AJ+
09/30/2015
Stephanie Whiteside
Associate Producer, AJ+
USA
Digital production * Social Media * Community Management
Currently: AJ+. Previous: Current TV
sgwhites@gmail.com
USA
Digital production * Social Media * Community Management
Currently: AJ+. Previous: Current TV
sgwhites@gmail.com
Video
The Underreported Story
We've all come to expect a certain measure of indignity in airport travel in the past decade, but what about other means of travel? AOL Travel and The Atlantic reported on a local story that Tennessee was quietly working with the TSA on a program that screened drivers traveling on the highway.
As Congress gathers for the lameduck session, one piece of legislation to keep an eye on is the farm bill. The Senate passed its version of the farm bill, but the House has yet to bring the legislation up for a vote, and it's a move that could create chaos for farmers.
This week's underreported story comes from frequent "Countdown" guest Robert Reich, who blogged about a bill that would offer residency visas to wealthy foreigners if they purchase real estate, in an attempt to prop up the stumbling housing market.
Demands are beginning to surface in the Occupy Wall Street movement, and many protesters are calling for studentloan debt to be forgiven.
This week, discount store 99 Cents Only sold for $1.6 billion dollars. Unless you're an avid fan of the business section, you probably missed this announcement. But as Salon writer Andrew Leonard points out, there's more to this than the sale of one chain, and it has a lot to say about who is benefitting in this economy.
Republicans are using the collapse of solar energy company Solyndra to try to oust Energy Secretary Steven Chu and attack other alternative energy programs. This is coming at the same time as a global spike in fossil fuel subsidies, with record amounts of money being spent in an attempt to artificially lower fuel prices.
Workers forced to work in warehouses with temperatures over 100 degrees often suffering from dehydration or heat exhaustion. Demands that workers process items at increasingly high rates and facing discplinary action for not making rate. Sound like conditions in a third-world country? Try again. Think Pennsylvania.
Feeling fed up watching Washington fight over tax breaks for the wealthiest 1 percent of the population while unemployment continues to plague the rest of the country? Sick of watching Wall Street tank the economy and walk away? You're not alone and this weekend, protestors took to the streets of lower Manhattan with a demand for change.
SSL certificates are issued by CAs, which number in the hundreds and operate in many jurisdictions. Any one CA being compromised, as in the case of DigiNotar, could result in hundreds of fraudulent certificates. Since these companies operate in many locations, it's also conceivable that a government could compel a CA to create fraudulent certificates for the purposes of engaging in espionage or investigation of political dissidents.
Congress is set to return to Washington this week and the controversial, bipartistan supercommittee of 12 members tasked with paring down the deficit by $1.5 trillion will also start its work. The chosen dozen needs to find that amount in spending reductions over a decade or face $1.2 trillion in across the board cuts starting in 2013. But who's influencing the supercommittee?
Between Rick Perry's prayer rally and Michele Bachmann's religious background and beliefs, the Republican primary isn't short on faith. As the election heats up, both Bachmann and Perry have been connected to particular set of Christian beliefs that could influence their politics in a significant way.
You may have seen the video of Matt Damon's recent smackdown of a reporter at an education rally. But you may have missed the news coming out this week: that the Obama Administration had a sudden interest in meeting with Damon and the teachers involved in the "Save Our Schools" rally before the event.
In the midst of a swirl of coverage of the Republican primary and the economy, NPR reported on changes that are quietly affecting the death penalty and the 58 prisoners on federal death row who are increasingly unlikely to be executed during President Obama's watch.
If the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Iceland is Bjork, you may have missed the underreported news of Iceland's surprising approach to economic recovery. Although it's been developing for some time, the story of how Iceland has put the wishes of the Icelandic population ahead of the financial industry and turned the conventional approach to recovery on its head has started people talking.
While everyone was staring up at the debt ceiling, a story trickled out about bill in the House that would require Internet service providers to retain records of your online activity, raising questions about online privacy and putting them up against the desire to combat child pornography on the Internet.
In the midst of endless coverage over competing debt ceiling deals, you might have missed the quiet rumblings over a move to include a second "one-time" tax holiday for corporations.
News and Politics
An election year can bring out some of the more interesting political moments. And by interesting, we mean completely ridiculous.
The average food stamp recipient receives $31.50 in credit for groceries each week. That's a pretty tight budget to begin with, but when it comes to cooking healthy meals there can be hidden costs for low-income families.
The 2012 campaign has had some winners on the ad front, with celebrity names joining the fray to offer some of the more entertaining spots of the campaign.
Speaking at a fundraiser in Los Angeles, Mitt Romney once again stumbled, this time revealing a lack of understanding about science. And specifically, about why those airplane windows don't open.
Pop culture and Humor
Twinkies aren't the only snack food Americans should let go of for the sake of better health.
What makes a superhero? For the two most modern superheroes, the answer is the same one you'd expect to hear from a politician: Money.
Science fiction has been willing to push boundaries, taking on topics that other genres shy away from. Set in the future or fantastical universes, sci-fi is able to sneak past preconceived notions and paint complex, heated issues in a new light.
But while the Bourne tales may be fiction, they're not so far off from some of the plans hatched by the CIA.
Most of us learned "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" in elementary school. The first and last are pretty easy (at least in theory). But reusing things takes a little more creativity. It's easy to give into the temptation to go out and buy new eco-friendly products to embark on a green lifestyle, especially with so much greenwashing happening in advertising.
Everyone's on Twitter these days, including politicians. But the official Twitter accounts of politicians aren't nearly as entertaining as the imposters taking to the Internet with fake Twitter IDs.
Hanna, which opened on Friday, stars Saoirse Ronan as a deadly assassin raised in the woods and trained by her father. Since most action heroes are more likely to resemble James Bond, we got to thinking about some other teen heroines of film and television who are surprisingly deadly.
Pop Matters recently suggested Joss Whedon's television series (which include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse) represent a conservative view of sexuality.
John Turturro might feel the Passione as a director, but not always as a dancer -- at the opening night of the San Jose film festival Cinequest on Tuesday, the actor/director teased the audience at a screening of his latest film despite the old-fashioned organ player in the theater, he wasn't going to show off any fancy footwork.
Imagine a world where artificial intelligence is so advanced that an AI is virtually indistinguishable from a biological human. One where the line between robotics and biology blurs as people rely on technology to fight disease, enhance their bodies, and reverse aging. In such a world, how do you define what constitutes a person?
Environmental Issues
Treehugger reports on the positive results of a decades-long effort to get leaded gasoline banned worldwide.
After the Fukushima meltdown, Japan's authorities told citizens there was no danger in Tokyo, 160 miles away from the plant.
The State Department has allowed a company with financial ties to Keystone XL Pipeline operator TransCanada to conduct an environmental review of the project.
The year 2010 can go on the books as the worst for the atmosphere, with 36.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere.
Tuesday, one day before the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the last of the waters closed to fishing were reopened.
Bloomberg reports that the EPA could face a new obstacle in its efforts to enforce clean air and water rules, as it stands to lose $1.6 billion in funding as part of a deal between President Obama and congressional leaders to cut the federal budget by $38 billion.
Gray wolves in Northern Rockies may become the first animals taken off the endangered species list by an act of Congress rather than scientific review.
Treehugger reports Boliva is set to pass the first laws granting equal rights to nature.