Top Stories
Only 41 of 535 Members of Congress Sponsored Bills That Cut Net Spending in 2007-2008
Democrats promised after taking control of Congress in 2007 to be more fiscally responsible than Republicans. But an analysis of all legislation introduced since then shows the new boss is pretty much the same as the old boss, according to Demian ... read more
Hillary Clinton Translated: Karzai’s Our Man; Let’s Talk About Something Else
The United States’ resolve to back President Hamid Karzai showed no signs of wavering over the weekend even while serious concerns continued to be expressed over the legitimacy of Afghanistan’s ruler. On November 2, Afghanistan's Independent Elect... read more
Obama Proposes Giving President Sole Power for Future Bailouts
Democratic and Republican lawmakers reacted negatively on Thursday to the Obama administration’s new regulatory plan for banks, citing provisions that would give the Executive Branch greater powers to bail out teetering institutions without the pu... read more
For 18 to 24-Year-Olds, Employment Down, College Up
With jobs harder to come by than at any other time since the late 1940s, young Americans are turning to college in droves. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows enrollment at two-year and four-year institutions of higher learning is its highest e... read more
Public Option Already Exists; ProPublica Compares Examples
When Washington gets so obsessed with a subject like health care reform and the merits of adopting a “public option,” the reality that something similar already exists can easily be overshadowed and forgotten. ProPublica
decided to remind everyon... read more
The Strange World of Killing by Remote Control
“Combat as shift work” is proving to have its own psychological problems for the men and women who remotely pilot the Predator and Reaper drones used in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Sitting safely in control rooms thousands of miles away from th... read more
No U.S. Human Space Travel for at Least 7 Years
Not since 1972 has the United States sent astronauts beyond the low-earth orbits of space shuttle missions, and it will be at least another seven years before the next generation of exploration begins. The Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans C... read more
Chicago Prosecutors Subpoena Students’ Grades
The Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University has been a thorn for Chicago police and prosecutors for more than a decade, helping uncover evidence leading to the release of 11 inmates. So the Cook County state’s attorney office is now fi... read more
Using Music for Torture…Musicians Fight Back
A host of prominent musicians spoke out on Saturday against the use of music to torture detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo—long after revelations first surfaced of the government’s tactic of blasting rock and pop songs during interrogat... read more
Good News for Polar Bears…Bad News for Oil Companies
Regardless of the Obama administration’s public assurances downplaying the decision’s impact on oil drilling, the designation of more than 200,000 square miles of Alaskan wilderness for polar bear protection could stymie natural resource developme... read more
Democrats and Conservatives Attack 64-Year Health Insurance Industry Anti-Trust Exemption
Fed up with the health insurance industry’s opposition to health care reform, Democrats in Congress took action on Wednesday to strip anti-trust protections that insurers have enjoyed since the end of World War II. Bills in both the House and Sena... read more
5 Million Americans Work for Foreign Companies in U.S.
If it wasn’t for the millions of jobs provided by foreign companies, the employment rate in the United States would leap from 9% to more than 13%. That’s how significant the 5.3 million jobs available to American workers from foreign businesses ar... read more
Hillary Clinton Pitches Boeing to Russians
Acting more like a corporate shill than the nation’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent part of her recent visit to Moscow encouraging Russia’s new airline, Rosavia, to buy planes from Boeing. As part of her self-described “sha... read more
39-Year-Old Joins Army to Gain Health Care for Wife with Cancer
For more than three years Bill Caudle has supported his wife, Michelle, as she’s battled advanced-stage ovarian cancer. In March, he was laid off from his job of 20 years at plastics manufacturer PolyOne, losing not only his salary, but also the b... read more
EPA Set to Halt Largest Mountaintop Removal Mine
Representing the largest mountaintop removal operation in West Virginia’s history, the Spruce No. 1 coal mine project came to a halt this week after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vetoed a Clean Water Act permit. EPA officials had ... read more
Bush/Obama Policies Helped Biggest Wall Street Firms Get Even Bigger
Washington’s response to the economic crisis that began last year has done little to help the average American get going again, but it has helped some of Wall Street’s most powerful institutions become stronger than ever. Reducing interest rates t... read more