Top Stories
IRS Plans to Cut Back Auditing of Large Corporations
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.
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First Lawsuit over Exxon Arkansas Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Spill
A pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in the Gulf Coast ruptured on March 29, spilling thousands of barrels of oil into a residential area of the small town of Mayflower (population: 2,234).
Plaintiffs Kathryn Jane Roachell Chunn and Kimla Green sued ExxonMobil and three pipeline subsidiaries, seeking at least $5 million in property damages on behalf of themselves and others who live within 3,000 feet of the broken pipeline.
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New Small Business Health Insurance Program Put on Hold
Under pressure from large health insurance companies, the Obama administration last week announced it would delay implementation of a key aspect of its signature health reform law.
Although the federal and some state governments must still set up Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchanges to allow small business employees access to lower rates, the mandate will be pushed back by one year.
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Judge Slams FDA for Delaying Emergency Contraception to Girls under 17
Appointed by President Reagan in 1985, Korman squarely rejected the rationale behind the administration veto. Sharpening his critique to a razor's edge, Korman accused the administration of acting in “bad faith” and stated that “the F.D.A. has engaged in intolerable delays in processing” the request for OTC access, which “could accurately be described as an administrative agency filibuster.” read more
Majority of Senators Now Support Same-Sex Marriage
So many members of the U.S. Senate have jumped on the same-sex marriage bandwagon in recent weeks that a majority now supports the right of homosexuals to marry.
This week alone three Democratic senators publicly said they now back gay marriage: Bill Nelson of Florida, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.
Nelson told the Tampa Bay Times: “Simply put, if The Lord made homosexuals as well as heterosexuals, why should I discriminate against their civil marriage?”
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Firearms Industry has Stymied Gun Research and Regulation by Adding Riders to Spending Bills
This tactic has resulted in laws that prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from mandating background checks for those purchasing older guns, and that prohibit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from researching gun violence. When Congress adopted restrictions for credit card companies, it included a provision allowing gun owners to bring their weapons into national parks.
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U.S. Joins 153 Nations to Approve World’s First Global Conventional Arms Treaty; Republican Senators to Fight Ratification
“The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that passed in the General Assembly today would require the United States to implement gun-control legislation as required by the treaty, which could supersede the laws our elected officials have already put into place,” Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) said in a statement.
Actually, the treaty does no such thing.
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Cheap Natural Gas is Good for Profits, but not for Jobs
PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Association of Manufacturers predicted in a 2011 report (pdf) that fracking could help add one million manufacturing American jobs by 2025.
These gains have not materialized yet, and in some cases, businesses that use natural gas are continuing to lay off workers.
For example, the glassmaker Libbey benefited financially from lower gas prices, but decided to cut its work force and relocate some operations to Mexico.
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The Rise of the U.S. Special Operations Command
One of the clearest indicators of just how important SOCOM is today can be found in budget plans. At a time when the Pentagon has been told to make do with less, SOCOM will continue to grow in the coming years.
SOCOM is expected to expand by 7.5%, from 66,100 civilian and military personnel in 2011 to 71,100 by 2015.
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FBI Wants More Authority to Spy Live on Gmail, Skype, Dropbox and Cloud
At present, CALEA allows the government to force Internet providers and phone companies to have surveillance equipment on their networks, but the law does not cover email, cloud services, or online chat providers like Skype. Although the FBI can use a “Title III Order” under the Wiretap Act to ask such providers to conduct surveillance, the FBI wants to be able to force them to do it—without a warrant signed by a judge. read more
Bank of America has Worst Big Bank Home Loan Customer Service Complaint Record
Bank of America (2012 revenue: $83.33 billion) had by far the worst customer service record. BoA's record is far out of proportion to the share of mortgage servicing it handles: while the bank services only about 15% of U.S. home loans, it earned 30% of the 50,457 complaints logged.
Two-thirds of the complaints were against BoA's handling of loan modifications, debt collection and foreclosures, and 20% arose from poor customer service generally.
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White House Overruled FDA Attempt to Require Microbiological Testing at Food Facilities
The (FDA) drafted new food safety rules that mandated companies conduct product and environmental testing to prevent pathogens from getting into food supplies.
But when those rules were submitted to OMB for review, administration officials from OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs stripped the provision requiring facilities to conduct microbiological testing. read more
ICE Investigators Violated Policy to Help “Fast and Furious” Gun-Running Program
ICE agents reportedly told Edwards that they believed they were supposed to go along with “Fast and Furious” because the Office of the Assistant Attorney General asked an ICE investigative unit in Arizona to stop its investigations into weapons smuggling that could have disrupted ATF’s operation. read more
Proposed Obama Trade Agreement would Ban Buy America Laws
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has been negotiated largely in secret, would prevent the U.S. government from giving preference to American companies for federal contracts.
News of this provision in the Trans-Pacific Partnership prompted 68 House Democrats and one Republican to urge President Barack Obama to reconsider any agreement that ends “Buy American.” read more
Supreme Court Votes 5-4 to Require Warrant to Use Drug-Sniffing Dogs Outside a Home
“The police cannot, without a warrant based on probable cause, hang around on the lawn or in the side garden, trawling for evidence and perhaps peering into the windows of the home,” Justice Antonin Scalia said for the majority. “And the officers here had all four of their feet and all four of their companion’s, planted firmly on that curtilage—the front porch is the classic example of an area intimately associated with the life of the home.” read more
Moving Its War Machine Out of Afghanistan Will Cost U.S. $6 Billion, Even as Troops Remain
Afghanistan’s geography will make it costly for the U.S. to ship its military hardware home. Because Afghanistan does not have a port, American commanders must prepare to either fly home everything or drive it to Pakistan, where it can be loaded onto ships at Karachi. Another option is to use roads winding through northern Afghanistan, which the Soviets used for their withdrawal from the country in the late 1980s.
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