and other mortgage holders are under fresh legal attack, as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a suit against Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase in New York State Supreme Co... read more
Hackers Hack FBI-Scotland Yard Phone Call about Hackers
Score one for the hackers in the ongoing war between them and government and corporate officials. The online group “Anonymous,” which engages in collaborative, international hacktivism, often to retaliate against anti-digital sharing campaigns by ... read more
Black Americans Given Longer Sentences than White Americans for Same Crimes
A new academic study of 58,000 federal criminal cases has found significant disparities in sentencing for blacks and whites arrested for the same crimes. The research led to the conclusion that African-Americans’ jail time was almost 60% longer th... read more
Romney vs. Obama: Million-Dollar Donors vs. Bundlers
While many experts have predicted that President Barack Obama will ultimately out-fundraise his Republican opponent in the 2012 presidential race, GOP front-runner Mitt Romney isn’t doing badly for himself.
Romney’s super PAC, Restore Our Futu... read more
Obama Administration Making it Harder for Military Families to Sue for Medical Malpractice
In defending the U.S. military’s medical system in court, the U.S. Department of Justice is arguing that service personnel and their families are not allowed to sue for medical malpractice regardless of the circumstance.
As a general rule, mil... read more
Are American Cities Still Segregated?
“All-white neighborhoods are effectively extinct. A half-century ago, one-fifth of America’s urban neighborhoods had exactly zero black residents. Today, African-American residents can be found in 199 out of every 200 neighborhoods nationwide. The... read more
Former FDA Scientists and Doctors Sue FDA over Secret Surveillance
After nine employees went to Congress to complain about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approval of unsafe medical devices, the FDA spied on the whistleblowers for two years, according to a lawsuit file by six of them.
The scientists ... read more
Did Saudi Prince’s Investment Lead Twitter to Please Dictatorships by Allowing Government Censorship?
Just a month after Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal invested $300 million in social networking company Twitter, it announced that it would begin censoring content, alarming free speech advocates around the world. In a public blog post, ironically t... read more
Brazilian Mining Company Edges Japan’s Tepco in Vote for World’s Worst Corporation
Based on votes submitted by 88,000 people worldwide, Brazilian mining company Vale has been named the world’s worst corporation for 2011. Sponsored by Berne Declaration and Greenpeace, since 2000, the Public Eye Award has highlighted corporate abu... read more
FBI Stepping Up Monitoring of Social Media
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is creating a spy system that will allow it to monitor social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter.
FBI analysts are hoping to pick up tips about future terrorist threats by examining “public... read more
USDA Upgrades School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, but Pizza Still a Vegetable
At the urging of First Lady Michelle Obama, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has adopted the first substantial changes to school meals in 15 years.
The new standards, set out in a 280-page document, call for adding more vegetables and... read more