In 2010 alone, 16,651 overdose deaths were attributed to overuse of these painkillers, according to a report this year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number—a 300% increase from about a decade earlier—amounted to enough opioid painkillers to medicate every American every four hours for a month, claimed the Center.   read more

A report issued by the USDA Inspector General shows that the program has proven to be a disaster for the health and safety of American and foreign consumers alike. Among the five U.S. facilities participating in the test program, three of them landed on the government’s list of the 10 worst offenders in the country for health and safety violations, including failures to remove fecal matter from meat In addition, the plant with the worst record was one of the five in the pilot program.   read more

The intelligence assessment released by the White House to support President Barack Obama’s case for attacking Syria did not necessarily reflect all of the government’s spy agencies’ views on the subject of Syrian chemical warfare. Rather it reflected “a predominantly Obama administration influence. One former official, choosing to remain anonymous, told IPS in an email that the administration may have “cherry-picked the intelligence” to fit its position on Syria.   read more

In the month of May, petroleum operations in the U.S. surpassed the total amount of oil being imported. The nation last experienced this turnaround in January 1997. American output is so strong that if it continues on this pace, the U.S. will pass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest petroleum producer before 2020, according to a forecast by the International Energy Agency.   read more

The 10 lawmakers supporting the resolution received 83% more campaign contributions on average from defense contractors than the committee members who voted “no.” The top three recipients who voted “yes” were Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) at $176,000; Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) at $127,350; and Timothy Kaine (D-Virginia) at $101,025.   read more

Louisiana comes out on top when convictions are measured on a population basis. Calculated that way, the Bayou State is a clear No. 1, at 8.76 convictions per 100,000 people, followed by North Dakota (8.2), South Dakota (7), Kentucky (7), Alaska (6.6), Montana (6.2), Mississippi (5.7), and Alabama (5.6). The states with the lowest rates were South Carolina, Oregon, Washington, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Utah, each with no more than 1.3 convictions per 100,000.   read more

The most recent news about the National Security Agency (NSA) finds that American analysts teamed up with British counterparts to crack much of the online encryption that’s supposed to shield the privacy of personal data, banking transactions and emails of hundreds of millions of Internet users. Classified documents revealed that the NSA and GCHQ have used supercomputers, “technical trickery,” court orders and other methods to undermine the privacy of everyday communications on the Web.   read more

A “strategy guide” for how “to anticipate and defeat” drones has been distributed by senior al-Qaeda leaders to its operatives around the globe, one U.S. spy agency learned. . Some of the counter-drone schemes involve shooting down the unmanned aircraft with shoulder-launched missiles, and using jamming devices to interfere with GPS signals and the infrared tags that drone operators utilize to zero in on targets.   read more

Federal agents are expected to interview hundreds of Syrians in the coming days. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security also sent out a classified communication to federal, state and local law enforcement officials regarding potential threats created by the Syrian crisis. The moves mirror similar actions taken while the U.S. government went after Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya and Saddam Hussein of Iraq.   read more

Like ten years ago, the administration is urging that the evidence against Syria is unequivocal, even though the United Nations inspectors charged with determining the facts have not yet completed their investigation. Last weekend, the Obama administration seemed to take a page from its predecessor’s playbook by demanding cancellation of the inspectors’ visit to the site of the alleged chemical attack, after first demanding that the team be given unfettered access.   read more

Known as the Hemisphere Project, the government has paid AT&T to place its employees in drug-fighting units around the U.S., helping DEA agents and local police by supplying them with the phone data from as far back as 1987. Whereas the NSA claims it stores its phone-call data for only five years, the Hemisphere Project includes calls dating back 26 years. It also covers every call that passes through an AT&T switch, not just those made by AT&T customers.   read more

Whoever said that crime doesn’t pay, never broke the law for the National Security Agency. According to documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the spy agency forked over millions of dollars to several major Internet companies after some of their surveillance work was ruled illegal. But the real puzzle is why the web giants—which include Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook—were entitled to the money in the first place.   read more

In the latest revelation provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, it is now known that the federal government pays 35,000 civilian and military specialists to break and decipher encrypted messages sent across the Internet. 21% of the intelligence budget (about $11 billion) is dedicated to the Consolidated Cryptologic Program that staffs 35,000 employees in the NSA and components of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines.   read more

Americans who do not purchase health insurance for themselves next year will face a $95 penalty, or 1% of their income, whichever is larger. This penalty will go up in 2015, to $325 or 2% of income, and again in 2016, to $695 or 2.5% of income. Also, anyone claiming dependents on their tax return will be responsible for paying these fines if the dependents don’t have health insurance.   read more

Government reports calling attention to the lack of chemical accident data go back to the 1980s. The Environmental Protection Agency attempted to establish such a database in 1985, but within four years it lost its funding. The National Toxic Substances Incident Program gathers this data from state and local agencies, but it has lacked funding to establish a fully inclusive national resource.   read more

Another 25% said that they would support intervention if Assad used chemical weapons. The Obama administration said in June that Syria had already done this, so “a large share of people who answered that the United States should intervene if Assad uses chemical weapons are apparently unaware that this line has already been crossed,” Fisher wrote. Regardless of how many Americans want their country involved in the Syrian civil war, Obama is reportedly weighing his military options.   read more