Top Stories
Treasury Dept. Allows U.S. Companies to Sell “Humanitarian” Gum, Popcorn, Cake Sprinkles to Iran
American companies aren’t supposed to be doing business with Iran or other nations hit with economic sanctions, unless they’re providing food or humanitarian aid. But thanks to a broadly written law whose original intent was to limit exports to ... read more
BP Oil Deal Behind Release of Lockerbie Bomber: Senate Report
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, was not released from prison in Scotland and returned home to Libya because he was near death, contend four U.S. senators. Rather, al-Megrahi was freed in large part because of a l... read more
As WikiLeaks Prepares for Bank Exposure, Federal Regulators Cringe
Bank regulators in Washington may cringe as much as those running the financial institution targeted for the next WikiLeaks bombshell.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has promised to release “tens of thousands” of internal documents from a ... read more
Supreme Court Hearts Big Business
Both statistical and anecdotal evidence suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is the most business-friendly of any Supreme Court in the last 50 years.
A study prepared for The New York Times by legal scholars ... read more
U.S. Funding the Taliban through Warlord Protection Racket
While American soldiers are fighting and dying to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, U.S. tax dollars are winding up in the hands of the enemy as a result of relying on foreign contractors to help move supplies around the country.
A six-mont... read more
Mine Safety Bill Defeated
Nine months after the worst coal mining disaster in decades, the U.S. House of Representatives has squandered an opportunity to strengthen federal regulation of mine operations.
The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act, named after the ... read more
U.S. Court Rules Warrants Needed to Spy on Emails
If the government wants to see your emails stored by an Internet service provider, they first will have to get a warrant. The government used to skip getting a warrant, based on a 1986 law, the Stored Communications Act, granting such power. But... read more
Top 10 Fraud Recoveries All Came from Health Care Companies
Every one of the top fraud settlements reached last year by the federal government involved health care, including eight cases involving pharmaceutical companies. The largest amount recovered was $600 million from Allergan for illegally marketing ... read more
Tax Cuts for Rich Don’t Create Jobs…Period
Born of political compromise, the agreement to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy is supported by President Barack Obama, even though he admits the tax breaks won’t help the unemployment situation.
“The issue here is not whether I ... read more
Wanted: More Computer Security and Cyber Attack Students
The United States could soon have a geek gap on its hands unless it starts graduating more computer science majors.
At time when computer hacking and security have become crucial issues for the government and the private sector, the U.S. is ... read more
FBI Tries to Delay Release of Anthrax Attack Report
The FBI had over a year to turn over all documents pertaining to its investigation of the 2001 Anthrax attacks to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which was asked by Congress to review the controversial case. But now, just as the NAS is pre... read more
No U.S. Law against WikiLeaks Publishing Diplomatic Cables
The Obama administration and some members of Congress have been making noise about prosecuting Julian Assange (assuming he could be extradited to the U.S.) for publishing classified government documents on his website, WikiLeaks. But no U.S. law c... read more
Congressional Research Service Blocked from Using State Dept. Cables to Advise Congress
Known as the so-called “brain of Congress,” the Congressional Research Service (CRS) is being denied access to the thousands of State Department cables illegally released by WikiLeaks. As an arm of the Library of Congress, CRS is unable to revie... read more
Rich Middle East Arabs Continue to Fund Terrorist Groups
Publicly, U.S. government officials have said they’re making progress in their attempts to cut off international funding of terrorist organizations. Privately, they tell a much different story.
A classified communiqué from Secretary of State... read more
Stock Market Taken over by Computers
Location, location, location … it’s not just the most important aspect of real estate but soon the stock market as well.
The longstanding image of traders on an exchange floor buying and selling is giving way to the ultra-fast wizardry of co... read more
Federal Reserve Finally Forced to Reveal What it Did with $3.3 Trillion
For two years, politicians and the media have been expressing opinions about the $700 billion set aside for the “Wall Street Bailout” by the Treasury Department and about the bailouts of mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But that ... read more