NewsTrust - Community - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

The money swamp created by Citizens United: Dark Money, corporate shell games, and SuperPAC plutocrats

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Hightower Lowdown - By Jim Hightower - May. 19 (Special Report) - Forty years later, however, CREEP is back. Thanks to 2010's disastrous Citizens United ruling by a handful of raging corporatists on the Supreme Court, the moneyed elite can again buy as much political power as they want, without disclosing who's doing the buying.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

How the US Turned Three Pacifists Into 'Multiple Felony Saboteurs'

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Fran Quigley - May. 19 (News Report) - In just ten months, the United States managed to transform an 82 year-old Catholic nun and two pacifists from non-violent anti-nuclear peace protestors accused of misdemeanor trespassing into federal felons convicted of violent crimes of terrorism. Now in jail awaiting sentencing for their acts at an Oak Ridge, TN nuclear weapons production facility, their story should chill every person concerned about dissent in the US.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The 4 Big Ways That Insatiable Corporate Hunger for Profits Has Devastated American Life -- and the World Along with It

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Paul Buchheit - May. 19 (Special Report) - In this dream world of global capitalism, young people are going from zero income on the farm to a few dollars a day on a 12-hour factory shift, and as a result, based on the World Bank's poverty threshold of $1.25 per day, they're no longer "in poverty." So the media piles on praise for free markets. The Economist proclaimed that "poverty is declining everywhere." The Washington Post gushed that "a billion people have been lifted from poverty through free-market competition."

NewsTrust Rating: 4.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Outrageous Attacks on Supporters of Church-State Separation: Death Threats, Murdered Pets, and Vandalized Property

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Adam Lee - May. 19 (Special Report) - The religious right despises the First Amendment, since it's constantly foiled their efforts to inject Christian doctrine into government. And when they've lost in court, religious conservatives in the U.S. have often waged campaigns of threats, harassment and outright violence against First Amendment plaintiffs, in the hopes of intimidating them into backing down and achieving by mob violence what they can't achieve under the law

NewsTrust Rating: 4.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Honey Bee Die-Off Caused By Multiple Factors Including Pesticides

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

billmoyers.com - By Therisa Riley - May. 19 (News) - A federal study released today attributes the massive die-off in American honey bee colonies to a combination of factors, including pesticides, poor diet, parasites and a lack of genetic diversity. Nearly a third of honey bee colonies in the United States have been wiped out since 2006. The estimated value of crops lost if bees were no longer able to pollinate fruits and vegetables is around $15 billion.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Genetically Modified Democracy: Monsanto and Congress Move to Stomp on States’ Rights

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

nationofchange.org - By Ronnie cummins - May. 18 (News Report) - the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) that Monsanto has begun secretly lobbying its Congressional allies to attach one or more “Monsanto Riders” or amendments to the 2013 Farm Bill that would preempt or prohibit states from requiring labels on genetically engineered (GE) foods.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Kenya launches universal HPV vaccine access to youths

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

africanews.com - By George Okore - May. 18 (News Report) - As the world celebrates the Cervical Cancer Week, Kenya has taken a leap of faith by launching universal distribution of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine, expected to treat cervical cancer- the most dangerous disease among womenfolk worldwide.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Climate Tipping Point? Concentration of Carbon Dioxide Tops 400 ppm For First Time in Human History

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 13 (News Report) - The 400 ppm threshold has been an important marker in U.N. climate change negotiations, widely recognized as a dangerous level that could drastically worsen human-caused global warming. We speak to leading climate scientist Michael Mann, distinguished professor of meteorology at Penn State University and author of the recent book, "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines." Mann warns, "We have to go several million years back in time to find a point in Earth’s history where CO2 was as high as it is now.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Ríos Montt Guilty of Genocide: Are Guatemalan President Pérez Molina, U.S. Officials Next?

