Controversies
178 Atlanta Teachers and Administrators Accused of Helping Students Cheat on Tests
More than 170 teachers and administrators spent 10 years helping students in the Atlanta school system cheat on a standardized test, according to an investigation launched by Governor Nathan Deal. The multiple-choice exam, known as the Criterion... read more
Postal Service Charges Iowa City $831,000 for Freedom of Information Request
Officials in Sioux City, Iowa, have been told by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that they can find out how the decision was made to move a mail processing facility to another town.
As long as Sioux City forks over more than $800,000.
Onc... read more
FDA Considering Relaxing Rules against Scientists Receiving Money from Drug Companies
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may relax conflict-of-interest rules that keep scientists with financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries from advising the regulatory body.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg ack... read more
Two Years in Prison for Bidding at Oil Lease Auction
The legal saga of environmentalist Tim DeChristopher ended this week when a federal judge sentenced the Utah man to two years in prison for interfering with government auctions of energy leases.
In 2008, DeChristopher crashed a federal sale ... read more
Homeland Security Grants Rigged to Favor Religious Groups
Non-profits can seek financial assistance from the Department of Homeland Security for buttressing their operations against terrorist attacks. But religious-oriented groups have the best shot of receiving funding from the Urban Areas Security In... read more
More Companies Refusing to Hire Unemployed
Employment opportunities used to be for people out of work. But in today’s post-recession economy not having a job is an automatic disqualifier, leaving many of the 14 million Americans who are unemployed besides themselves.
The New York Tim... read more
Atheists Sue Over Cross Installed at September 11 Memorial Site
Atheists are suing to have a gigantic Christian cross removed from the former World Trade Center site where a memorial is being developed to those who died on September 11, 2001. The organization American Atheists has filed litigation with the New... read more
Why Can’t Deaf Americans Serve in the Military?
Individuals missing arms or legs are serving in the U.S. military. Individuals who are blind are also serving. But anyone who’s deaf cannot serve their country, and that’s not okay with Keith Nolan.
Nolan is a high school teacher in Southern... read more
Drug Companies Stay Away From Vaccine that Fights Cocaine Addiction
Dr. Thomas Kosten and his wife, Therese, have spent 20 years developing a vaccine for cocaine addiction. The drug works for some people, the Kostens say, but for others it has an unfortunate tendency to make them consume even more of the narcoti... read more
Bank Regulator Criticizes Bank Regulation
As far Democrats and consumer advocates are concerned, John Walsh can’t be replaced fast enough by President Barack Obama.
Walsh has spent the past year running the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which puts him in charge of regul... read more
Marine Whistleblower Saved Lives…and was Punished
Franz Gayl spent 35 years working as a civilian science adviser for the U.S. Marine Corps…until he opened his mouth about the Department of Defense dragging its feet to help protect Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last fall, Gayl lost his s... read more
Small Banks Pay Back Treasury Loans with Money from New Treasury Loans
On the surface it appeared last week that eight small banks repaid the Department of the Treasury more than $100 million for loans received during the 2008 bailout of the financial industry. But the Project on Government Oversight found somethin... read more
Not All of the South Will Rise Again
Nearly 150 years after the Civil War, Alabama is still paying taxes that originated in response to that conflict. And it’s aggravating historic site lovers across the state.
In an effort to finance care for about 60,000 Confederate veterans,... read more
California Prison Doctor Has Prescription for High Pay
Other than a few state university officials, no California government employee made more money last year than Dr. Jeffrey Rohlfing, a prison physician who’s done very little doctoring in recent years.
According to a Los Angeles Times investi... read more
It Pays for Lawmakers to Criticize Their Colleagues
Things have gotten nasty between two congressional representatives from Florida, and both sides are trying to leverage the situation for political contributions.
It all began when Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz (who also chairs the Democrat... read more
Most Americans Want to Slash Defense Spending, but It’s Barely Part of the Deficit Discussion
From food assistance to Medicare, politicians in Washington have discussed various ways to trim the budget deficit. But the most costly federal agency—the Department of Defense—has been treated by conservatives as a sacred cow, with no willingness... read more