The US government ended up losing $10.5 billion on the General Motors bailout. Taxpayers lost a whopping $10.5 billion on the federal government bailout of General Motors – but officials insisted another course of action would have been even worse. After selling its remaining shares of the Detroit-based automaker Monday, the US Department of the Treasury said it had recouped $39 billion of the... 

The number of Americans incarcerated in federal prisons throughout the country has increased by nearly 30 percent over the past ten years, according to a new report by an investigative arm of Congress. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Monday attributed the 27 percent surge in prison population to mandatory sentencing minimums. The practice, in which a judge’s discretion... 

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is sending out letters telling gun owners to turn over their rifles and shotguns — or else face the consequences. New York City’s ban on rifles and shotguns that hold more than five rounds is now being enforced, according to a letter the NYPD is sending out to targeted city gun owners. “It appears you are in possession of a rifle and/or Shotgun (listed... 

If Obama’s complete disregard for the constitutional limits imposed on the presidency continues, it will create a precedent in which future presidents will act as absolute autocrats. At a congressional hearing on Dec. 2, House Representative Trey Growdy (R-SC) asked what will stop Obama from not enforcing election laws considering his pattern of “prosecutorial discretion” of other standing... 

The National Security Agency has publicly admitted to tracking the locations of literally billions of international cell phones under a 1981 executive order. To allay the fears of US citizens, it said the program only targets international phones. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden first leaked the information that such a practice happens up to 5 billion times each day, and functions by scooping... 

The National Football League once again revealed itself to be little more than an establishment political tool when it declined to run a Super Bowl ad submitted by rifle manufacturer Daniel Defense. The company’s “offensive” ad depicts a former marine arriving home to greet his wife and child, accompanied by a voice over stating, “no one has the right to tell me how to defend them.” The... 

The White House warns that a fresh effort by some US senators to impose new sanctions against Iran will send the signal that Washington negotiates in bad faith. “If we pass sanctions now, even with a deferred trigger which has been discussed, the Iranians, and likely our international partners, will see us as having negotiated in bad faith,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday. Key... 

American scientists exploring volcanoes in Antarctica came to a conclusion that some of them may wake up from hibernation any day. If this happens, the most southern continent of the Earth will get very hot. While the eruptions are unlikely to melt the entire Antarctic ice sheet, they are quite capable of losing most of it in the ocean. The glaciers of Antarctica are extremely stable. Over many millions... 

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans think that the United States should “mind its own business internationally.” Fifty-two percent of US citizens believe that their country should “mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along as they best can,” according to a new Pew Research poll released on Tuesday. This is the highest rating ever recorded by the Pew... 

Billions of dollars annually are being used to fund operations conducted by the United States intelligence community, the likes of which allow the government to eavesdrop on emails, listen to world leaders’ phone calls and about everything in-between. One thing that budget hasn’t bought, however, is subtlety. The US National Reconnaissance Office launched a top-secret surveillance satellite into... 

A study has identified remarkable differences in the neural wiring of men and women that clarifies why males and females have different abilities at certain tasks. The study carried out at the University of Pennsylvania through observing the connectomes (a comprehensive map of neural connections in the brain) of both sexes revealed greater neural connectivity from front to back and within one hemisphere... 

The Canadian police have arrested a citizen on charges of trying to provide classified information to the Chinese government, officials say. Canadian police arrested Ontario resident Qing Quentin Huang on Saturday, on charges that he was taking steps to pass on classified information to China relating to Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on... 

In another blow to the Constitution, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case by Amazon and Overstock.com challenging a law that requires online retailers to collect sales tax in states where they have no physical presence. The Supreme Court refusal to hear the case will allow state governments to tax online retailers and turn online retailers into de facto tax collection agencies. The... 

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Detroit, Michigan is indeed eligible for bankruptcy protection, giving the go-ahead to the once booming Motor City to move forward with plans to restructure more than $18 billion in debt. Amid reading excerpts from a lengthy decision of more than 140 pages, United States Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes announced during Tuesday morning’s historic hearing that he... 

The names of nearly three-quarters of a million individuals have been secretly added to watch lists administered by the United States government, but federal officials are adamant about keeping information about these rosters under wraps. A report by the New York Times’ Susan Stellin published over the weekend attempted to shine much-deserved light on an otherwise largely unexposed program of federal...