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 13 (News Report) - In a historic verdict, former U.S.-backed Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt has been sentenced to 80 years in prison after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. Ríos Montt was convicted of overseeing the slaughter of more than 1,700 people in Guatemala’s Ixil region after seizing power in 1982. The ruling marks the first time a former head of state had been found guilty of genocide in his own country. The judge in the case has instructed prosecutors to launch an immediate investigation of "all others" connected to the crimes

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations Surpass 400 PPM Milestone In May 9 Daily Average

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By James Gerken - May. 10 (News Report) - The milestone, hit on May 9, may be symbolic, notes Climate Central, but manmade CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels continue to rise, bringing greater atmospheric warming and exacerbating the effects of climate change

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Pentagon Study Finds 26,000 Military Sexual Assaults Last Year, Over 70 Sex Crimes Per Day

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 08 (Special Report) - A shocking new report by the Pentagon has found that 70 sexual assaults may be taking place within the U.S. military every day. The report estimates there were 26,000 sex crimes committed in 2012, a jump of 37 percent since 2010. Most of the incidents were never reported. The findings were released two days after the head of the Air Force's sexual assault prevention unit, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, was arrested for sexual assault. We air highlights from Tuesday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on military sexual assault and speak with Anu Bhagwati, executive director and co-founder of Service Women's Action Network. "The numbers are outrageous, and I think we've reached a tipping point," Bhagwati says. "The American public is furious."

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Chief of the U.S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Charged with... Sexual Battery

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Katie McDonough - May. 08 (News Report) - Krusinski is accused of drunkenly fondling a woman in a parking lot, according to Arlington County police

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

"Over the Line": U.S. Agents Shooting Dead Innocent Mexicans Across the Border With Impunity

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 07 (Special Report) - A joint investigation by The Washington Monthly and The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute has found over the past five years U.S. border agents have shot across the border at least 10 times, killing a total of six Mexicans on Mexican soil. The killings have gone unpunished after a court ruled the Mexican victims have no standing to sue in U.S. courts since they died on their own soil. Investigative reporter John Carlos Frey writes: "The picture that emerges from this investigation is of an agency operating with thousands of poorly trained rookies and failing to provide the kind of transparency, accountability, and clear rules of engagement that Americans routinely expect of law enforcement agencies." Frey joins us to discuss the shootings, and why he fears that the current immigration consensus in Washington on "border security" could increase Mexico's civilian toll.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Obama Embraces Plutocrats Again With His Billionaire Commerce Secretary Choice

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Steven Rosenfeld - May. 07 (News Analysis) - her record as a businesswoman shares similarities with Mitt Romney’s. Her massive wealth is kept in tax-avoiding offshore accounts. Her family’s best-known business, the Hyatt hotel empire, is known for bitter and ongoing disputes with labor unions. Her resume includes running a bank that pioneered high-interest subprime loans and then failed miserably, leaving uninsured depositors with losses averaging $6,000.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Your Retirement for a Bottle of Champagne: How Wall Street Fraudsters Ripped You Off, Again

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Lynn Stuart Parramore - May. 07 (Special Report) - LIBOR was, in the opinion of many, the con of the century. But is it a crime without punishment? About a month ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that a federal court judge had let several banks off the hook, dismissing claims that 16 banks targeted by lawsuits had broken federal antitrust laws by rigging LIBOR. As Matt Taibbi explained in his must-read article on the banking scandal, the federal judge bought the banks’ ridiculous blame-the-victim story that if cities and towns and other investors lost money over LIBOR rigging, it was their own fault.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

America Is One Bad Winter Away From A Food Disaster

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Todd Woody - May. 06 (News Report) - Forget the plight of the polar bear for a moment and consider the coming collapse of the $30 billion honey bee economy in the US. Since 2006 honey bees responsible for pollinating more than 100 crops—from apples to zucchini—have been dying by the tens of millions.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Is a new study of Medicaid a game changer?

