Controversies
Thousands of Federal Crack Prisoners Set for Early Release
Thousands of drug offenders convicted of possessing crack cocaine under federal law will receive early releases due to recent changes in mandatory sentencing laws that come closer to equalizing the penalties for crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
... read more
Colorado City to Vote to Replace Corporate Electricity with Public Utility
Residents of Boulder, Colorado, are deciding whether to dump the corporation currently providing the city’s electricity in favor of establishing a municipal utility that would be more environmental friendly and locally accountable.
The city’s ... read more
Colorado “Regulators” Allow Radioactive Dump Despite Warnings
Regulators in Colorado are allowing a mining company’s leaky disposal ponds to house radioactive waste, even after decades of complaints from state and federal environmental officials.
Cotter Corp.’s tailing ponds near Cañon City (population 1... read more
Justice Dept. Tries to Replace Condoleezza Rice Testimony with Her “Talking Points”
Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice tried unsuccessfully to convince a federal judge to allow former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to submit her CIA-prepared talking points in place of giving actual live testimony at the trial of ex-C... read more
Wisconsin to Allow Concealed Guns in State Assembly…But not Cameras or Signs
Apparently, the government of the state of Wisconsin believes that the lens is mightier than the bullet. Having approved a new law allowing residents to carry concealed weapons beginning November 1, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is now working o... read more
Despite His Claims, Marco Rubio’s Parents Left Cuba before Castro’s Rise to Power
The centerpiece of the Republican campaign to win over Hispanic voters in 2012, Marco Rubio has run into accusations that he has distorted his family’s history in order to appear more-anti-Communist. As part of his own campaign last year to become... read more
Police Fracture Skull of Iraq War Veteran While Clearing Out Occupy Oakland Protestors
“Occupy” protestors in Oakland, California, clashed with local police on Tuesday after the city moved to break up an encampment near City Hall, resulting in 85 arrests and half a dozen people getting injured.
The most serious was Scott Olsen, ... read more
Internet Providers Balking at FBI Customer Use Requests
Internet service providers (ISPs) are not cooperating as much as they did previously with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in turning over data about customers’ email and web browsing. The change has forced the FBI to spend more time in c... read more
Gang Members Infiltrate U.S. Military…and American Law Enforcement Infiltrates Drug Cartels
If it’s not American gangs infiltrating the ranks of the U.S. military, it’s the U.S. government infiltrating the ranks of Mexican cartels.
For the U.S. Army and its auxiliary groups, keeping gangbangers out of the service has become a serious... read more
Americans Overwhelmingly Want to End Electoral College
Americans have had nearly 11 years to think it over and they’re still of the opinion that the Electoral College needs to go.
Following the deadlocked 2000 presidential contest, voters learned all about the Electoral College’s role in electing ... read more
Antidepressant Use Quadrupled in 25 Years
Reliance on antidepressants has soared over the last two and a half decades, and Americans are increasingly getting these medications without seeing a psychiatrist or therapist.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates in... read more
Think You’re Eating White Tuna Because the Menu Says So? Think Again
Consumers in Massachusetts have been getting duped by unscrupulous restaurateurs and fish suppliers who have routinely used cheaper species in place of what was actually ordered, according to a five-month investigation by The Boston Globe.
Tes... read more
Daily Life’s Most Germ-Ridden Objects? Gas Pumps
Don’t forget the hand sanitizer after filling up at the pump, because it could be coated with cold and flu germs.
So says Kimberly-Clark Corp., which tested gas stations, bank machines, mail boxes and other objects commonly touched every day i... read more
Wartime Contracting Panel Seals Records for Next 20 Years
Established by Congress to investigate and expose government waste, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan has decided to not reveal its volumes of materials to the public for another two decades.
After three years of wo... read more
Congressional Redistricting’s Big Winners…Lawyers
The redrawing of political boundaries after each census has become a windfall for the legal industry, with the process of redistricting now largely settled in courtrooms.
In more than half of the states, litigation has been filed to challenge ... read more
Energy Dept. Accuses Bechtel of Botching Nuclear Cleanup in Washington
Once a cornerstone of America’s nuclear weapons production, the former nuclear fuel factory at Hanford, Washington, is now a colossal clean-up project that has dragged on for decades, cost billions of dollars and sparked controversy between the fe... read more