Top Stories
U.S. Marines to Take over Dangerous Afghanistan District from U.K.
Nearly one-third of all military losses suffered by the United Kingdom in Afghanistan have come in the Sangin district of Helmand Province. Deciding that they have had enough, the British are now planning to pull out of Sangin by the end of this y... read more
Oil Industry Gains Billions of Dollars in Government Subsidies
Oil industry lobbyists are decrying a proposed new tax on the industry to pay for the cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico disaster—while at the same time their clients reap huge subsidies from the federal government.
An investigation by The New York... read more
Oil Spill Tar Balls Likely to Spread to Florida Keys and Miami
Scientific modeling by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicates oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill is likely to reach Southern Florida, although scientists predict that by that time the petroleum will probably have broke... read more
Iraq Troop “Withdrawal” Really Just a Rebranding of Operations
What’s the difference between “combat operations” and “stability operations?” Other than one word, not much, when it comes to the U.S. military role in Iraq.
Next month, the U.S. will officially end combat operations in the country it invaded ... read more
Defense Bill Would Allow Abortions at Military Hospitals
Female members of the armed services currently don’t have access to abortion procedures at military hospitals, including facilities overseas that provide the only source of medical care for soldiers. But legislation passed 15-12 by the Senate Arme... read more
Long-Term Unemployment Rate at Record High
About 40% of all unemployed workers had been jobless for six months or longer by the end of 2009—the highest rate ever recorded by the federal government going back to 1948. This percentage of long-term unemployed represented 6.1 million Americans... read more
Big Companies Allowed to Monitor Their Own Compliance with Bailout Rules
Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP), does not think much of the way the Department of the Treasury has stayed on top of financial institutions that were bailed out by the government during the f... read more
Billions in Cash Shipped out of Afghanistan
Top officials in the Afghanistan government are helping funnel billions of dollars out of the country, say U.S. investigators. Members of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration sent to Afghanistan estimate ... read more
Forrest Gump’s Shrimping Grounds Shut Down by BP Spill
In the film Forrest Gump (and the novel by Winston Groom), Forrest starts a shrimping business in the small Alabama fishing town of Bayou La Batre. Bayou La Batre is a real place, and it is now struggling to survive in the wake of the gulf oil spi... read more
Secrecy Costing U.S. More Than $10 Billion a Year
Everything seems to go up in price these days—food, clothing, gasoline, even government secrets. A new report from an obscure federal operation (the Information Security Oversight Office) says Washington is now spending at least $9.93 billion to k... read more
CIA Still Giving Business to Blackwater/Xe
Xe Services, the new name for the controversial security firm Blackwater, is not hurting for business these days with the U.S. government. Despite getting thrown out of Iraq, and facing criminal and civil cases for its involvement in a deadly fire... read more
Deadliest Month Yet for Allied Troops in 9-Year Afghan War
This week was one of the toughest yet for the eight-year war in Afghanistan. On the same day the White House announced the removal of General Stanley McChrystal as the top American commander, news filtered out that June was already the worst month... read more
U.S. Home Sales Slump to Record Low
The housing market outdid even pessimists’ worst predictions for May, when only 300,000 homes were sold nationwide. The drop was attributed to the federal tax credit for home buyers, which had helped boost sales, expiring in April. Without it, pot... read more
Does Apple Give Orders to California Law Enforcement?
Unhappy that a blogger got a hold of an iPhone prototype, Apple convinced a special police unit to raid the home of a journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Officers from California’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) in San Ma... read more
Federal Agency Ignored Advice of Own Experts about Oil Rig’s Last Line of Defense
Known as the “blind shear ram,” this piece of equipment at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was supposed to prevent the oil well that exploded from spewing out of control millions of gallons of oil. But the blind shear ram, which is meant to cut t... read more
Pentagon Buys Russian Helicopters to Use in Afghanistan
Instead of buying American to equip Afghanistan’s air force, the U.S. Department of Defense decided to purchase helicopters from Russia. Not surprisingly perhaps, this decision has not gone over well with members of Congress.
So far, the Penta... read more