U.S. “Stalling” Could Force Acceptance of Onerous TPP

Civil society opposition here has strengthened against a U.S.-proposed free trade zone that would include some dozen countries around the Pacific Rim.

Q&A: Without More Women, Media Cannot Tell the Full Story

The fact that women are underrepresented in the media industry should surprise few. The severity of this imbalance and its consequences, however, are less obvious. In a new report, the Women's Media Centre exposes these disparities and their effects on society.

Capitol Hill Coddles Uzbekistan’s Karimov

Central Asian states do not face an “imminent” threat posed by Islamic militants, but they need U.S. assistance to help defend against potential dangers, according to top U.S. diplomats.

Draft Assessment of Tar Sands Pipeline “Devastatingly Cynical”

The U.S. State Department late Friday released a draft environmental impact assessment of a contentious pipeline project that simultaneously acknowledged the dangers posed by climate change while also noting the project would “not likely result in significant adverse environmental effects”.

Task Force Urges Joint U.S.-Mexico Approach to Border

A group of business executives, civil society leaders, policy experts and former government officials from Mexico and the United States are recommending that the two countries expand cooperative law-enforcement efforts along the border.

U.S. Finally Passes Stronger Protections for Women against Abuse

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday ended more than a year of stonewalling a piece of legislation that for two decades has offered legal protections for women against sexual violence, harassment and abuse.

Notorious Former Super-Lobbyist Urges Ethics Reform

Notorious former Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who spent more than three years in federal prison for tax evasion, conspiracy to bribe public officials and fraud, is now touring the U.S. urging ethics reform at the federal level.

Groups Applaud Potential Reforms to U.S. Food Aid

Advocacy groups working on global hunger and poverty are hailing rumoured proposals that would change the way the United States distributes its international food aid.

U.S. Security Establishment Increasingly Worried about Climate Change

More than three dozen national security officials, members of Congress and military leaders are warning of the threat climate change poses to U.S. national security, the latest in an indicator that U.S. intelligence and national security circles are increasingly worried about a warming planet.

ALEC-Backed Laws Promote Controversial Charter Schools

The right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and private education management firms are pushing for new “parent trigger” laws in states across the U.S. by lobbying many Republican and some Democratic legislators to make it easier to convert more traditional public schools to charter schools.

After Unprecedented Fight, Hagel Confirmed as Obama’s Pentagon Chief

Ending a long and controversial battle, the U.S. Senate Tuesday voted 58-41 to confirm former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama’s new secretary of defence.

Activists Converge on High Court for Challenge to Voting Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a challenge to the constitutionality of key sections of the historic Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.

U.S. Cuts to Global Health Budget “Mass-scale Malpractice”

Public health workers, activists and policymakers are stepping up a last-minute campaign to highlight the global health impact of historic, sweeping cuts to the U.S. federal budget due to go into effect Friday if Congress doesn’t act.

Europeans Urge U.S. Action on Financial Transaction Tax

Two European policymakers on Monday called on their U.S. counterparts to rethink opposition to proposals for a small tax on stock purchases and other financial transactions, which proponents say could raise hundreds of billions of dollars for poverty alleviation, action on climate change and financing international development.

Former Insiders Criticise Iran Policy as U.S. Hegemony

"Going to Tehran" arguably represents the most important work on the subject of U.S.-Iran relations to be published thus far.

Biofuels Converting U.S. Prairielands at Dust Bowl Rates

The rush for biofuels in the United States has seen farmers converting the United States' prairie lands to farms at rates comparable with deforestation levels in Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia – rates not seen here since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

Abrupt U.S. Cuts Could “Devastate” Overseas Development Programmes

With just a week to go before massive, indiscriminate spending cuts kick in across the U.S. government, policymakers and humanitarian groups are becoming increasingly anxious about the enduring impact the cuts would have on the communities across the globe assisted by U.S.-funded development and aid programmes.

Despite Right-Wing Opposition, Hagel Looks Set for Confirmation

Despite an appeal Thursday by 15 right-wing Republican senators for President Barack Obama to withdraw the nomination of Chuck Hagel as his next defence secretary, the former Republican senator from Nebraska appears virtually certain to be confirmed as Pentagon chief by the full Senate next week.

Major Audit Urges Devolution of U.S. AIDS Programme

A major audit of the United States’ flagship global anti-HIV/AIDS programme, prepared for the U.S. Congress, notes “remarkable progress” over the past decade. However, it is also warning of insufficient monitoring and urging a stepped-up process of handing over greater control to partner countries.

In Conservatives’ Canada, It’s Not Easy Being Green

Canada's police and security agencies think citizens concerned about the environment are threats to national security, and some are under surveillance, documents reveal.

Erratic Weather Looms Above while Injustice Boils Below

The “Spirit of America” is one of 10 ferries that carry passengers from Manhattan to Staten Island. Its keel – which lies on the bottom of the boat and carves through the waters of New York Harbour– was built with steel from the collapsed Twin Towers.