California seizes guns from owners – and it might become a national model
In California, the government is already coming for the guns. Notwithstanding the Second Amendment, rules and regulations across the United States outline certain restrictions for who can legally possess a firearm. In the state of California, factors such as a felony conviction or a history of mental health issues mean roughly 20,000 gun owners are [...]
Freedom of (some) information: US ‘national security’ hampers data access
Despite President Obama’s promise that openness will prevail, America’s government agencies continue to tighten their grip over free public access of state documents, AP reports. Papers are mostly being censored to conform to the security policy. America’s Freedom of Information Act has been increasingly sacrificed for the sake of national security, revealed the latest analyses [...]
New record: 15 percent of Americans on food stamps
Government dependability is continuing to rise, with a record-breaking number of Americans enrolled to receive food stamps. The latest USDA report shows that 47.8 million Americans, which make up 15 percent of the country, are receiving the benefits. The US Department of Agriculture has announced that 47.79 million people were enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition [...]
Censored cupcakes: US school removed toy soldiers from kid’s birthday cake over violence fears
Toy soldiers featured on birthday cupcakes of a nine-year-old US boy have spoiled the appetite of school officials at a Michigan elementary school, whose staff said the cakes were inappropriate in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting. School officials at Schall Elementary rushed to remove Hunter Fountain’s plastic soldiers, designed to spice up [...]
American doctors warn of new killer virus
Traveling to the Middle East? US health officials are warning Americans to be on the lookout for a new coronavirus, an acute respiratory infection similar to SARS that has so far infected 14 people and killed eight. Most of the deadly infections have occurred in the Middle East, but it only takes one infected American [...]
Shocker: Eighty percent of NYC graduates unable to read
New York City’s literacy rates are on the decline: nearly 80 percent of high school graduates lack basic skills like reading, writing and math and are required to relearn them before qualifying for community college. During his most recent State of the City address, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hyped about the large investment [...]
House demands Pentagon disclose details about domestic drones
The United States House of Representatives is demanding that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel explain to Congress details pertaining to any domestic spying missions conducted by Pentagon-operated surveillance drones. The House voted this week on a lengthy appropriations bill that, tucked deep within, contained a provision ordering the Department of Defense to disclose information about a [...]
UN demands prosecution of Busha-era CIA crimes
A United Nations investigator has demanded that the US publish classified documents regarding the CIA’s human rights violations under former President George W. Bush, with hopes that the documents will lead to the prosecution of public officials. Documents about the CIA’s program of rendition and secret detention of suspected terrorists have remained classified, even though [...]
‘Sequester reflects Washington’s ugly political deadlock’
Poor Americans will be the first to suffer from the looming sequester budget cuts, Margaret Bogenrief of ACM Partners told RT. The harsh budget cuts are set to begin in the US on Friday at midnight. The deadlock between the Republicans and the Democrats in the US Congress makes any kind of last-minute deal to [...]
Obama signs sequester bill
Austerity has hit the United States as President Barack Obama signed into law a directive ushering in significant cuts to federal agencies’ budgets and triggering the sequester that has been debated in Washington during the last several weeks. In the White House on Friday, President Obama inked his name to the order, and with it [...]