Controversies
Chicago Police Accused of Making False DUI Arrests to Earn Overtime Pay
A group of Chicago police officers has been accused of making false arrests to pad their overtime, according to a lawsuit filed against the city. Clinton Ware claims in her federal suit that she was arrested on phony charges that were later droppe... read more
Tennessee and Montana Challenge Federal Gun Laws
Opponents of gun control are trying a new legislative tactic to skirt federal laws regulating the sale of firearms. Lawmakers in Montana and Tennessee have adopted legislation stating that guns or ammunition manufactured in these states and that r... read more
Workers Without Paid Sick Days May Spread Swine Flu
Employers who don’t give their workers paid sick leave may end up helping worsen the H1N1 pandemic in the United States. It is estimated that about 40% of all private-sector employees do not receive paid sick days, forcing those who come down with... read more
How Goldman Sachs Profited While Rivals Died
Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs sold more than $40 billion in securities just prior to the collapse of the housing market without telling its buyers of the risky investments that had been packaged together. As a result of the investment bank’... read more
Chicago Bank Shut Down Same Day It Receives Stimulus Money
It’s not uncommon for one part of the federal government to not know what another is planning even when both are working on the same thing. But what happened in Chicago late last week was particularly intriguing, in light of the fact that heads of... read more
Health Insurance Industry Overrules House Committee on Single-Payer
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was incensed on Friday upon learning that House Democratic leaders had quietly dropped his provision for allowing states to create their own single-payer health insurance program as part of the federal health ref... read more
FBI Investigated Torture at CIA Prisons
Reaffirming earlier accounts of FBI opposition to torturing terrorism suspects, documents declassified on Friday revealed special agents investigated CIA actions against detainees and that Justice Department officials even considered prosecuting i... read more
AP Sues Wisconsin Over Video of Stinger Grenade Exploded Inside Prison Cell
Wisconsin prison officials are being sued by the Associated Press for refusing to release a video of a guard subduing a prisoner with a grenade. Inmate Raynard Jackson was subjected to a stinger grenade, which sprays 180 rubber pellets, inside his... read more
TV Depictions of Violence against Women Skyrocket
Television programs are increasingly portraying women as victims of violence, according to a new study by the conservative Parents Television Council. The research shows violence in general on TV increased only 2% from 2004 to 2009, but incidents ... read more
Drug Industry Executives Try to Weasel Out of Testifying
Three pharmaceutical executives tried to get out of testifying before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on grounds that the FTC planned to videotape the proceedings. Citing a federal rule that requires testimony to be recorded by stenographers, a... read more
$30 Million in Stimulus Funds Goes to Companies Being Investigated for Fraud
Accused of defrauding the government? No problem, here’s a stimulus contract. This very scenario happened when the Department of Defense awarded nearly $30 million in work to six companies that were under federal criminal investigation on suspicio... read more
FBI Translators Eliminated as Untranslated Files Piled Up
The FBI is gathering more and more data through wiretaps or emails these days, much of which sits around waiting to be translated. Instead of hiring more translators, the FBI has allowed the number of staff and contract linguists (1,298) to declin... read more
Army Allows Sikh Doctor to Wear Beard and Turban
U.S. Army Captain Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi has become the first Sikh to be permitted to keep his turban, beard and long hair while serving on active duty as an emergency room doctor. Kalsi, who hails from a military family (his father and grandfather... read more
Police Seizing Property Equals Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Paul Jacob
For too long police have been allowed to impose a “profitable tyranny” over those accused of owning property purchased illegally, says Paul Jacob, president of Citizens in Charge, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting and... read more
AT&T Asks Employees and Their Families to Protest Net Neutrality
Facing defeat on a net neutrality proposal, AT&T pulled out all the stops this week to convince the Federal Communications Commission not to begin a process that will limit telecom giants’ ability to regulate their Internet networks. While other c... read more
Dallas Police Ticketed 39 Drivers for Not Speaking English
It is not a crime not to speak English, and yet six police officers in Dallas, Texas, cited at least 39 drivers over a three-year period for being “a non-English speaking driver.” Police Chief David Kunkle said he was “surprised and stunned” when ... read more