Controversies
Oil Companies Kick the (Aluminum) Can Down the Road Toward Toxic Oil Sands
Environmentalists loathe the rush to develop Canada’s vast oil sands reserves containing an enormous amount of crude and a wealth of potential harm to North American ecology.
Within the province of Alberta is an estimated 171.3 billion barre... read more
As FBI Moves In, Bancroft Family Has Seller's Remorse over Giving Wall Street Journal to Murdoch
The ordeal of Rupert Murdoch’s phone-hacking scandal, rooted in illegal activities that took place in the United Kingdom, has now spread to the United States, where members of a prominent publishing family are expressing regrets over their dealing... read more
While Industries Lobby against Voluntary Kid Nutrition Guidelines, Foster Care for the Obese Is Proposed
The federal government is attempting to establish voluntary guidelines—voluntary—for companies to follow when it comes to food marketed to children. The standards would not be enforceable by federal regulators, who merely seek healthier nutrition ... read more
Who Knew You Could Get Jail Time for Obstructing Justice?
Scott Bloch, the one-time special counsel to President George W. Bush, has decided he’d rather take his chances in court than plead guilty and go to jail for obstructing justice.
The former head of the Office of Special Counsel—who’s supposed ... read more
New Missouri Law Requires Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients
Welfare recipients in Missouri now will have to submit to drug testing in order to keep their benefits, under a new state law.
Anyone refusing to be tested will lose their eligibility. But those testing positive can still be in the program a... read more
Agency Created to Help Brain-Damaged Vets Not Getting the Job Done
The Department of Defense’s special program for brain injuries can’t seem to explain its purpose to congressional watchdogs, and that doesn’t bode well for the program’s future or for those it’s supposed to be helping: wounded war veterans.
... read more
If the Flaming Faucets Don't Get You, Fracking's Waste Water Might
Fracking may be bad not only for your faucet, but also your garden.
And perhaps even a forest.
With considerable speculation surrounding the controversial method of freeing up natural gas below the Earth’s surface, the U.S. Forest Service ... read more
Ex-Lobbyists Working for Congress Double Their Numbers and Take Pay Cuts to Do It
The revolving door has started going the other way in Washington, D.C., where government officials have a long history of cashing in their public service for high-paying lobbying jobs.
This year, though, a significant number of lobbyists have ... read more
Immigrating Iraqis Who Overcome Dangerous Limbo Find Crippling Unemployment in U.S.
Having survived war and terrorism in Iraq and endured long bureaucratic delays to settle in the U.S, Iraqi refugees continue to struggle because of high unemployment.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have fled their home country since the U.S. inva... read more
“Robust Recovery” Spurs BP to Seek End of Payments for Oil Spill Damages
BP says there’s no longer any need to spend the remainder of the $20 billion fund it established after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, claiming the Gulf of Mexico region has recovered from the disaster and is doing just fine.
In documentati... read more
New Hampshire Official Who Voted to Defund Planned Parenthood Says "The Party Is Over"
Having helped end funding for Planned Parenthood in New Hampshire, Republican Raymond Wieczorek made it clear what he thinks of the abortion provider and those seeking its services.
“I am opposed to abortion,” Wieczorek told Reuters. “I am o... read more
Minnesota Government Shutdown "Cost Clock" Is Ticking
It looks like the debt ceiling battle in Washington, D.C., writ small.
Energized Republican legislators demanding budget cuts; a Democratic chief executive seeking a compromise that includes increased tax revenues. And an 11-day government ... read more
One Year After Sex-for-Votes Scandal, Whaling Commission Considers Reforms
Seeking to eliminate a repeat of last year’s vote-buying scandal, the United Kingdom has proposed reforms to the International Whaling Commission that would alter how nations fund the international body.
A British media investigation in 2010 u... read more
Hacking Scandal Could Be Murdoch’s Watergate
Has Rupert Murdoch manifested his own Watergate scandal? Allegations have surfaced that in addition to celebrities and relatives of murder victims, political figures—including former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown—were targets of illegal data... read more
Oil-Rich South Sudan's Independence Jubilation May Be Short-Lived
Now that the party is over, the task of nation building begins for the new Republic of South Sudan, which officially gained independence over the weekend.
South Sudan’s first order of business: Securing its oil-based economy. Currently, 98% of... read more
Immigration Down, Violence and Business Up at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Things are not what they used to be along the U.S.-Mexico border, which has been characterized for generations as a place where illegal Mexicans sneak onto American soil in ever growing numbers to take advantage of economic opportunities.
Thes... read more