Controversies
Can the Internet Industry Cut its Addiction to Coal?
Modern telecommunications and social networking websites may be contributing to the problem of global warming, claims Greenpeace.
For popular creations like Facebook or Apple’s new iPad to work, companies must rely on large data centers that h... read more
Federal Jury Orders School District to Pay Student for Ignoring Pattern of Bullying
School districts across America may now have to be more vigilant about student bullying and harassment in the wake of a landmark court case in Michigan. Hudson Area Schools has been ordered to pay a former student $800,000 for ignoring Dane Patter... read more
FBI Releases Files Kept in Room Filled with Secrets
After concealing highly-secretive investigations for more than 60 years, the FBI has released a small volume of documents from its little known “special file room” in Washington, DC. The room, created by former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, was fi... read more
Immigration Officials Set Deportation Quotas, Shifting Focus from Dangerous Illegal Immigrants
Contrary to its public policies that promise to focus on dangerous criminals, top officials in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service are requiring ICE agents to meet a quota of 400,000 arrests this year, indicating the agency inte... read more
State Department Report Criticizes Baghdad Embassy Security
Both the State Department and its defense contractor have been faulted for problems related to the security of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. Guards hired to protect the embassy were found living in crowded, unsafe conditions at Camp Olympia, ... read more
Native Remains Nationwide to be Returned from Museums to Tribes
The Department of the Interior has decided to turn over to Indian tribes and Native Hawaiians the human remains and artifacts currently in possession of museums and natural history collections. Taking effect May 14, the decision includes remains t... read more
FDA Orders Drug Companies to Stop Selling Unapproved Heart Tablets
More than four million prescriptions were filled last year for nitroglycerin tablets that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). This represents 80% of all under-the-tongue nitroglycerin prescriptions. But the FDA is now dem... read more
Just Being Accused of Crime in Florida Can Cost You
Florida has earned a reputation for relying on “cash register justice” to help pay for its court system, according to a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law. What this amounts to is individuals—both t... read more
Chertoff Joins Defense Firm that Defrauded U.S.
Michael Chertoff, the former homeland security chief who’s not been shy about exploiting terrorist threats for the benefit of his clients, has decided to join a top defense contractor that defrauded the U.S. government.
The one-time head of th... read more
Bush Refused to Negotiate with Iraqi Kidnappers of Americans…Until After They Were Tortured to Death
Officials in the Bush administration refused to negotiate with kidnappers of three American security contractors in Iraq—until after the men were tortured and murdered. Families of the three guards employed by Crescent Security Group are now suing... read more
Caesarean Births in U.S. Hit All-Time High
One third of all women giving birth in the United States are undergoing Caesarean sections as part of delivery, the highest rate ever for the country. The 32% Caesarean rate has alarmed many health experts who question the need for the procedure a... read more
Safety vs. Hearts and Minds: Should Combat Soldiers Always Wear Body Armor?
Military commanders have instructed soldiers in parts of Iraq and Afghanistan to take off their body armor when meeting with local civilians so they come across as less threatening. But the tactic has left American personnel vulnerable to attacks,... read more
The End of Saturday Mail Draws Closer
In an attempt to stop hemorrhaging money, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. But first Postmaster General John Potter must win the support of the USPS board of directors, the Postal Regulatory Commission and ... read more
Charity for Navy Veterans Draws Suspicion
The U.S. Navy Veterans Association, a national non-profit that claims to be dedicated to helping naval veterans, has come under suspicion as a result of a six-month investigation by the St. Petersburg Times. Unable to get answers from the organiza... read more
Rebranding Needed—Rename the Republican Party the Conservative Party: Myra Adams
With fewer and fewer Americans willing to identify themselves as members of the Republican Party, it’s time to change the name, argues conservative Myra Adams. Instead of the Republican Party or the GOP, the political party should reflect its phil... read more
Is Texas about to Execute an Innocent Man?
Henry Watkins “Hank” Skinner is scheduled to be executed on March 24 in Texas for the New Year’s Eve 1993 murders of his girlfriend and her two grown sons. But Northwestern University Journalism School’s Medill Innocence Project contends there are... read more