Top Stories
General Electric Doesn’t Pay Taxes; Why Should You?
With unemployment still high and governments at all levels slashing services, it’s shocking to realize that the nation’s largest corporation, General Electric, paid zero taxes in the United States last year.
GE earned $5.1 billion in profits... read more
U.S. Life Expectancy Hits Record High
Americans are living longer than ever, according to new figures from the federal government. The National Vital Statistics System determined that the average life expectancy at birth in 2009 was 78.2 years, the highest rate on record. Numerous f... read more
The Dangers of the Oldest U.S. Nuclear Reactor
In the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis, attention in the United States has turned to the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey, home of the country’s oldest reactor.
Oyster Creek features a GE Mark I Boiling Water reactor which is identica... read more
What Should We Do with America’s Nuclear Waste?
Nuclear waste from nuclear power plants has been piling up across the United States since the Eisenhower administration—a problem that politicians have failed to permanently resolve and must again address in the wake of Japan’s radiation nightma... read more
Detroit Sets National Record for Population Loss
What once was the fourth largest city in America has turned into the fastest shrinking city in U.S. history: Detroit, Michigan.
New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that Detroit lost 25% of its population last decade—the largest de... read more
Marines Go Solar in Afghanistan to Avoid Dangerous Fuel Runs
Going green is a better idea than going to funerals, the U.S. Marine Corps has decided for its troops fighting in Afghanistan.
After realizing that Marines stood a 1-in-50 chance of getting wounded while retrieving fuel or water for units, s... read more
Katrina Hospital Deaths Trial Opens
New Orleans’ worst hospital nightmare after Hurricane Katrina will be relived in a courtroom beginning this week as the trial against Memorial Medical Center and its former parent company, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, commences. Jury selection is... read more
Justice Dept. Wants New Orleans Police under Court Supervision
The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) is so out of control, with 20 current or former officers facing criminal prosecution, that the U.S. Department of Justice wants a federal court to take over supervision of the force.
A move by the Jus... read more
Pentagon Hires Contractors to Regulate Contractors
Instead of keeping watch itself, the Department of Defense today relies on contractors to monitor the work of other contractors, a risk strategy that became cemented during the Iraq War thanks to a politically-connected—and powerful—company with... read more
Japan Reactor Emergency Passes Three Mile Island on Scale of Nuclear Disasters
The nuclear crisis in Japan is now considered more severe than the Three Mile Island accident that took place four decades ago in the United States, according to an international regulatory body.
Nuclear accidents are rated on a scale of one t... read more
Wisconsin Protest Larger than Largest Tea Party Rally, but Not as Big as Immigration Demos
Madison, Wisconsin, last weekend outdid the Tea Party, but couldn’t top pro-immigration forces.
Decrying Republican attacks on organized labor, a crowd estimated by police to number 85,000 to 100,000 people showed up at Wisconsin’s state cap... read more
Poll on Budget Shows What Americans Want to Cut or Spend More On
What if the American people could vote on which parts of the national budget should be cut and which should see increased spending? Would the results be different from what Congress and the president are doing? Apparently so, according to an unu... read more
Meltdown at Japanese Nuclear Power Plant…A Disaster Waiting to Happen
To hear some Japanese officials talk, you might think that the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was unavoidable. In fact, the plant has a long and disturbing history of trouble that includes damage by previous earthquakes, rig... read more
Utah Government Rushes Through Anti-Transparency Law
Utah politicians have turned their state into the most secretive in the nation, according to critics of a new law that severely restricts public access to government records.
In a space of only one week, the state legislature and Governor Ga... read more
Almost 1 in 4 Homes Worth Less Than Their Mortgage
Because of declining home prices at the end of last year, nearly 25% of mortgage holders in the U.S. found themselves with a home that was worth less than their home loan.
According to CoreLogic, the rate of underwater mortgages was 23.1% at... read more
U.S. Prisoners Build Missile Parts for Raytheon and Lockheed to Sell Abroad
Inmates in American prisons have come a long way from the days of making license plates. Nowadays, prisoners are helping build missiles and other sophisticated weapons, and providing dirt-cheap labor in the process.
While earning as little a... read more