President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed outrage to aides because there have been no violent mass street demonstrations against his statements and policies. He believes he needs violent demonstrations against him in order to declare a national state of emergency that would allow him to do anything he wants.   read more

Pipelines carrying natural gas from hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) operations are currently unregulated by the federal government, leaving a large gap in the reporting of leaks, corrosion and potential health hazards.   A new report from the...   read more

Having become the first state to sell off the naming rights of its rest stops, Virginia is going one step further by naming roads and bridges after anyone ponying up the necessary cash.   State officials are still deciding how much it will cost ...   read more

When is big really small? When the federal government says so.   The Small Business Administration (SBA), responsible for helping “small” businesses, allows many types of companies to qualify even though they wouldn’t seem to most Americans to b...   read more

A group of university historians has faulted the National Park Service (NPS) for doing an inconsistent job of properly sharing the history of national treasures with visitors.   In the study Imperiled Promise, which was commissioned by NPS, four...   read more

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a human resources problem, both in terms of leadership and espirit de corps.   Things are so bad at DHS that a congressional hearing was held to discuss the matter. But when the House Subcommittee on...   read more

Had the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) done its job, nearly 30 miners might be alive today.   In April 2010, an explosion inside the Upper Big Branch Mine (UBB) in West Virginia killed 29 men digging for coal. But the accident migh...   read more

Leaders of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are not well regarded by the agency’s rank and file. An internal survey asked employees if managers maintained “high standards of honesty and integrity.” Only 44% said “yes.”...   read more

A nine-year-old boy might wind up forcing the U.S. government to do something it has long avoided: Officially declare whether Jerusalem is part of Israel.   Because Israel and Jordan have long fought over the divided city, the U.S. has had a pol...   read more

Prostitutes won a resounding victory in Ontario, Canada, where judges threw out several anti-prostitution laws.   Arguing that the state was placing unconstitutional restrictions on prostitutes’ ability to protect themselves, the five-member Cou...   read more

If George Zimmerman avoids prosecution for the February 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, he will have the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to thank.   At the urging of the NR...   read more

An internal assessment by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has concluded that reductions of mortgage principal would serve to benefit both homeowners and the federal government. But the head of the FHFA has resisted this move.   Lowerin...   read more

Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, leader of the coup that overthrew Mali’s government last week, received military training in the United States. The Central African nation was due to hold presidential elections on April 29.   U.S. officials acknowled...   read more

Harvey, Illinois, is being sued by a sexual assault victim who contends police officials failed to process or preserve more than 200 rape kits. The plaintiff, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, also claims police “have a history of discrim...   read more

Canada’s government may be having second thoughts about allowing former al-Qaeda child soldier Omar Khadr back into the country.   Khadr agreed to a plea with U.S. military officials that required him to provide information on other terrorism su...   read more

Of the 17 Afghans murdered by Bales on March 11, 11 of them were relatives of farmer Muhammad Wazir, who lives in the village of Balandi in the Zangabad area of Panjwae district.   Wazir was away at the time of the attack, visiting his brother, ...   read more

Nearly 40 members of the House of Representatives earmarked $150 million to organizations affiliated with themselves and their family members from 2008 to 2010, according to a government watchdog organization.   Citizens for Responsibility and E...   read more