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Chinese Government Buys $2 Billion Share of Texas Oil and Gas Fields
When the Chinese government-owned energy company Cnooc (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) tried to buy the U.S. oil company Unocal back in 2005, it was forced to withdraw its bid because of national security concerns in the U.S. Five year... read more
Obama Signing Statement Rejects Wider Sharing of Intelligence Info with Congress
President Barack Obama continues to refuse to notify the full House and Senate Intelligence Committees about covert operations, reaffirming his position in a signing statement attached to his approval of an intelligence authorization bill recent... read more
One-Third of Workers Under 35 Live with Parents
The plight of young American workers today is not promising. A survey sponsored by the AFL-CIO found that a third of the labor force under 35 lives at home and is lacking health care benefits and job security. For those with annual incomes under... read more
Debtors’ Prisons Make a Comeback…in the U.S.
America’s jails are increasingly becoming de facto debtors’ prisons as the legal system levies more fees than ever on individuals who wind up behind bars simply because they can’t pay their bills or the administrative penalties imposed by judges... read more
Gas Pipeline Emergency Plans Not Available to Public
There’s no way to know for sure if Pacific Gas & Electric had adequate emergency response plans in place to address accidents like the one that devastated part of San Bruno, California, on September 9, when a PG&E underground gas line led to an ... read more
Pentagon Goes Solar in War
While Congress dithers over legislation expanding the use of renewable energy, the U.S. military is moving ahead with solar-powered systems and other non-fossil fuel ways to win America’s wars.
The reasoning behind this dramatic change has t... read more
Campaign Spending Donors Go Secret
With limits on campaign contributions by corporations and unions lifted by a key court ruling earlier this year, the 2010 midterm elections are featuring a spending spree by big-money interests who are largely disguising their activities.
Th... read more
Traffic Deaths Hit 60-Year Low
Despite the fact Americans logged more miles on the nation’s highways, traffic fatalities in 2009 reached the lowest level in six decades. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 33,808 vehicle deaths occurred last year, the ... read more
Bush Tax Cuts Actually Helped Foreign Business more than U.S.
The real winners of the Bush-era tax cuts were not American businesses, but those overseas. An assessment by the Financial Times of President George W. Bush’s tax breaks passed in 2001 and 2003 found that they did little to boost U.S. business i... read more
Pastors Defy Law to Preach Politics
The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group, is daring the IRS to enforce a federal law banning religious leaders of tax-exempt churches from espousing political messages to their congregations. Their taunting this year involved al... read more
1 of 9 Black Children in U.S. Has a Parent in Prison
America’s growing prison population over the last several decades has resulted in more and more children growing up without a parent, most often a father being the one behind bars.
A report from the Pew Charitable Trusts reveals that more th... read more
For First Time, More 25-34-Year-Olds are Unmarried than Married
Not since 1880, when the U.S. government first began keeping matrimonial statistics, has the country had more single people between the ages of 25 and 34 than married ones—until 2009 rolled around. As of last year, the rate of unmarried in this ... read more
Income Inequality in U.S. Reaches Record High
The gap between rich and poor Americans grew wider than ever last year, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Those making more than $100,000 annually (the top 20% of the population) received 49.4% of all income generated in 2009,... read more
Massey Officials File Suit to Avoid Testifying about Mine Disaster
Six members of Massey Energy’s management are balking at testifying before state and federal investigators trying to determine the cause of the Upper Big Branch Mine accident that killed 29 miners, the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in 40 y... read more
Justice Dept. Asks Judge to Keep Enforcing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in Gay Republican Case
Having lost a key ruling in federal court involving the government’s ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, the Obama administration continues to fight the outlawing of “don’t ask, don’t tell” despite the president’s insistence he wa... read more
Republican Senate Minority Blocks Corporate Campaign Finance Disclosure Bill
Democrats in the U.S. Senate have so far been unable to overcome Republican opposition to campaign disclosure legislation designed to address unlimited spending by corporations and unions on elections since a key court decision was handed down e... read more