Top Stories
Bill to Audit Federal Reserve Moves Forward
The nation’s central bank has never been subjected to an outside audit, but growing frustration in Congress with the Federal Reserve may cause that to change. On Thursday, the House Finance Committee approved a bipartisan amendment that grants the... read more
Americans Having Trouble Meeting Food Needs: Highest Rate Ever Recorded
The Great Recession has left millions of Americans hungry not only for jobs but even food itself. A new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows “food insecurity” rose dramatically in 2008—to the highest levels since the federal governme... read more
Holder Says 9/11 Accused to Remain in Prison Even if Acquitted
Critics who blasted the Obama administration’s decision to try Sept. 11 plotters in a New York City courtroom need not worry about terrorists going free. Regardless of how the trial turns out, alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four... read more
Obama Administration Limits Congressional Briefings on Fort Hood Murders
A White House dedicated to more openness and accountability has decided to share information on the Fort Hood murders with only a select group of lawmakers, angering both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Instead of debriefing the entire ... read more
Immigration Arrests Last Year Hit 33-Year Low
Declining numbers of immigration arrests are not a sign that the federal government is backing off on border patrol enforcement, but rather another indication of how bad the U.S. economy is doing these days. According to the Migration Information ... read more
The Battle for Iraq’s Oil Contracts
The world’s largest oil companies are presently jockeying for the rights to Iraq’s petroleum reserves, coming closer to a huge payday made possible by the United States’ toppling of Saddam Hussein. Already, ExxonMobil is benefiting from the regime... read more
4 U.S. Cities Compete to House Guantánamo Prisoners
Republican criticism of the Obama administration’s plan to relocate Guantanamo detainees to U.S. prisons is falling on deaf ears in communities hurting for jobs. From Montana to Illinois, cities are vying for the chance to use empty or underutiliz... read more
10-Year Anniversary of the Bill That Led to the Current Economic Crisis
The legislation sounded innocuous enough: The Financial Modernization Act. But proponents, who included almost the entire U.S. Senate and the Clinton administration, were euphoric over the passage of the bill in November 1999 that revoked the Depr... read more
What to Do about Nidal Hasan’s Patients?
While military officials deal with the aftermath of the Fort Hood killings, mental health experts warn that the U.S. Army can’t forget about the patients of the gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The Army psychiatrist cared for soldiers at Walter Re... read more
Unemployment Rate for Recent Vets Higher Than National Average
As if things weren’t bad enough for veterans, many of whom don’t have health insurance coverage, job prospects are also quite poor for soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Overall, the unemployment rate for veterans (from all conflic... read more
One and a Half Million Veterans Lack Health Insurance
A group of Harvard researchers provided a sober reminder on Veterans Day that the current health care reform plan will do nothing to address the problem of veterans who lack medical coverage. According to a team from Harvard Medical School, 2,266 ... read more
Drug Companies Find it Cost-Effective to Pay Fines and Keep Breaking Laws
Crime does pay in the billion-dollar world of pharmaceuticals. Drug companies this decade have paid $7 billion in fines as a result of criminal and civil cases brought against them for illegally marketing their products, but the penalties pale in ... read more
Taxing Wall Street Gambling Transactions
Some European leaders are voicing support for a new tax on banks that get involved in the high-stakes trading of derivatives as a way for governments to cover such bets in the event of future bailouts. But the United States and Russia are reacting... read more
Last-Minute Anti-Abortion Clause Leads to House Health Care Reform Passage
Almost lost amid the public fanfare over the House of Representatives approving the health care reform bill was a huge compromise House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made on the issue of abortion. Pelosi, a staunch supporter of abortion rights, risked losi... read more
David Vitter: The Formaldehyde Senator
Paul Anastas, a Yale chemist and so-called father of green chemistry, is being prevented from taking over the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development because of opposition from Senator David Vitter (R-LA), who has been... read more
Obama Administration Inflated Stimulus Job Gains by Counting Raises
Last week, the Obama administration claimed that its economic recovery plan had created or saved 640,000 jobs. But what it didn’t highlight was that agencies were allowed to include a pay raise as a fraction of a job saved. If an agency or program... read more