Top Stories
WikiLeaks Milestone: 1% of State Department Cables Released
For all the hoopla about the huge dump of State Department cables by WikiLeaks, you’d think that they had flooded the Internet with hundreds of thousands of unedited material. In fact, as of January 29, WikiLeaks had released a mere 1% of the ca... read more
Arizona Declares Judicial Emergency due to Shortage of Judges
Things had already reached a state of critical mass with the overloaded federal courts in Arizona when Jared Lee Loughner shot U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others, including John Roll, the state’s senior judge, who died. But the... read more
Unlike Other Nations, in U.S. Corporate Profits Have Recovered, but Jobs Have Not
The Great Recession is over for corporate America, but will still be felt by working Americans for years to come.
The most recent data available shows profits for Big Business are 12% above what they were in late 2007, demonstrating that cor... read more
Bill to Give Obama (and Future Presidents) Right to Shut Down Internet is Back in Congress
The Internet “kill switch” is coming back for consideration in the U.S. Senate. Having first been introduced last summer, the legislation, reintroduced by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), would give the preside... read more
Coming to a Neighborhood Near You…Drones You Can’t See
Drones, a mainstay in modern warfare for the American military, may soon become equally commonplace in U.S. law enforcement efforts.
The unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft widely used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are now utilized, in ... read more
Wall Street More to Blame for Mortgage Mess than Fannie and Freddie
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not the lead culprits that brought the financial and housing sectors to their knees, as many politicians and critics claim.
The two government-chartered mortgage underwriters played second fidd... read more
Doctors Alarmed by Military’s Use of Mind Drugs on Troops
Medical professionals have expressed serious concerns about the U.S. military’s dispensing of antipsychotic drugs to combat soldiers and other personnel.
The U.S. Central Command allows, under its drug formulary, for troops struggling from s... read more
Florida Tomato Pickers Finally Win Long Struggle for Penny-a-Pound Pay Raise
A farmworkers’ union, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, a trade association representing 90% of Florida’s tomato growers, agreed to a comprehensive agreement that includes paying pickers a penny more fo... read more
JPMorgan Chase Agrees to Pay Troops for Mortgage Interest Overcharging
Americans serving their country in the armed forces are supposed to catch a break from banks when it comes to mortgage rates. But JPMorgan Chase somehow lost sight of this federal requirement, and not only overcharged thousands of military perso... read more
Did Cyber Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Program Launch a New Era of Non-Violent Warfare?
Unable to attack Iran’s secret, fortified nuclear weapons program with conventional means, Israel and the United States may have turned to a new form of computer warfare to achieve what used to be left to military air strikes.
Experts believ... read more
Obama Justice Dept. Defends Marriage for Man and Woman Only
The Obama administration is continuing its defense of the federal law banning gay marriage, claiming the controversial statute is consistent with the U.S. Constitution.
Last July, a district court in Massachusetts struck down the Defense of ... read more
U.S. Starts to Call in Loans to States for Unemployment Benefits
Things are not getting any easier for cash-strapped state governments. On top of the $82 billion deficit that states collectively face, more than half of them will soon have to pay interest on billion-dollar loans from the federal government to ... read more
WikiLeaks Helps Overthrow Dictator in Tunisia
For the first time in history, an Arab dictator has been overthrown by a popular revolution. On Saturday, January 15, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia—another Arab dictatorship—after a widespread upri... read more
EPA Stops Largest Mountaintop Removal Mine
For first time in its history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rescinded a clean water permit for a coal mining operation, a move that is likely to provoke backlash from the industry.
The decision in effect kills the Spruc... read more
Obama Continues Bush Policy Blocking Tracing of Guns Used in Crimes
For the past seven years, federal law has severely limited the tracing of gun sales by merchants, keeping researchers and the public in the dark over unscrupulous stores that sell to criminals. President Barack Obama vowed during the 2008 campai... read more
Taxes to Go Up for Lowest-Income Americans
It turns out that the great tax compromise hammered out between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans will not prevent taxes from going up for many Americans, mainly low-income earners.
An analysis of the tax bill by the Urban... read more