One Year Later, Financial Reform Questions Remain

A year ago Thursday, jubilant Democratic lawmakers — including then-Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank — joined President Obama on stage as the president signed a new financial reform law. “The American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes. There will be no more tax-funded bailouts — [...]

Hunger Strike Puts Focus On Calif. Prison Conditions

A three-week hunger strike by prisoners in California further highlighted perceived problems with the state’s huge prison system. This protest was chiefly driven by demands for an end to long-term solitary confinement. And while prison officials have shown some willingness to compromise, advocates for prison reform say there are much wider problems to address — [...]

AAA Suggests Ways to Avoid Heat Damaged Cars

The triple digit temperatures are taking their toll on Oklahoma vehicles as much as on its people.

Modesty Upgrade Coming To Some Airport Scanners

It may have seemed that the bureaucrats at the Transportation Security Administration turned a deaf ear to Americans who objected to the virtually naked images created by whole-body airport scanners. But it turns out, they heard. Over the next few months TSA says it will retrofit 241 of its 488 airport scanners with software that’s [...]

Redistricting Cases Challenge The Voting Rights Act

The landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act has been the law of the land for nearly half a century, removing barriers for generations of black voters in the South. But one of its key provisions still sparks controversy. The law requires the Justice Department to preapprove changes made to election procedures in states with a history [...]

Schleck Wins In Alps, Climbing Into Second Place In Tour De France

Andy Schleck has shaken up the 2011 Tour de France, attacking in the Alps on the hardest stage of the 2,131-mile Tour. Schleck made his move on the second intensely steep climb of the day, bursting out of the pack that held rivals Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador, along with overall race leader Thomas Voeckler. [...]

National Chairman Of ALEC Responds To Report

The Nation recently published a series of pieces about the relationship that state-based legislators have with a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is a group that brings together state legislators, interest groups and corporate representatives to draft model bills that can then be introduced at the state level of government. On [...]

How ALEC Shapes State Politics Behind The Scenes

Republican legislators picked up 680 seats in state House and Senate chambers in the 2010 elections. “They now hold more state legislative seats than at any time since 1928, the year that Herbert Hoover came to the presidency,” says reporter John Nichols. “They control 25 states [with] both houses of the legislature. There are also [...]

Queen Of Clubland Talks Talent Vs. Looks

Soul singer Martha Wash’s songs have become classics played on repeat at parties and clubs around the world — so much so that she’s been dubbed “The Voice” and “The Queen of Clubland.” Her solo career would win more accolades, and eventually she started her own music label Purple Rose. She’s working on a new [...]

Teen Golfer: Don’t Compare Me To Tiger

Those who follow sports — particularly golf — have probably heard of Rory McIlroy. He topped the world Amateur Golf rankings for a week at age 17. Then at age 22 he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Open since Bobby Jones did so in 1923. But another young golfer is burning up the [...]