Top Stories
Coal Waste Contaminates Water in 21 States
While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers whether to impose new federal regulations on coal ash, a new report shows the waste is a bigger problem than previously reported.
The study, produced by the Environmental Integrity Proje... read more
GAO Says Federal Agencies are Too Cozy with Same Old Contractors
Too much of the U.S. government has established a bad habit of doing business again and again with the same contractors, resulting in inefficiencies and lost opportunities to save money. The Government Accountability Office came to this conclusion... read more
Secret Mobile Body Scanning Vans…Coming to your City?
If you thought the use of full-body scanners at airports was a violation of personal privacy, just wait. The same technology is now rolling down the streets of American cities in unmarked vans.
American Science & Engineering (AS&E), a Massachu... read more
Protecting Hallowed Ground? How about a Casino and a Wal-Mart at Civil War Sites?
Historians and veterans organizations are outraged by attempts to establish commercial businesses so close to revered Civil War sites in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The National Coalition for History and The American Legion are opposing plans t... read more
Americans are Still Dying in Iraq…Starting with Brandon Maggart
You would think with all the hoopla surrounding the end of the U.S. “combat mission” in Iraq that Americans are no longer fighting a war there. Unfortunately, the reality is much different. Americans are still being killed in Iraq.
Sgt. Brando... read more
Percentage of Men with a Job Hits New Low
Being male isn’t the certainty it used to be for securing employment. In 1972, 75% of men had jobs, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2009, that rate had fallen more than 10%, down to 64.5%. The percentage of women ... read more
If Christians Can Pray at Auschwitz and Muslims at the Pentagon, Why Not at “Ground Zero”?
Muslims have no business building a $100 million cultural center near Ground Zero in New York City, argue many conservatives and Republicans, and even some Democrats. But worshippers of Islam already have a presence in the World Trade Center neigh... read more
Suicides Increase among Long-Term Unemployed…and Border Patrol Agents
Explanations for rising suicides rates among Americans who have gone long periods without work are easily understood. The same can’t be said for the guardians of the nation’s borders who also are experiencing spikes in suicides.
Among the 14.6... read more
Other Governments Investigating Bush-Era Torture; Obama Administration Silent
What the Executive and Judicial branches of government have been reluctant to do in the U.S, their counterparts in other countries are confronting head-on. Judges in the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Poland and Lithuania are preparing to hear ... read more
Georgia Scientists Say At Least 70% of Spilled Oil is Still Unaccounted For
Contrary to the much-touted federal government report issued August 2 by the National Incident Command (NIC), the vast majority of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon accident is still in the ocean. An assessment conduct... read more
Military Deaths in Afghanistan under Obama Top Those under Bush
In less than two years, the United States has suffered more combat deaths in Afghanistan under President Barack Obama than it did during the two-term presidency of George W. Bush. The latest casualty figures show 577 American soldiers have died in... read more
Real War against Terrorists Isn’t in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia
While much of the public attention continues to focus on Afghanistan, the U.S. has been quietly ramping up its attacks on al-Qaeda in Yemen, one of the many countries into which the war on terror has expanded under President Barack Obama.
Acco... read more
FDA Approves 5-Day-After Birth Control Pill
Women will now have up to five days to keep from getting pregnant after having unprotected sex, with the approval of the pill ella (ulipristal acetate) by the Food and Drug Administration. Manufactured by the French firm HRA-Pharma and soon to be ... read more
Fish and Wildlife Service Allows Water Stations for Illegal Immigrants on Public Land
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has decided to issue permits to humanitarian groups seeking to establish water stations on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona so that illegal immigrants crossing the border don’t ... read more
30,000 Line Up for Housing Help in Atlanta
Wealthy Americans who think the financial crisis is over might want to consider what happened in Atlanta on Wednesday. Housing officials there got more than they expected when the application period for public housing assistance opened, drawing a ... read more
20% of Our Genes are Already Patented by Private Companies
One-fifth of the human genome is currently controlled by companies that have received patents issued by the U.S. government. More than 40,000 gene patents have been awarded to biotechnology businesses, with even more on the way, what with three mi... read more