Archive for the ‘u.s.+news’ Category

Bush protesters get $50,000 state settlement

Monday, August 18th, 2008

State records show that a $50,000 judgment has been awarded to two retired school teachers who were strip-searched during a 2004 campaign stop by President Bush.Read the full story

Head of Foundation Bailed Out Nonprofit Group After Its Funds Were Embezzled

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

When the embezzlement of almost $1 million by the brother of the founder of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known as Acorn, surfaced last month, the organization announced that an anonymous supporter had agreed to make it whole. That supporter was Drummond Pike, the founder ...

FDA: Chemical found in plastic bottles is safe - despite Canadian claims to contrary

Friday, August 15th, 2008

The agency previously declared the chemical safe, but agreed to revisit that opinion after a report by the federal National Toxicology Program said there was "some concern" about its risks in infants. Based on a review of animal studies, the government working group said bisphenol can cause changes in behavior ...

Banks pushed home equity lines and debt culture

Friday, August 15th, 2008

Citigroup spent $1 billion advertising it's Live Richly campaign from 2001 to 2006 encouraging Americans to take out home equity loans. Marketing executives knew that "second mortgage" had an unappealing ring. So they seized the idea of "home equity," with its connotations of ownership and fairness. Advertising historians look back ...

Smog puts Seattle area at risk for pollution penalties

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Seattle's brown summer skies have never been much of a secret: The Seattle area is on the verge of getting a brown smudge on its green reputation. A combination of thousands of tailpipes and factories, summer sunshine and stricter pollution standards is putting the region on the brink of ...

Iraq Contracts Have Cost Taxpayers At Least $85 Billion Since Invasion

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Military contracts in the Iraq theater have cost taxpayers at least $85 billion, and when it comes to providing security, they might not be any cheaper than using military personnel, according to a report released Tuesday.Read the full story

Court won’t resurrect lawsuit in CIA leak case

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

The appeals court said there was no constitutional basis for the court to step in and it declined to create one. The judges said Plame and Wilson could bring their case under the Privacy Act, though it does not cover the president or vice president's offices. The court also said ...

US begins flying Georgian troops home from Iraq

Monday, August 11th, 2008

The U.S. military began flying 2,000 Georgian troops home from Iraq on Sunday, military officials said, after the Georgians recalled the soldiers following the outbreak of fighting with Russia in the breakaway province of South Ossetia. The decision was a timely payback for the former Soviet republic that has ...

Bush to gut endangered species laws

Monday, August 11th, 2008

If approved, the changes would represent the biggest overhaul of the Endangered Species Act since 1988. They would accomplish through new federal regulations what conservative Republicans have been unable to achieve in Congress: an end to some environmental reviews that developers and other federal agencies blame for delays and cost ...

Did NBC Alter the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony?

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Viewing the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony online at NBC's Olympics website, you can see that the order in which the countries were presented was very different from the actual order of the countries in the ceremony, as listed at Wikipedia. NBC skipped roughly 100 countries ahead, then jumped back and ...