22% of American adults had signed a paper petition, while only 17% had signed an online petition; 21% had recently contacted a government official about an issue by phone, by letter or in person, whereas 18% had done so online, by email or by text message. About 60% of people who had made political donations had done so in person, by telephone or by regular mail, while 23% had done so online. Another 16% had contributed both online and by more traditional methods.   read more

An audit of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general found that 58% of gun sellers have operated since 2008 without any government inspections. The IG also uncovered that it takes anywhere from one to three years for ATF to revoke a gun dealer’s license after finding serious violations. Violations of record-keeping rules went up 276% over a nine-year period, while the number of firearms licenses revoked dropped 43%.   read more

“I went to the U.S. as an ambassador for Yemen,” al-Muslimi testified before the panel, “and I came back to Yemen as an ambassador for the U.S.” Six days before his testimony, his village was struck by a drone attack aimed at a militant al-Muslimi said could easily have been arrested. “What a violent militant had previously failed to achieve, one drone strike accomplished in an instant: There is now an intense anger against America.”   read more

The federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)—which investigated the case—determined that the study violated “regulatory requirements for informed consent, stemming from the failure to describe the reasonably foreseeable risks of blindness, neurological damage and death.” The OHRP, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also found that participation in the study “did have an effect on which infants died, and on which developed blindness,” the plaintiffs say.   read more

The federal government was concerned because ABI already controlled nearly 40% of the U.S. beer market, and gaining control of Modelo’s brands, which include Corona, would mean a virtual monopoly for the company that already sells Budweiser, Busch, Michelob, Beck’s and other popular beers. The administration also alleged that the deal would result in consumers paying more for beer and would limit innovation in the beer market.   read more

The Boston Marathon Bombings raised many fears and questions. Two notable questions emerged, “who is responsible for these attacks?” and “what/who is a reliable news source?” The investigation of these attacks turned into what was described as a game of “racist Where’s Wally,” played by social media and mainstream media alike. In the four days after the explosions took place, five different people were wrongfully identified as suspects. Here are their stories.   read more

Some senators, such as Republican Dan Coats of Indiana, accepted donations from pro-gun groups as recently as three weeks ago. Of the current members of the Senate, the ones who have benefited the most from the largesse of the NRA since 1990 are Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) with $60,550 in campaign contributions; Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) at $56,950; John Thune (R-South Dakota) with $48,605; and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) at $46,600.   read more

Treatment clinics in more than two-thirds of the states are already at or approaching 100% capacity, AP reported, and state budget are being cut. In Minnesota, an estimated 491,000 people in need of substance abuse treatment, but there are only 3,900 inpatient beds available in the whole state. In Illinois, there are 92,000 patients receiving treatment, but more than 230,000 more addicts and alcoholics currently without insurance will become eligible in January.   read more

Those arguing against the need for a warrant argue that the time it takes to obtain one allows alcohol to dissipate from the bloodstream while a judge is being found. Justice Clarence Thomas alone took the position that the possible dissipation of alcohol is always more important than obtaining a warrant. Justice Sotomayor, on the other hand, pointed out that warrants are easier to obtain than they used to be, thanks to technological developments.   read more

A new ABC News/Washington Post Poll revealed that 86% of respondents said “yes” to backing a law requiring background checks of people buying guns at gun shows or online. This level of national support wasn’t enough to convince several key Democrats to back the legislation. All of them represent states that voted against Barack Obama in 2012.   read more

The 577-page report said that never before had there been “the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred after 9/11 directly involving a president and his top advisers on the wisdom, propriety and legality of inflicting pain and torment on some detainees in our custody.” Furthermore, the use of torture has “no justification” and “potentially increased the danger to U.S. military personnel taken captive.”   read more

The decision will enable newspapers, which had sued to have the settlement unsealed, as well as environmentalists and community rights advocates, to examine the court case’s health issues and causes. Seneca’s decision represented a major blow to fracking companies, which have relied on secrecy agreements with landowners to hide the environmental and health impacts of natural gas drilling.   read more

The DPLA will function more as a portal to other libraries with digitized collections than as a single repository. Because many libraries are not linked up, the DPLA hopes to act as a hub that can improve Internet users’ ability to find and access materials available online.   read more

Quietly and after many members had left for the weekend, the Senate voted Thursday night to approve a new bill, S. 716, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), that no one had read, and that was not publicly available on the Library of Congress website until after the vote. The purpose of the bill was to gut key provisions in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.   read more

Two years ago, the Independent Foreclosure Review proclaimed homeowners who suffered “financial injury” could get as much as $125,000. It now turns out only 1,135 borrowers will see this amount. This small group mostly includes members of the U.S. military who had their homes taken away from them, as well as 53 non-military homeowners who endured foreclosure even though they didn’t default on their loans.   read more

Under a new plan revealed to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), the IRS will expend 18% less effort auditing businesses with assets of $10 million or more compared with just two years ago. The agency also sees itself devoting 14% less time for specialized revenue agents to conduct corporate audits in FY 2013, compared to what was allocated in FY 2011.   read more