New Illinois Fracking Regulations Heralded As ‘Compromise’; Locals Disagree

New statewide requirements for the industry come at the expense of localities’ ability to impose their own rules.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

While touted as a compromise by local media, proposed fracking regulations being considered by Illinois lawmakers aren’t being accepted by community members who long have called for a moratorium and science-based environmental study on the impacts of the industry. The law being considered in the House -- HB 265 -- does put some safeguards in

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On Victory Drive, Soldiers Defeated by Debt

Many of the nation’s military bases are surrounded by storefront lenders who charge high annual percentage rates, sometimes exceeding 400 percent.

Paul Kiel
By Paul Kiel

Seven years after Congress banned payday-loan companies from charging exorbitant interest rates to service members, many of the nation's military bases are surrounded by storefront lenders who charge high annual percentage rates, sometimes exceeding 400 percent. The Military Lending Act sought to protect service members and their families from

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For Minnesota Gay Marriage Sponsors, It’s Personal

Minnesota is now the first state in the Midwest to approve gay marriage by a legislative vote.

Associated Press
By Associated Press

  As a crowd of thousands roared from the lawn of the state Capitol, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill Tuesday that makes gay marriage legal here come Aug. 1. "What a day for Minnesota!" the Democratic governor declared, as American and rainbow flags flapped in a sweltering hot wind. The Minnesota State Patrol estimated

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Close Guantanamo Now!

Obama could have shut down Gitmo long ago. He bears full responsibility for spurning what he pledged to do.

Stephen Lendman
By Stephen Lendman

As president and commander-in-chief, Obama has legal authority to do so. On May 3, New York City Bar President Carey R. Dunne wrote him. He did so on behalf of the organization he heads. He called indefinite detention "legally and morally indefensible." He said 25 retired military flag officers said it's "an effective recruiting tool for our

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How To Catch A Dictator

Guatemala’s U.S.-backed former ruler Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and war crimes against indigenous villagers.

Mike McDonald
By Mike McDonald

Elena Caba waited more than 30 years for justice after she was raped and left for dead in a river alongside her neighbors during Guatemala’s bloody civil war. She was nine when soldiers stormed her Indigenous Ixil Maya village near Chajul in Guatemala’s western highlands and pulled her and her father out of their home before torching the town to

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The 182 Percent Loan: How Installment Lenders Put Borrowers In A World Of Hurt

World Finance, a billion-dollar company, peddles installment loans, a product that often drives borrowers into a similar quagmire of debt.

Paul Kiel
By Paul Kiel

One day late last year, Katrina Sutton stood at a gas pump outside Atlanta and swiped her debit card. Insufficient funds. But that couldn't be. She'd been careful to wait until her $270 paycheck from Walmart had hit her account. The money wasn't there? It was all she had. And without gas, she couldn't get to work. She tried not to panic, but

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