News stories by Matthew Cardinale, page 6

A natural gas explosion in San Bruno, California that almost decimated an entire city earlier this month has fuelled concerns about the outdated, aging, and dangerous gas pipelines that underlie many U.S. cities.

On July 21, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law the most sweeping financial industry regulatory reform since the Great Depression of the 1930s. But, experts point out that the bill does not address some of the real problems behind the structural instabilities of the U.S. economic system.

The controversial firing of an African-American federal government employee over comments misconstrued to be racist has refocused attention on the plight of black farmers in the U.S. South.

With the U.S .government and oil giant British Petroleum under fire for their handling of the more than two-month-old Gulf Coast oil spill disaster, environmental and community activists across the country are taking matters into their own hands.

With engineers giving a best-case scenario of 'weeks' before the catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is sealed, some scientists are warning that the region's ecosystem could face major long-term damage.

At least eight U.S. states are considering proposals to start state-run banks in the wake of an economic crisis where many private banks ceased or greatly decreased their lending, literally shrinking the money pool available in state economies.

As citizens, businesses and non-profit organisations seek to transition to cleaner power sources like solar and wind, some big energy firms whose business models rely on polluting sources are standing in the way.

Many survivors of Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and the U.S. Gulf Coast in August 2005, have been seeing their own reflection in media images of Haiti earthquake victims. And despite - or even because of - their own struggle, many feel personally driven to help organise assistance for the people of Haiti.

A U.S. delegation to Haiti led by civil rights veteran Joe Beasley is calling for a 30-billion-dollar restitution payment by France to help Haiti rebuild after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, and the end of what Beasley refers to as an unofficial blockade of Haiti.

A historic ruling earlier this month on behalf of felons who lost the right to vote could call into question the disenfranchisement of felons and ex-felons in the State of Washington and indeed across the United States.