Top Stories
9/11 Memorial Photos: The Night Before
New York Neighbors for Community Values held a candlelight vigil on September 10, 2010.
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Appeals Court Gives Bush and Obama 6-5 Victory in Right to Torture Case
In a decision that pitted human rights versus national security, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday in favor of the Obama administration’s policy of keeping secret the details of the Bush-era torture of detainees by the CIA.
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Republican Leadership’s Successful Fight to Keep Judgeships Vacant
A combination of payback and partisanship is causing judicial appointments by President Barack Obama to pile up in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans are either stalling or refusing to confirm nominees for the federal bench.
In fact, Preside... read more
12-Year-Long Lawsuit by Hospitals against Tobacco Companies Inches Towards Jury Selection
Hospitals in St. Louis are expecting to finally go to trial against the tobacco industry next January in what is expected to be one of the longest civil trials in city history.
Due to the fact that the trial may last six to seven months, the... read more
5 States Pay Their Own Way; The Other 45 are Subsidized by the Federal Government
Believe it or not, there are actually five states that contribute more in revenues to the U.S. government than they get back in federal spending. According to figures from Fiscal Year 2009, those states are:
· Connecticut
· Delawa... read more
Employers Shifting More Health Insurance Costs to Employees
By shifting more health insurance costs to workers, businesses are enjoying a double benefit for their balance sheet. Making employees with families pay a higher portion of premiums reduces the company’s share of insurance expenses. In addition, s... read more
First Army Clergyman Killed in Action in 40 Years
Captain Dale A. Goetz became the first U.S. Army chaplain to die in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Goetz, 43, was killed on August 30 in Afghanistan after he hitched a ride with a supply convoy in the Arghandab River Valley. The vehicle that the ca... read more
Job Market Grows…in Low-Wage Industries
The good news is that over the past seven months the private sector has added 630,000 jobs, demonstrating that there are some employment opportunities available to out-of-work Americans. The bad news is that that represents only 7.4% of the jobs l... read more
Ground Zero Mosque Developer Not the Greatest Landlord
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Muslim cleric who wants to build a $100 million mosque and community center near Ground Zero in New York City, has received a lot of attention relating to his religious beliefs, but there is another aspect of his life t... read more
Rate of Those Who Lost Jobs But Found a New One Drops to Record Low
The economy has produced yet another black milestone for unemployment. As of January 2010, 49% of the 6.9 million Americans who lost jobs they had held for at least three years had found new jobs—the lowest reemployment rate on record, according t... read more
Banks Win Another Loophole to Gamble with Clients’ Money
Banks can no longer gamble with their own money in the stock market as a result of new rules imposed by Congress. But there’s nothing that says financial institutions can’t take the same risks with other peoples’ money.
Proprietary trading is ... read more
Thousands in New Orleans Living in Abandoned Buildings
Homelessness has nearly doubled in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, even though only 80% of the city’s population has returned since the 2005 disaster. An investigation by the non-profit Unity of Greater New Orleans organization also discovere... read more
Court Rules that Your Driveway is Not Private Property…Unless You’re Rich
Law enforcement can enter the driveways of people suspected of criminal behavior and attach tracking devices to their cars, all without a warrant, says a panel of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision runs contrary to other le... read more
U.S. Birth Rate Lowest in History
With so many Americans struggling to get by, the United States has experienced a drop in births for the second year in a row, to the lowest level in the nation’s history. The U.S. birth rate fell in 2009 to 13.5 per 1,000 population—a marked decli... read more
Coal Waste Contaminates Water in 21 States
While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers whether to impose new federal regulations on coal ash, a new report shows the waste is a bigger problem than previously reported.
The study, produced by the Environmental Integrity Proje... read more
GAO Says Federal Agencies are Too Cozy with Same Old Contractors
Too much of the U.S. government has established a bad habit of doing business again and again with the same contractors, resulting in inefficiencies and lost opportunities to save money. The Government Accountability Office came to this conclusion... read more