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - May. 03 (Fact Check) - On May 1, 2013, the New England Journal of Medicine published a landmark study with important implications for President Obama’s health care law -- and, in a much less far-reaching way, some of our recent fact-checks. The topic: Medicaid, the government-run health insurance program for the poor. Under Obama’s law, states can get federal dollars to enroll their uninsured residents in Medicaid. Some politicians argue that taking the federal money now leaves the state on the hook for long-term fiscal commitments it can’t afford. On April 8, we fact-checked a claim by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that went beyond the ... >>More

NewsTrust Rating: 2.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Somalia Famine Killed 133,000 Children Under The Age Of 5

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jason Straziuso - May. 02 (News Report) - A decision by extremist Islamic militants to ban delivery of food aid and a "normalization of crisis" that numbed international donors to unfolding disaster made south-central Somalia the most dangerous place in the world to be a child in 2011. The first in-depth study of famine deaths in Somalia in 2011 was released Thursday, and it estimates that 133,000 children under age 5 died, with child death rates approaching 20 percent in some communities.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.2 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Climate change hurts women. Wall Street Journal sneers. - Grist

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Grist - By John Upton - May. 02 (News Report) - Women in the developing world, many of whom work in agriculture, are vulnerable to climate change. Apparently the idea of girls being sold off into early marriage and women being pushed into prostitution is fucking hilarious.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Mind-boggling infographic shows why sharks should be way more scared of you

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Grist - By Jess Zimmerman - May. 02 (Special Report) - (see the graphic)

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

A Desperate Situation at Guantánamo: Over 130 Prisoners on Hunger Strike, Dozens Being Force-Fed

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Apr. 29 (News Report) - Lawyers for the prisoners say more than 130 men are taking part in the hunger strike, which began in February. One of the hunger strikers is a Yemeni man named Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel. In a letter published in The New York Times, he wrote: "Denying ourselves food and risking death every day is the choice we have made. I just hope that because of the pain we are suffering, the eyes of the world will once again look to Guantánamo before it is too late."

NewsTrust Rating: 4.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

When Your Boss Steals Your Wages: The Invisible Epidemic That’s Sweeping America

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Lynn Stuart Parramore - Apr. 29 (Special Report) - Americans like to think that a fair day’s work brings a fair day’s pay. Cheating workers of their wages may seem like a problem of 19th-century sweatshops. But it’s back and taking a terrible toll. We’re talking billions of dollars in wages; millions of workers affected each year. A gigantic heist is being perpetrated against working people: they’re getting screwed on overtime, denied their tips, shortchanged on benefits, defrauded on payroll, and handed paychecks that bounce like rubber balls. A conservative estimate of unpaid overtime alone shows that it costs workers at least $19 billion per year

NewsTrust Rating: 4.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

TIMELINE: Deinstitutionalization And Its Consequences

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Deanna Pan - Apr. 29 (Investigative Report) - 1773 The first patient is admitted to the Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds in Williamsburg, Virginia. The rebuilt Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds in Williamsburg. Wikipedia 1841 Boston schoolteacher Dorothea Dix visits the East Cambridge Jail where she first sees the horrible living conditions of the mentally ill. Believing they could be cured, Dix lobbies lawmakers and courts for better treatment until her death in 1887. Her efforts lead to the establishment of 110 psychiatric hospitals by 1880. Dorothea Dix Wikipedia 1887 On assignment for New York World , Nellie Bly feigns lunacy in order to be admitted to the Women"s Lunatic Asylum on New York"s Blackwell"s Island. Her exposé, " Ten Days in a Mad-house ," detailing the appalling living conditions at the asylum, leads to a grand jury investigation and needed reforms at the institution. Wikipedia 1907 ...

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor: Maybe Bush v. Gore Wasn't the Best Decision

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Ian Millhiser - Apr. 29 (News) - Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the conservative retired justice who provided the fifth vote to install George W. Bush as president, is now having second thoughts about that decision: Looking back, O’Connor said, she isn’t sure the high court should have taken [Bush v. Gore].

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Monsanto's Roundup Linked to Parkinson's, Infertility and Cancers

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Carey Gillam - Apr. 28 (News Report) - The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer