Controversies
Trout Creek Polluted by “Toilet Flush Every 14 Seconds for 9 Years”
Faulty sewage infrastructure in Allentown, Pennsylvania, caused raw sewage to spill into Little Lehigh Creek from 1999 to 2008, resulting in more than 33 million gallons of untreated waste to flow into the tributary. An investigation by the Allent... read more
Deporting the Mentally Ill
Mentally ill individuals detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement are not provided legal representation when facing deportation hearings. This means those incapable of representing themselves before an immigration judge face a greater r... read more
USAID to Help Outsource IT Jobs to Sri Lanka
The U.S. Agency for International Development is planning to spend $10 million in taxpayer money on a jobs program that will increase the outsourcing of well-paid American jobs. The funds are part of a $36 million effort by USAID to train 3,000 wo... read more
Canadian Wind Turbine Kills 10 Birds and Bats a Day
Not all renewable energy sources are completely environmentally friendly. For instance, Canada’s Wolfe Island Eco-Power Centre2, the country’s second largest wind farm, has demonstrated itself to be a killer of birds and bats.
The first study ... read more
Oil Industry Deaths Common in U.S.
The oil and gas industry is a real killer. Its fatality rate (30.0 per 100,000 workers) is eight times higher than the average rate for all American workers, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of ... read more
Innocent Man Released after 27 Years in Texas Prison
When asked what kept him going through nearly three decades in prison for a crime he did not commit, Michael Anthony Green credited his anger. Green is now a free man, after DNA tests showed he did not rape a woman in Houston in 1983. But it took ... read more
Rochester Increases Revenue by Running up Water Bills on Vacant Houses
City officials in Rochester, New York, have a problem turning off the tap. Instead of shutting off water supplies to the city’s numerous vacant homes, the local government has continued to read the meters and compile “astonishing” water bills for ... read more
Women’s Small Business Program Finally Ready…after 10 Years
Thanks to foot-dragging during the Bush administration, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is only now getting around to implementing rules to help women-owned businesses receive government contracts even though the relevant program was signe... read more
FDA Clears First Test of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to a biotechnology company to conduct the first-ever clinical trial involving human embryonic stem cells (hESC). Geron, based in Menlo Park, California, will test using hESC on patie... read more
Big Agriculture Companies Look to Congress for Help against Smaller Producers
Unhappy with a plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to level the playing field between big agricultural companies and smaller farmers and ranchers, agribusiness is lobbying hard for Democrats and Republicans on the House Agriculture C... read more
Financial “Reform” Exempts SEC from Freedom of Information Disclosures
Transparency is all well and good when it comes to Wall Street, but not the government agency charged with regulating it. As part of the financial reform bill approved by Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission won’t have to turn over man... read more
Are Paper Receipts Toxic?
Getting a paper receipt with your next purchase may be wise fiscal management, but dangerous for your health. Laboratory testing commissioned by the Environmental Working Group found high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) on 40% of receipts sampled from... read more
Obama Administration Wants FBI to Access Web Browsing History without Warrant
As part of the National Security Letters (NSL) process, which permits the government to obtain records related to terrorist threats without a warrant, the Obama administration wants the FBI to gain access to a user’s Web browser history. Under the... read more
Judges in Drilling Moratorium Case Tied to Oil Industry
After a federal judge nullified the Obama administration’s moratorium on offshore oil drilling, federal lawyers have turned to a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit appellate court to get the ban reinstated. But two of the three judges set to h... read more
Texas County Sued, Judge Indicted, for Jailing 13-Year-Olds Ditching School
Unable to pay fines for skipping school, teenagers as young as 13 in an impoverished Texas county have wound up spending weeks in local jails, according to a lawsuit filed against Hidalgo County. Lead plaintiffs Francisco De Luna and Elizabeth Di... read more
Army Suicides Reach One a Day; Epidemic Spreads to National Guard and Reserves
The U.S. Army, along with the National Guard and Army Reserves, averaged a suicide a day in June, making what already was a bad year even worse.
Thirty-two soldiers, including 11 in the Guard and Reserve, killed themselves last month, a rate o... read more