Controversies

White House Blocks Health, Safety and Energy-Saving Regulations

Within the White House, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has caused more than 120 new rules to become bottlenecked, the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards complained in a new report. Some rules, such as those proposed by the Department of Energy, have sat for two years awaiting approval—despite a White House mandate adopted during the Bill Clinton years that requires OIRA to act within 90 days of receiving them. read more

Judge Overturns 64-Year-Old Law Banning Protests in Front of Supreme Court: Roberts Fights Back

Under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court on Thursday responded to Howell’s ruling by issuing a new regulation that orders visitors to “maintain suitable order and decorum within the Supreme Court building and grounds.” It also bans “picketing, speech making, marching, holding vigils or religious services and all other like forms of conduct." read more

Sexual Assault Measure to be Dropped from Military Bill, Keeping Cases in Chain of Command

Following the political uproar over rising numbers of rapes and examples of commanders throwing out punishment rulings for sexual assaults, legislation was introduced that would prevent generals and admirals from being able to interfere and overrule in such cases and, instead, leave it solely to military prosecutors to handle. read more

How About a White House Watchdog to Protect Privacy of Americans? It Already Exists, but Does Nothing

Created in 2004 at the suggestion of the 9/11 Commission, the PCLOB didn’t hold its first meeting until 2006, and its first report was so heavily edited by officials in the George W. Bush administration that it resulted in one board member, Democrat Lanny Davis, quitting. The board lacks staffing and full-time members (a product of Medine’s delay as chairman), and doesn’t even have a website yet. read more

Justice Dept. Drops Effort to Block Wide Access to Morning-After Pill

Justice officials may have decided to discontinue the legal fight because of its potential to draw too much attention to a hotly debated topic. Organizations that have supported the drug’s unrestricted availability are continuing to pressure the government to expand the ruling to include generic versions of Plan B. The controversial pill prevents conception if it is taken within three days of having sexual intercourse. read more

The Mysterious Missing Slides from the NSA Leaked Presentation

Apparently, the legal or national security implications of publishing the remaining slides may have dissuaded the newspapers’ editors from going all in on the major story. “If you saw all the slides you wouldn’t publish them,” the Post’s Barton Gellman posted on Twitter, adding in a second tweet: “I know a few absolutists, but most people would want to defer judgment if they didn’t know the full contents.” read more

What do National Intelligence Director Clapper and NSA Whistleblower Snowden Have in Common? Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton earns 98% of its revenue from government work, including nearly a quarter of all its revenue (or $1.3 billion) through intelligence work. Nearly half of Booz Allen’s 25,000-strong workforce has top secret security clearances—which aren’t always approved by actual government employees. Instead, the process of granting security clearances is often handled by contractors for other contractors. read more

Texas Man Acquitted after Killing Woman who Refused Sex after he Paid Her

Gilbert admitted to shooting Frago, but his legal defense argued that Gilbert’s actions were justified because under Texas law, a person can use deadly force to recover property during a nighttime theft of the commission of “criminal mischief.” Prosecutors insisted the law did not apply to someone trying to force another person into an illegal act such as prostitution. But the jury sided with Gilbert, who avoided a possible life sentence in prison. read more

Chrysler Refuses to Comply with Federal Recall Order

Two days after Chrysler’s unusual pushback, the company did announce the recall of 630,000 Jeep SUVs as the result of transmission and restraint system problems. These recalls include 254,000 Compass and Patriot SUVs from 2010 to 2012 to fix a delay in air bag and seatbelt functioning, and 181,000 Wranglers from 2012 and 2013 relating to leaks in transmission cooler lines. read more

CIA Director Panetta Revealed Top Secret Info to Hollywood Screenwriter

“According to the DoD Office of Security Review, the individual’s name is protected from public release” under federal law, the report says, which also states however that “no precautionary measures were taken to protect special operators from being identified by the Hollywood executive at this event.” read more

Illegal GMO Monsanto Wheat Appears in Oregon, Leading to Halt of U.S. Wheat Imports in Asia

Monsanto said it does not know how it happened. The company tested GM varieties of wheat between 1998 and 2004 in 17 states, including Oregon. But officials said all tested material was destroyed after the program was shut down nine years ago. Currently, no varieties of GM wheat have been approved for commercial farming anywhere in the world. The discovery led the governments of South Korea and Japan to temporarily suspend imports of U.S. wheat. read more

In Senate Testimony, Military Leaders Reject Calls to Remove Sexual Assault Cases from Chain of Command

To stem the high number of sex crimes in the armed forces, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand has introduced legislation that would give military prosecutors, rather than commanders, the power to decide which sexual assault cases to try. However, the U.S. military’s top commanders have told Congress that they object to the idea. read more

Connecticut Becomes, Conditionally, First State to Require Genetically Modified Food Labeling

Connecticut could become the first state to require food manufacturers to label products that contain genetically modified organisms. Connecticut will mandate GMO labeling if four other states, at least one of which shares a border with it, passes similar regulations, and if those states include Northeastern ones with at least 20 million people. read more

Urgently Needed Antibiotics Research Is Put on Risky Fast Track

The Department of Health and Human Services plans to fast-track new medications to combat antibiotic resistance and biological agents that terrorists might use. Supporters of speeding up new drugs want new antibiotics immediately tested on severely ill patients, rather than taking the customary and legally approved route of conducting studies. read more

Black and White Americans Use Marijuana at Same Rate, but Blacks Far More Likely to be Arrested

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found in a review of data from 2010 that Caucasians and African-Americans have similar rates of using marijuana, but blacks are nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested for its possession. read more

12 States Have more Gun Deaths than Motor Vehicle Deaths

In 2010, there were more deaths due to gunfire, including suicides, homicides, and fatal unintentional shootings, than motor vehicle fatalities in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. In some locations, the total of gun-related deaths was at least twice that of the number of motor vehicle-related deaths. In Alaska, it was 144 vs. 71, and in DC it was 99 vs. 38. read more