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The federal government will dole out $211 million over the next four years to protect the sage grouse, a chicken-like bird native to western North America. This comes on top of the nearly $300 million pumped into conservation efforts for the bird since 2010, and thanks to some matching funds from private partners, more than […]

A report conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency into the cause of a Colorado mine spill at the inactive Gold King mine on August 5 shows that regulators failed to take into account the potential for toxic blowout. The EPA caused the release of 3 million gallons worth of sludge into rivers in Colorado, New […]

In the latest Medicaid debacle, planned Texas cuts are on hold after the HHSC was forced to “start over”, as a proposal to cut therapy services for special needs children met with massive opposition. On the eve of a legal decision which may have seen the commission subject to a temporary restraining order to prevent […]

In July, the Federal Reserve indicated that it would soon raise interest rates for the first time since 2006, and many analysts began expecting the move as soon as September. But the major emerging-markets downturn and rapid increase in the value of the dollar over the past month have thrown this time line into question, […]

An audit released by Tennessee comptroller Justin Wilson appears to show several city employees failing to pay property taxes. The audit, which is from the financial year ending June 2014, but was released on August 9, says it found that back in 2011 “several city employees owed real estate taxes at year end.” The report […]

Global stock markets have lost hundreds of billions of dollars following China’s “Black Monday.” Virtually every world market was affected, including Asian, European and U.S. indexes. At one point, the Dow Jones dropped over 1,000 points. Chinese stocks suffered an 8.5% overall drop, the biggest fall seen on that market since 2007. European stocks also […]

The shock Chinese devaluation of the yuan is yet more bad news for Latin American economies, which are already in or hovering close to recession. The strength of the dollar and the collapse in oil prices combined with this latest development mean South American exports are fetching a lot less in the international marketplace. Importantly, […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now taken “full responsibility,” according to Gina McCarthy, EPA’s administrator, for the accidental release of millions of gallons of toxic waste into the water systems of Colorado and neighboring states. The toxic sludge, which contains contaminants like arsenic and lead, will cost millions of taxpayer dollars to clean up […]

Puerto Rico has defaulted on a debt payment for the first time in its history, confirming on August 4 that it had failed to make a bond payment of more than $50 million.  The U.S. commonwealth had been openly stating for months that the crisis was coming, with governor Alejandro Padilla saying at the end […]

Following the recent announcement jointly by Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the Clean Power Plan, already opposition is not only growing, but preparing for lengthy legal battles in U.S. courts, primarily based upon the EPA’s legal power to introduce the said plan. The Clean Power Plan (the aim of which is to […]