A study of how journalists actually gather news is being halted, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission says.
A spokesman said Friday the Critical Information Needs study was aimed at finding barriers to entry into the news business, not at trying to monitor and control how journalists do their work, The Hill reported. But he said the FCC will find some other way to study the issue.
"The commission will reassess the best way to fulfill its obligation to Congress to identify barriers to entry into the communications marketplace faced by entrepreneurs and other small businesses," he said.
FCC ditches 'Critical Information Needs' study of newsrooms
Russian troops take over Ukraine's Crimea region
Russian troops took over Crimea as the parliament in Moscow gave President Vladimir Putin a green light Saturday to use the military to protect Russian interests in Ukraine. The newly installed government in Kiev was powerless to react to the action by Russian troops based in the strategic region and more flown in, aided by pro-Russian Ukrainian groups.
Putin sought and quickly got his parliament's approval to use its military to protect Russia's interests across Ukraine. But while sometimes-violent pro-Russian protests broke out Saturday in a number of Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine, Moscow's immediate focus appeared to be Crimea.
7 Most Absurd Things America's Kids Are Learning Thanks to the Conservative Gutting of Public Education
Conservatives are masters at using distortion and subterfuge to sell people on things they would never buy if properly labeled. Nowhere is this more evident than in the arena of “school choice” -- a conservative euphemism for "gutting public education from the inside out."
According to its major proponents, like the late Milton “Pinochet es mi amigo” Friedman, “school choice gives parents the freedom to choose their children’s education, while encouraging healthy competition among schools to better serve families' needs.” Sounds lovely! But, it turns out, there are plenty of well-documented problems with school choice, especially when it comes to the school voucher system, which provides families with public funds to send their children to private -- often religious -- schools.
Courts Take A Kinder Look At Victims Of Child Sex Trafficking
We've all seen them: the public service announcements about sex trafficking in America. They're plastered on buses and billboards; images of young women exploited for their bodies, with hotlines to call for help.
The numbers are staggering. The Justice Department estimates that each year at least 200,000 children are trafficked for sex in the U.S., and it is said to generate upward of $32 billion a year.
Gay military veterans group to march in Boston St Patrick's Day parade
A marriage equality group says Boston’s St Patrick’s Day parade is easing its two-decade ban on gay organisations.
A MassEquality official said on Saturday that a group of gay military veterans will be able to march under its banner this year, as part of a tentative deal brokered by the Boston mayor, Martin Walsh. But marchers from the gay-rights group will not be allowed to wear clothing or hold signs that refer to sexual orientation.
Negotiators will work out final details in the coming week.
A Giant Union Is Planning to Protest the Oscars
The Oscars air Sunday, but this year, the stars of the silver screen will be faced with picket lines and protesters.
That's because the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents 2.1 million service workers around the world, plans to protest the Academy's decision to hire Security Industry Specialists (SIS)—a company the union accuses of sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and worker intimidation—to provide security for awards night. (The company denies the allegations.)
"We don't think [the Academy] should be using a company that has this kind of record," SEIU campaign director Sam Kehinde explains. "All we are trying to do is make sure the public knows about it and the client knows."
It isn't just about marijuana in Colorado; hemp farming also is taking off
There will be no lines around the block. There will be no TV news crews nosing in for interviews. There will be no pot-puffing customers celebrating their newfound freedom.
But the dawn of legal hemp in Colorado, which begins Saturday, is as significant — if not more so — as were the first sales of recreational marijuana two months ago. Saturday marks the first day farmers interested in growing industrial hemp for commercial purposes or for research and development can register with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to do so legally.
5 Things Kentucky Could Spend $73 Million On Instead Of A Fake Noah's Ark
Creation Museum founder Ken Ham announced Thursday that enough money had been raised to begin construction of a 510-foot replica of Noah's Ark as part of a multimillion-dollar Ark Encounter project.
The Ark Encounter will sit on 800 acres of land in Williamstown, Ky., and will be developed “in phases over many years,” according to a press release from Ham's Answers in Genesis organization. The first phase alone will cost an estimated $73 million.
Scotland ready to offer gay Ugandans asylum
Scotland has proposed a plan to offer asylum to “any Ugandan” persecuted by the country’s new anti-gay laws, Scottish daily The Herald reported on Friday.
Humza Yusuf, Scotland’s Minister for External Affairs, submitted a letter to U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague outlining the proposal and urging him "to offer asylum to any Ugandans who feel threatened or persecuted by the legislation.”
“Scotland will play her part in providing asylum for those seeking refuge from this draconian legislation,” Yusuf wrote.
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