US government

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Family Fights US Mint Over Rare Coins

1933 double-eagles were supposed to have been destroyed

(Newser) - A Philadelphia family is going head-to-head with the US government in a legal battle over ownership of 10 rare "double-eagle" coins worth $20 each when minted, and now valued in the millions. The coins were first produced by the US Mint in 1933 but never distributed. All but two...

US Faces Suit for Infecting Guatemalans With Syphilis

Lawyers representing some of 700 victims seeking settlement

(Newser) - A class action suit representing some of the 700 men deliberately infected with syphilis by the US government will be filed tomorrow unless the feds come up with an acceptable settlement, plaintiffs' lawyers warned. The US intentionally affected victims from 1946-48 to study the effects of the disease. The Obama...

Gawker Hack Puts 1.3M Users' Data at Risk

Fears for future attack on government agencies

(Newser) - Gawker's databases have been hacked, and the site is telling users to change their passwords on Gawker and any other site where they used the same password. The management says it's “deeply embarrassed” by the security failure, noting that it shouldn’t have to depend “on the...

US Grade for Bio-Terror Readiness: F

Feds 'failing to address several urgent threats,' commission says

(Newser) - The US is woefully unprepared for a biological attack—getting an “F” from a bipartisan commission on weapons of mass destruction. “While the government has made progress on preventing such attacks, it is simply not paying consistent and urgent attention to the means of responding quickly and effectively...

Race for Better Light Bulb Heats Up

Philips bids for US government's $10M 'L Prize'

(Newser) - Dutch electronics giant Philips has created an LED light bulb that, if it lives up to its billing, could claim the US government’s coveted “L Prize.” More important, the new bulb could inherit the 60-watt bulb’s throne. The Energy Department is offering $10 million—and a...

'Fun' Cities Forbidden for Federal Travel

(Newser) - Government agencies have been warned not to hold meetings in cities employees might actually enjoy visiting, the Wall Street Journal reports. Places like Reno, Orlando, and Las Vegas are all considered untouchable. “We do have guidance that says avoid locations … that give the appearance of being lavish,”...

North Korea Suspected in US Cyber Attack

(Newser) - North Korean hackers have been fingered for the July 4 cyberattack that took down the websites of the Treasury, Secret Service, and other US government agencies, reports the AP. Another cyberattack hit sites in South Korea, including the president's website, and intelligence officials there said today that the North was...

Buffett: US 'Doing the Right Things'

(Newser) - Warren Buffett said today the US government is taking the correct actions to help the economy recover. "The government is doing the right things," Buffett said before the opening of Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. "They're acting in a countercyclical manner." But he said he can't...

Conservatives Must 'Obstruct and Delay' Obama: Kristol

GOP can check rush toward big government

(Newser) - The “day of reckoning” has come for Republicans, writes William Kristol in the Washington Post. On Tuesday, President Obama delivered “the most unabashedly liberal and big-government speech” since Lyndon Johnson, and seems poised to undo the whole Reagan agenda. “Conservatives can’t win politically right now,”...

US Choice: Put Money in Startups or Big Three

Tesla needs aid for new electric sedan

(Newser) - Small upstart Tesla wants to build on the success of its bold electric sports car—the pricey Roadster—by building a tamer sedan for the masses. But to do so, it needs a big infusion of cash from the Obama administration, which is looking to boost clean energy. The situation,...

Obama Names New 'Chief Performance Officer'

Picks a consultant to be budget watchdog

(Newser) - Warning that the nation faces “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come” even if the economy begins to recover soon, Barack Obama said today he will create a “chief performance officer” position to ensure "efficiency, transparency, and accountability" in the budget process, and he named Nancy Killefer to...

Poll: Americans Back Economic Intervention

A growing majority blames financial crisis on deregulation

(Newser) - A clear majority of Americans approve of Washington taking firm steps to intervene in the nation's struggling economy, a Los Angeles Times poll finds. Two-thirds favor tighter restrictions on financial institutions and 60% back help for homeowners facing foreclosure. A huge 87% blamed deregulation for the economic crisis—up 25% ...

Feds May Loan GM $5B for Chrysler Deal

(Newser) - Federal aid may be on the way to facilitate a GM-Chrysler merger, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Department of Energy aims to loan General Motors $5 billion so the merged company can afford layoffs, plant closings, and other integration costs. It could also help GM drum up more investment...

Conservatives Are Right: Government Doesn't Work ...

... Especially when conservatives run it

(Newser) - Conservatives believe that government doesn’t work. They may be on to something, because "our conservative Republican government has bungled most of the big tasks that have fallen to it," writes Thomas Frank in the Wall Street Journal. Yet the GOP candidates tell us "the only answer"...

Nuke Blunder Last Straw for Booted Air Force Brass

Secretary Wynne, chief of staff Moseley long at odds with Pentagon

(Newser) - The Secretary of the Air Force and the service's chief of staff were forced to resign today on the heels of a report highly critical of the handling of nuclear weapons and technology, the Air Force Times reports.

US Imports its Drug-Sniffing Dogs for $4,500 Each

American breeders outraged over European preference

(Newser) - The US government purchases hundreds of untrained bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs from Europe every year for as much as $4,535 each, quadruple the price of American dogs, a new federal report says. Domestic breeders and spending watchdogs are angered by the government's penchant for expensive foreign purebreds. "What...

US Plans to Widen DNA Database
US Plans to Widen DNA Database
Apr 16, 2008 9:27 PM CDT

US Plans to Widen DNA Database

Will take samples from illegal immigrants, felony arrestees

(Newser) - The US plans to significantly widen its law-enforcement database by taking DNA samples from illegal immigrants picked up by federal authorities and from all people arrested for federal offenses, the Washington Post reports. The feds currently collect genetic information only from those convicted of federal crimes. The expanded policy follows...

35.5 Million Americans Going Hungry
35.5 Million Americans Going Hungry
Nov 15, 2007 1:50 AM CST

35.5 Million Americans Going Hungry

Rising costs, stagnant wages threaten even worse news next year

(Newser) - US programs failed to make a dent in the number of Americans going hungry last year, and activists warned that rising costs and stagnant wages threaten to increase the army of citizens struggling to put food on the table. Nearly 13 percent of households—35.5 million Americans, with 12....

Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback
Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback
Oct 8, 2007 9:40 AM CDT

Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback

Emissions concerns, government incentives may spur new growth

(Newser) - As natural gas prices fluctuate, concern over greenhouse gas emissions mounts, and demand for electricity increases, nuclear power may be making a comeback. Although no new plant has been completed since 1996, the NRC expects applications for as many as 32 new reactors in the next 2 years. The Washington ...

Mortgage Mess Was 100% Avoidable
Mortgage Mess Was 100% Avoidable
Aug 29, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

Mortgage Mess Was 100% Avoidable

Lax oversight has huge cost, American Prospect editor writes

(Newser) - Blame for the current economic disaster should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the US government, for deregulation that allowed speculators to cash in, writes the American Prospect’s Robert Kuttner. Helping boost "ordinary people" into the "propertied class" has fallen out of favor in Washington, with...

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