Headlines

-- by Connor Gibson, Greenpeace

You're probably familiar with the old "fox in the hen house" story, but what about when a hen joins the fox den?

This is the case with the recent American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting in Washington, DC. Leaked documents obtained by Greenpeace reveal that ALEC's anti-environmental jamboree was inundated with coal money and featured an Indiana regulator advising coal utilities on delaying US Environmental Protection Agency rules to control greenhouse gas emissions and hazardous air pollution.

For almost 40 years Wisconsin law has provided for same-day voter registration, a provision which greatly contributes to the state's record of consistently high voter turnout. On November 6, 2012, in Milwaukee alone 54,000 people were registered to vote at the polls. But this Wisconsin tradition unexpectedly came under attack when Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker discussed repealing the law at the Ronald Reagan library in California, a forum for Republicans with higher ambitions.

Amidst massive pro-labor protests, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed sweeping legislation attacking private and public sector unions, just hours after passing the lame-duck legislature. The operative language in the bills is nearly identical to the American Legislative Exchange Council's "model" Right to Work Act.

--by Peter Hart, originally published in FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting)

In October, the inevitable was announced: Struggling Newsweek magazine would be finished as a print publication as of the end of the year. But the last mass newsweekly left, Time, also made an announcement of sorts: It was out of the factchecking business.