In the Iraq war, the Pentagon has long insisted it “doesn’t do body counts,” and the Bush Administration was critical of independent groups, like Iraq Body Count, which kept a tally of civilian death based on public records and media reports. But, as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, the WikiLeaks release over the weekend of nearly 400,000 military documents confirms much of that group’s work and paints a grim picture of the Iraq War’s toll on civilians.
Halloween has always sparked creativity: white sheets become ghosts, front lawns become graveyards. But these days, the holiday is going high-tech. Jacob Fenston has more.
The Civil War has been over for 145 years, but in Virginia, the battles rage on. This week’s fight was over a 4th grade text book. It claims that thousands of black soldiers joined the Confederate army. As Jacob Fenston reports, the controversy has called into question the way that Virginia approves text books.
The nation’s largest bank is restarting foreclosures in 23 states. The announcement came just ten days after Bank of America stopped processing foreclosures following allegations of fraudulent practices. But as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, the brief moratorium may not have fixed anything.
President Obama’s commission to investigate the Gulf Oil Spill released an initial report on Wednesday. They found the government’s response was slow in the spill’s early days – and suggested the administration may have held back worst-case scenario estimates. But, as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, the White House is pushing back.
Almost half of US undergraduates attend a community college. As the economy stalled over the past three years, enrollment surged. Today the White House acknowledged the role of what Obama called “the unsung heroes” of higher education, hosting the first ever Community College Summit. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports.
Congress also passed a bill that gives it more oversight over the intelligence community. The legislation requires the president to brief more legislators on top-secret intelligence, and actions such as covert operations. The Senate unanimously passed the bill earlier this week, the House passed it yesterday and Obama is expected to sign it into law. But as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, some think Congress still needs more oversight.
House Republicans unveiled their legislative agenda today. They’re calling it a “Pledge to America” and it echoes Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” — released weeks before the hotly contested midterm elections in 1994. This year’s plan includes repealing Obama’s health reform, capping federal spending, and making Bush’s tax cuts permanent. FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports.
The recent recession was the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and it officially ended more than one year ago. The economy began to grow again in June 2009, according to the group of leading economists who determine when recessions end. But that official pronouncement does not mean things are getting any easier for American workers. In fact, as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, the unemployment rate could continue to climb.
A record number of Americans are living in poverty. That’s according to new numbers released by the Census Bureau today for 2009, which also show the number of people who have health insurance decreased for the first time since 1987, when officials started tracking the data. But, as FSRN’s Jacob Fenston reports, the numbers weren’t as bad as many expected.