Controversies
Court Limits Right of Federal Employees to Appeal Personnel Decisions
Until now, the board could question punishments handed down by agencies unless a worker had a security clearance.
But a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit voted 2-1 last Friday that the MSPB could also be limited in cases involving “noncritical sensitive” positions—in other words those jobs not requiring a security clearance.
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Louisiana School District Successfully Desegregated after 43 Years
Issues still remain, such as fixing the imbalanced system of discipline.
“For example, 78.9% of the students who received detention at Oak Grove Elementary School were African-American despite the fact that African-American students comprised only 21.2% of the enrollment at the school,” James wrote in his consent order.
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Drought Leads to Abandoned Horses
A bale of hay costs five times more than it did just ten years ago, and the price is expected to rise even more during the winter months.
At least 33 states, mostly in the West and the Midwest, are enduring severe drought conditions or worse. read more
Can FBI Crime Statistics Really be Trusted?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is supposed to be the authority on crime statistics. But the FBI’s numbers are only as good as those provided by local law enforcement, and apparently the bureau hasn’t been verifying what police file wi... read more
Federal Court Again Rules that Genes Can be Patented
The biotech industry breathed a sigh of relief last week when a federal court again upheld companies’ ability to patent human genes.
Civil libertarians have challenged the industry, starting with Myriad Genetics, arguing that to own a patent... read more
In Wake of Mass Killings, States Still Don’t Comply with Gun Database of Mentally Ill
In the wake of recent mass killings in Wisconsin, Colorado, Texas and Louisiana, 67 survivors and family members of victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting last week sent a letter to President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidat... read more
Lawsuit Claims One-Third of California Drinking Water Contaminated with Cancer-Causing Chemical
The movie Erin Brockovich made the chemical carcinogen chromium-6 infamous in 2000. A state law was passed in California the following year requiring formulation of a standard limiting its presence in drinking water by 2004.
Eight years lat... read more
Army Suicide Record Set in July
Despite the winding down of the Afghanistan war and stronger mental health initiatives, the U.S. Army experienced its worst month in July with suicides.
A total of 38 soldiers killed themselves last month, making it the highest monthly total... read more
Monsanto and DuPont Spend Big to Fight Labeling Genetically Modified Foods
The biggest pesticide and biotechnology companies in the world, led by Monsanto, have already spent $25 million to defeat California’s groundbreaking Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) labeling initiative on November’s ballot. Most of the money... read more
Office of Legal Counsel Withholds from Public 39% of Its Decisions
A Department of Justice office responsible for issuing important legal opinions on government policies has been withholding nearly 40% of its memos from the public.
The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has not published 39% of its 509 opinions ... read more
Justice Department Stops Fighting Release of Legally Innocent Prisoners
The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to stop stonewalling the release of prisoners who were deemed innocent by a federal court ruling.
All of the cases involved individuals serving time under a federal law for being caught with a gun af... read more
TSA Accused of Anti-Black and Hispanic Discrimination
Federal airport screeners in Boston have admitted to racially profiling minorities going through checkpoints at Logan International, creating yet another serious problem for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
More than 30 TSA ... read more
AT&T Sued over Draconian Lunch Break Rules
A group of eleven technicians have sued AT&T over its lunch-break policy that makes eating difficult and forbids many kinds of personal activities other workers take for granted.
In a class action lawsuit filed in Southern Indiana, the techn... read more
Foreclosure Rate Soars for Those 75 and Older
The foreclosure crisis has become a crushing problem for older Americans, more than a million of whom have lost their homes since the financial crisis.
About 1.5 million individuals age 50 and older lost their houses between 2007 and 2011, w... read more
Government Watchdog Warns against Vulnerability of Electrical Grid
Federalism—the division of power between federal and state governments—is making the nation’s electrical grid less safe and more vulnerable to attack by thieves as well as by terrorists. According to a new report released by the Government Accou... read more
Office of National Intelligence Director Admits Unconstitutional Use of Surveillance
As Congress mulls whether or not to re-authorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has admitted that the government’s use of the Act has violated the constitution... read more