Top Stories
Catholics Gain a Super Majority on the Supreme Court
Cultural coverage of Sonia Sotomayor’s ascension to the Supreme Court has centered on her ethnicity (first Hispanic) and her sex (third woman). Overlooked in the excitement is her religion. Sotomayor is a Roman Catholic. No big deal? With her co... read more
Bush Invaded Iraq on a Mission from God
During the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush and members of his administration gave a variety of justifications for military action, which can best be summed up as “Saddam Hussein has chemical and biological weapons and... read more
50-Year Study Shows Glaciers Shrinking
Three glaciers in the northern reaches of the United States have been shrinking in size, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Officials with the USGS have been studying three “benchmark glaciers” since the 1950s to help understand changes in c... read more
Court Restores Roadless Rule for 58 Million Acres
An attempt by the Bush administration to thwart the protection of national forest lands from development was overturned on Wednesday by a federal appeals court in California. The legal battle pitted the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001, ado... read more
Democracy Delayed in Iraq
Democracy is having a difficult time taking root in Iraq. When elections are held, such as those in February, turnout has been poor, and citizens in some provinces have not been allowed to vote. But those problems pale in comparison to the governm... read more
Dying in the Fields: Farm Workers Sue California
Despite creating a program specifically designed to protect them from heat exposure, farm workers are continuing to die in agricultural fields in California, prompting the ACLU and others to file a lawsuit against the state. In 2005, state officia... read more
Who’s Responsible if a Military Robot Kills Civilians?
Self-thinking military robots, not unlike the killing machines featured in the Terminator movies, are by no means the stuff of science fiction, warns Professor Noel Sharkey, an expert in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics at the University ... read more
Why Can’t We Have the Health Care Congress Has?
A recent Gallup poll revealed that less than 30% of Americans believe members of Congress can relate to the current problems with health care, and it’s no wonder. When taking into account the wealth of options lawmakers have when it comes to medic... read more
More U.S. Soldiers This Year Have Died of Suicide than in Combat
Suicide has become the biggest killer in the U.S. military, surpassing combat-related deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. So far in 2009 there have been 129 reported suicides by active duty soldiers and reservists, which is more than the number killed... read more
Get a University Education Online (Without a Degree or Exams)
If learning is more important to you than earning a university degree, then YouTube EDU might be for you. In March the popular video-sharing website launched a special wing where universities and colleges have uploaded thousands of online courses ... read more
Pelosi Agrees to Allow a Vote on Single-Payer
After angering the liberal wing of her party over compromises made to conservative Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has decided to allow a floor vote later this year on a plan creating a single-payer government-financed health care pro... read more
Americans Support Ron Paul Plan to Audit the Federal Reserve
A plan to open the Federal Reserve to the same scrutiny that almost all other federal government operations endure is overwhelmingly supported by the American people, according to a new poll by Rasmussen Reports. The survey found that 75% of Ameri... read more
Hillary Clinton Threatens U.K. over Revealing Torture Details
During a recent visit to the United Kingdom, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reportedly told London officials that the United States government would cease sharing intelligence information with its longtime ally if a British court releas... read more
U.S. Loses Last Foreign Ally in Iraq
And then there was one. As of July 31 the multi-national force in Iraq will consist entirely of troops from one nation: the United States. The last remaining militaries other than the U.S., the British and Australians, will pull out their troops b... read more
Majority Favor Single-Payer and Higher Taxes on Cigarettes, Alcohol, Snacks and Wealthy
While members of Congress dicker about overhauling the nation’s health care system, a majority of Americans are in favor of solutions their representatives are not even considering. These include single-payer and government-run models, as well as ... read more
Iraq War Violence Comes Home
Since returning home from the war in Iraq, numerous soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Carson, Colorado, have been accused of a laundry list of crimes, including multiple counts of murder. A... read more