Controversies
92% of Nursing Homes Employ Ex-Convicts
Placing a relative in a nursing home means putting them in the hands of businesses that often hire convicted criminals.
A report from the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that 92% of all nursing hom... read more
Utah Jury Convicts Environmentalist Who Bid on Oil Leases
Tim DeChristopher, who disrupted the sale of federal oil and gas leases in southern Utah three years ago, was convicted in a federal court this week of committing two felonies.
DeChristopher faces up to 10 years in prison, five for making a ... read more
Big Tobacco Claims FDA Members are Drug Industry Supporters
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being accused of putting experts with a conflict of interest on a science advisory committee that reviews cigarettes. The matter arose in litigation filed by two tobacco companies, Lorillard and R.J. Rey... read more
Military Family Mental Health Visits have Grown 15% a Year Since 2001
Repeated deployments of American soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan have taken their toll not only on the troops themselves but also their families, according to the Department of Defense.
Information disclosed by the Pentagon to the U.S. Sena... read more
House Republicans Ungreen Cafeteria by Bringing Back Styrofoam Cups
Claiming the program was too expensive to continue, House Republicans have eliminated former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “Green the Capitol” initiative, which involved using only biodegradable cups and dishware in congressional cafeterias.
As a r... read more
Army Considers Returning to Old-Fashioned System of Soldiers Maintaining Vehicles Instead of Contractors
After running what one general called “a rental car company,” the U.S. Army has decided to go back to having soldiers perform maintenance on helicopters and trucks, instead of relying exclusively on contractors.
General Raymond Mason, deputy... read more
Kansas City Entertainment District Accused of Having Separate Dress Codes for Blacks and Whites
Three African-Americans men are suing Kansas City’s entertainment district for allegedly discriminating against them because of their race and attire. Robert Jackson, Kirk Proctor and Jerome Porter claim they were denied entry into a local bar a... read more
JPMorgan Gained $907 Million from One Madoff Checking Account
JPMorgan Chase was not one of the many victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. On the contrary, the bank made a lot of money off Madoff, close to a billion dollars.
According to an analysis by Linus Wilson of the University of Louisiana at... read more
Arkansas Suspends Drilling of Injection Wells after Earthquake Swarm
After months of earthquakes, including the largest felt in 35 years, the state of Arkansas has ordered a temporary moratorium on the drilling of new injection wells related to natural gas-related drilling, which some locals believe are causing t... read more
GI Bill Changes Could Force Some Veterans to Drop Out
What started out as a way to simplify the GI Bill has turned into a nightmare for some veterans seeking higher education.
Last December, Congress adopted legislation that established a flat rate of $17,500 per year for tuition and fees at al... read more
Alabama Teachers Sue over Law Criminalizing Use of Union Dues for Political Activity
The Alabama Education Association is suing Governor Robert Bentley over legislation that his predecessor pushed through the legislature in an effort to cripple the union’s political activity.
In December, lame-duck GOP Governor Richard Riley... read more
Federal Election Commission Faces Partisan Clash over Secret Campaign Ad Donors
Deep-pocketed special interests may be in a position to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2012 election without disclosing the sources of their funding, thanks to a divided Federal Election Commission (FEC) that can’t get past partisa... read more
Obama Administration Accused of Avoiding Oversight by Meeting Lobbyists outside White House
While President Barack Obama has hammered on the power of lobbying in Washington and sought to limit the role of lobbyists in his administration, his aides have been meeting with members of the Third House outside the White House, in an apparent... read more
Is U.S. Military Creating an Army of Fake Online People?
The U.S. Air Force may be trying to manipulate social media websites by creating large numbers of phony people to push across desired viewpoints.
Uncovered by Happy Rockefeller of Daily Kos and others, the Air Force has reached out to private ... read more
Controlling Two Pollutants Could Cut Global Warming in Half: U.N. Report
If more effort is put into reducing the release of short-lived pollution, the rate of global warming could be slowed dramatically, say scientists in a new United Nations report.
The study produced by the UN Environment Programme found that t... read more
Hate Groups Top 1,000 for First Time
The American hate movement continues to grow in size, as the number of such groups topped 1,000 for the first time since the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) began keeping track of the organizations in the 1980s.
Last year’s growth marked ... read more