In Alabama, A Public Hospital Serves the Poor — with Lawsuits
By ProPublica by Paul Kiel More than a century ago, Alabama enshrined a basic protection in the state’s constitution shielding its poorest citizens from being forced to pay debts they…
Typical American “Justice,” Cop Caught with 4 lbs of Weed Won’t Face Charges
By The Free Thought Project A California police officer already being investigated by the District Attorney’s office was discovered with four pounds of marijuana in his home, but he won’t…
Kepler ‘rising from the ashes’
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the report of the Kepler spacecraft’s death was greatly exaggerated. Despite a malfunction that ended its primary mission in May 2013, Kepler is still alive and…
Stephen Colbert leaves the pundit behind to play himself
By PBS NewsHour RELATED LINKSRemembering ‘The Colbert Report’ — a friend to the NewsHour Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman on ‘The Late Show’ How big money super PACs are…
The secret ingredient for getting through holiday stress? Gratitude
By Margaret Myers Getting through the holidays can be emotionally draining, especially when you’re the caretaker for a loved one. Taking the time acknowledge what you’re grateful for can help…
Cop Invokes “Law Appointed Right & Duty to Kill” People in Twitter Rant Threatening Protesters
By Jay Syrmopoulos San Jose, Calif. – In another callous display of cop logic, San Jose police officer Phillip White made threatening tweets directed at those protesting the recent non-indictment…
San Francisco Cop Caught Choking a Sleeping Hospital Patient, then Falsely Arresting Him
By Mike Sawyer Luckily for the victim, the hospital security cameras show what really happened. San Francisco, CA — A San Francisco sheriff’s deputy is facing four felony charges and…
Leading role for Murthy: New American Surgeon General
Harvard health experts anticipated bold pronouncements on tobacco control, obesity, and mental health this week, as they digested the news that Harvard Medical School physician Vivek Murthy had been confirmed…
Why the middle class is not feeling a recovery
By Simone Pathe The wealth gap between upper and middle-income Americans is at a 30-year high. Photo by Flickr user Noël. An unemployment rate that’s the lowest since 2008 and…
Obama Normalizes relations With Cuba: Is Havana Your Next Vacation?
President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced plans to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba and ease economic restrictions on the nation, an historic shift he called the end of an “outdated…
Using Prescriber Checkup: A Quick Guide
By ProPublica by Charles Ornstein UPDATED December 2014 Download a PDF of this tipsheet here. Until recently, there was no way for members of the public to assess whether doctors…
Apple halts online sales in Russia as ruble plummets
By Justin Scuiletti Russian shoppers were unable to purchase Apple products online Tuesday after the company took down its online store due to the fluctuating price of the ruble. Russian…
Getting schooled
As the dark clouds over the nation’s economic future appear to be lifting, critics say the United States still needs to address a number of deeply rooted challenges to remain…