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States Deciding Not to Look at Seismic Risks of Drilling
Despite a panel’s recommendation, some states are overhauling drilling rules without addressing all seismic risks. Nine months ago a National Academy of Sciences panel said oil and gas regulators should take steps to prevent man-made earthquakes. Yet two major drilling states, California and Texas, are writing new drilling rules without looking at the seismic risks linked [...]
Salt Sugar Fat: NY Times Reporter Michael Moss on How the Food Giants Hooked America on Junk Food
Food companies have known for decades that salt, sugar and fat are not good for us in the quantities Americans consume them. But every year, people are swayed to ingest about twice the recommended amount of salt and fat -- and an estimated 70 pounds of sugar. We speak with New York Times reporter Michael Moss about how in his new book, "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us." In a multi-year investigation, Moss explores deep inside the laboratories where food scientists calculate the "bliss point" of sugary drinks or the "mouth feel" of fat, and use advanced technology to make it irresistible and addictive. As a result of this $1 trillion-a-year industry, one-in-three adults, and one-in-five children, are now clinically obese.
Land Grab Cheats North Dakota Tribes Out of $1 Billion, Suits Allege
by Abrahm Lustgarten Native Americans on an oil-rich North Dakota reservation have been cheated out of more than $1 billion by schemes to buy drilling rights for lowball pric...
The Institute for Mexicans Abroad Holds its Annual Planning Meeting
(Source: Federal Government of Mexico) THE INSTITUTE FOR MEXICANS ABROAD HOLDS ITS ANNUAL PLANNING MEETING The Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME) held its annual planning meeting in Mexico City from February 20 - 22, 2013. Fifty-seven community a...
Organized Crime and Corruption in Juarez, Mexico
Louie Palu, for the Pulitzer Center A view of Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua: This slideshow features outlying areas of the city including Ascension, the desert to the west, the Juarez Valley to the eas...
Exclusive: Aaron Swartz’s Partner, Expert Witness Say Prosecutors Unfairly Targeted Dead Activist
Outrage is growing over the U.S. Justice Department's prosecution of the 26-year-old who committed suicide last week just weeks before he was to go on trial. Pioneering computer programmer and cyber activist Aaron Swartz was facing up to 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted for using computers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to download millions of academic articles provided by the nonprofit research service JSTOR. As the chief prosecutor Carmen Ortiz defends her actions, we speak to Swartz's partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, and computer security consultant Alex Stamos, who would have been the chief expert witness at Swartz's trial. We invited representatives from the U.S. attorney's office and MIT to join us, but they declined. [includes rush transcript]
U.S. Suffers Far More Violent Deaths Than Any Other Wealthy Nation, Study Finds
Study says shootings are one of many factors contributing to lower U.S. life expectancy. U.S. men ranked the lowest in life expectancy among the 17 wealthy countries reviewed, at 75.6 years, while U.S. women ranked second lowest, at 80.7 years. The study by an expert panel set up by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research [...]
Chefs Stand 500 Strong to Stop Seafood Fraud
What's on your plate? Source: wikimedia commons Spurred by Oceana’s seafood fraud report for New York City released last week, Sunday’s New York Times took a broader look at the widespread practice of food mislabeling. Oceana’s initial report, ...
The 10 Most Common Nursing Home Violations
by Charles Ornstein ProPublica today is updating our Nursing Home Inspect tool, which now includes details of more than a quarter-million deficiencies identified by government...
