Top Stories
Republicans Ruling in Wisconsin and Democrats Ruling in Connecticut Race in Opposite Directions
The distance from Wisconsin to Connecticut is not as great as their political divide.
While one state, with Republicans in control of the state capital, is piling up conservative legislative victories, the other, under Democratic control, is... read more
Dept. of Agriculture Now Allows Schools to Buy Local Fruits and Vegetables
School officials can now request locally-grown fresh produce through a federal program designed to provide children with healthy foods.
Thanks to a policy change by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, school districts can specify that they w... read more
Main Cause of Foreclosures Turns from Bad Mortgages to Unemployment
While the Obama administration has continued to focus its mortgage relief program, the Home Affordable Modification Program, on the problem of risky loans, the biggest cause of foreclosures these days is actually unemployment.
With the natio... read more
Preventing another Financial Collapse? Beware of the Fine Print
Long on paper but also long on loopholes, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act adopted by congressional Democrats a year ago is now in the hands of regulators charged with implementing the sprawling legislation that was ... read more
Is the Justice System Finally Closing in on Goldman Sachs over Financial Fraud?
Goldman Sachs reportedly has been subpoenaed by the Manhattan district attorney, who is investigating the investment bank’s role in the financial crisis.
Wall Street critics have accused Goldman of knowingly selling bundles of bad mortgages ... read more
10 Worst Villains Still on the Loose
Osama bin Laden is dead, and Ratko Mladić is under arrest, but terrorism and war crimes continue to dominate the list of the world’s most wanted fugitives.
War Criminals:
Omar al-Bashir
The president of Sudan, Bashir is the only current worl... read more
Mexico Accuses U.S. Companies of Buying Stolen Natural Gas Products from Drug Cartels
Mexico’s national oil company, Pemex, is suing a collection of American oil and pipeline companies claiming that they have purchased stolen natural gas products from drug cartels.
In the northeast of Mexico, drug bandits have been hijacking ... read more
Want a Job? Go to Bismarck, N.D., but Stay Away from El Centro, Calif.
It may not be as alluring as California in some respects, but North Dakota has something that would make millions of Californians envious: jobs.
Bismarck and Fargo have the lowest unemployment rates in the nation: 2.9% and 3.7%, respectively... read more
Pentagon Classifies Cyber-Attack as Act of War
Having already been the victim of hackers of foreign origin, the Department of Defense has prepared a new doctrine declaring cyber-attacks an act of war that can warrant a conventional military response.
The development of the new cyber stra... read more
Carbon Dioxide Emissions at Record High
Worldwide emissions of carbon-dioxide increased to record levels last year, prompting scientists to warn that current energy production could make it difficult to meet the goal for slowing down the rate of global warming.
In 2010, CO2 emissi... read more
Ominous Security Breach at Lockheed
The effects of hackers who infiltrated a computer security firm in March are still being felt, this time at Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors.
EMC Corp’s RSA security division was hacked two months ago, leaving vulnerable numerou... read more
Percentage of African-American Adult Men with Jobs Hits Record Low
In the nearly 40 years that the government has been keeping track of employment rates for African-Americans, the percentage of adult black men with jobs had never fallen below 60%. But in February 2009, the first month of the first term of the n... read more
10 Most Popular AllGov Articles-May 2011
If AllGov readers are any indication, the dominant concerns in May have been peace, jobs and the end of the world, although health care and dictators were not far behind.
1. Iceland Ranked World’s Most Peaceful Nation, Somalia Worst; U.S. Impr... read more
GM and Chrysler Bailouts Freed Them from Paying Accident Victims
When General Motors and Chrysler were bailed out by the Obama administration, they received not only billion-dollar deals, but also a get-out-jail-free-card for auto liability lawsuits.
Today, the newly reborn car makers don’t have to pay th... read more
Federal Reserve Gave Big Banks Enormous Secret Loans at Ridiculous Rates
During the financial crisis of 2008, the Federal Reserve made short-term loans worth at least $100 billion to banks without bothering to tell shareholders or Congress. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), who co-authored the 2010 financial regulat... read more
Vermont Becomes First State to Move Towards Single-Payer Health Care
Vermont is on its way to establishing the nation’s first single-payer health care system—the proposed national version of which is known as “Medicare for All.” But how the state actually gets there and begins operating the program is unclear, beca... read more