The FDA has decided to get into the counterterrorism game by proposing new rules to prevent the poisoning of the nation’s food supply. Food manufacturers would be required to secure products from “intentional adulteration.” Many food suppliers don’t use basic security such as surveillance cameras, locking up warehouses, and conducting background checks on temporary workers. So introducing a contaminant -- salmonella, botulism, mercury -- into the food chain would not be difficult.   read more

• About a third of respondents were unaware that they had to get health insurance this month or be penalized. • Nearly half were clueless about the health exchanges set up for people to purchase insurance through Healthcare.gov. • More than half didn’t know about the subsidies available to help low-income individuals afford coverage.   read more

One U.S. Army base sits atop miles of hidden trenches containing blister agents, choking agents, blood agents and more. It is surrounded by homes, schools, churches and shopping centers—and few residents are aware of the toxic danger lurking nearby. The quantity of weapons at this site: 388,000. Up to 25,000 of these are intact and, once disturbed, may be volatile. “This stuff is very dangerous to dig up," said James Watson. "If you get that nerve agent on you, it will kill you.”   read more

The recipient of this promotional money is the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), which buys ads to encourage Americans to eat more beef and pays lobbyists to fight off efforts by animal rights groups and others advocating policies the NCBA opposes. Four large corporations—Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS, and National Beef Packing—now control 85% of the meat-packing business.   read more

Between 2009 and 2011, states spent $20.4 billion each year to expand their roads. The 8,822 lane-miles added is less than 1% of the U.S. road network. To maintain the other 99% of America’s highways, states spent only $16.5 billion annually during the same period. In 2011, only 37% of roads were deemed to be in “good” repair.   read more

Numerous trade groups oppose the regulations, including the National Association of Music Makers, the Art and Antiques Dealers League of America and the National Rifle Association. Opponents include celebrities like Grammy-winning musician Vince Gill, who fears he won’t be able to take any of his 40 classic Martin guitars featuring ivory pegs and bridges overseas. The opposition wants the rules rewritten to account for ivory that has been in the U.S. for generations.   read more

Those using government planes for “non-mission” purposes included Attorney General (AG) Eric Holder and former FBI Director Robert Mueller. The 395 trips by Holder, Mueller and other officials cost $7.8 million. Whether flying for business or pleasure, the attorney general is required to take government jets for security reasons. However, the AG is also required to reimburse the Treasury for this expense if the travel is personal in nature.   read more

Kansas’ secretary of state sued the U.S. Election Assistance Commission after it refused his requests and similar ones from Arizona to add state-specific instructions to a national voter registration form. The EAC preferred to only require would-be voters to sign a legal form swearing under oath they were citizens, while Kansas and Arizona wanted documented proof of such status.   read more

Two years ago, the “American” oil giant signed a lucrative deal with Rosneft, Russia’s petrochemical behemoth, to jointly explore offshore oil and gas in the Kara Sea in the Arctic Ocean and the Black Sea, where the Crimean peninsula is. As part of the agreement, Rosneft acquired a 30% stake in 20 ExxonMobil offshore oil and gas exploration blocks in the Gulf of Mexico.   read more

When the Obama administration unveiled a plan to privatize food inspections at poultry plants, consumer and environmental groups objected. Now, nearly 70 members of Congress have joined the opposition. Lawmakers say allowing operators of chicken and turkey slaughterhouses to inspect their own operations could compromise worker safety and increase the risk of pathogens reaching consumers. But they are trying to stop a program would save USDA and industry hundreds of millions of dollars.   read more

It is estimated that nearly 25 million Americans earn less than $10.10 an hour at their jobs. Obama is urging Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to that rate, from its current $7.25, by 2016. At one time it was assumed that most earning that little were teenagers, but no more. Today, only 17% of them are under 20, compared to 28% in 2000.   read more

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts represented a killer of eight, John Errol Ferguson, in Florida on appeal. This wasn’t seen as a problem during Roberts’ 2005 confirmation hearings. Similarly, John Adams, who later became the second president of the United States, represented British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre. He did so because of his belief that all accused deserve to be represented by counsel.   read more

Among the more prominent violations during the period studied: The production of the “torture memos” by George W. Bush Administration-era Justice Department officials Jay Bybee and John Yoo. Bybee is now a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Yoo is a professor at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.   read more

The company also will have the chance to bid on government contracts. It is currently the second largest oil producer in the Gulf—next to Royal Dutch Shell—having drilled 63.6 million barrels in 2013 at Gulf sites leased before the disaster. The lifting of restrictions comes just in time for BP, as the Department of the Interior plans on March 19 to auction oil and gas leases covering more than 40 million acres in the Gulf.   read more

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has known about the records and asked the White House repeatedly for them. But Obama has refused to allow the committee to examine them. Obama has not exercised a claim of executive privilege to keep the documents hidden. Instead, the White House has just sat on them. “These documents certainly raise the specter that the White House has been involved in stonewalling the investigation,” said Brennan Center's Elizabeth Goitein.   read more

Senator Dianne Feinstein now understands what her years of supporting the intelligence community have gotten her: being spied on and lied to. She has now gone on the offensive against the CIA. She took to the Senate floor to give a detailed account of how her committee conducted its probe of the CIA’s interrogation program, and how the CIA has broken the law by interfering with the work of the legislative branch. She also accused the CIA of intimidation.   read more