The US government shutdown - a temporary ailment or a symptom of a grave disease? Are the Republicans right in their move to block Obamacare spending? Who gains from the shutdown turmoil? Do the politicians care about their citizens? Our guest comes from the very heart of the banking system: Karen Hudes was World Bank lawyer when she blew the whistle on major corruption cases in the system [...]

Americans are growing increasingly frustrated with the first federal government shutdown in 17 years. Here is a photo collage of 22 images about the effects of the U.S. Government shutdown ! [...]

Traffic snarl still planned, but news coverage causes schism in ride's leadership. News coverage of a trucker protest seeking to clog the roads in and around Washington, D.C., this weekend prompted a schism between the ride's leaders. The ride's loosely organized leadership is now in agreement, however: truckers will not seek to "arrest" congressmen. [...]

Police must detain 'accessories' to 'treason' or truckers will, organizer says. ractor-trailer drivers will intentionally clog the inner loop of the Washington, D.C., beltway beginning on the morning of Oct. 11, according to a coordinator of the upcoming "Truckers Ride for the Constitution" rally. Organizers of the three-day ride want to call attention to a litany of trucker frustrations and expre [...]

Two police officers shot and killed 43-year-old Jack Roberson on Friday afternoon, and his family is disputing law enforcement's side of the story. A Georgia family is disputing the police’s story about why officers shot and killed a man on Friday afternoon. Two police officers shot 43-year-old Jack Roberson, a Waycross, Georgia resident, according to a report on News4Georgia.com,the website for [...]

The top Republican in the House of Representatives warned President Barack Obama over the weekend that he’s ready to let the United States default — and that the White House is to blame. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that Republicans in his chamber would not immediately honor the White House’s request to raise the US debt ceiling, setting the stag [...]

Five of the convicted fraudster's closest colleagues stand accused of aiding and abetting Madoff in his scheme. Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernard Madoff claimed he alone orchestrated his $65bn scam – starting tomorrow US prosecutors aim to prove that was another lie. [...]

In sharp reaction to the latest NSA leak revealing Canada’s acute interest in the Brazilian mining industry, President Dilma Rousseff condemned the “cyberwar” launched by the US and its allies against Brazil and demanded they stop the espionage. Rousseff’s initial fiery comments came via her Twitter account, where she posted 9 messages in a row condemning Canada’s alleged spying [...]

Thom Hartmann discusses how privatization is destroying American society and what we can do about it with Lisa Graves of the center for Media & Democracy. Also, Climate Week continues with a discussion with Dr. Paul Wignall on Permian Extinction. And in tonight’s Daily Take, Thom explains why Republicans want all Americans to be greedy shills. [...]

IInteresting times are in the offing between the US and Iran as the American government says it is now “ready for talks” with the Islamic Republic - after 34 years of hostility since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that economic sanctions imposed on Iran could be lifted within six months. [...]

Investment broker and financial commentator Peter Schiff joins the show to reveal that the Federal Reserve's monetary expansion program, called Quantitative Easing is destroying the middle class and pushing the American economy towards a cliff under the illusion of an economic recovery.... The US govt spends 10% GDP more than it receives in revenue. The US govt spending is counted as part of th [...]

A poll says nearly nine in 10 Americans are unhappy with the way things are going in Washington amid the US government shutdown. The poll conducted by CBS News said that nearly nine in 10 Americans are unhappy, including 43 percent who are angry. Seventy-two percent of respondents disapprove of how congressional Republicans are handling the budget talks [...]

Improved surveillance, take down of opposition websites for "€œillegal content€" and paid pro-government commentators are among the increasingly sophisticated tools used by authorities to restrict internet freedom, a new report claims. The 2013 Freedom on the Net report, compiled by non-profit Freedom House, says that 34 out of the 60 countries it surveyed suffered a falloff in internet freedom [...]

The objective of the United States National Security Agency is to eliminate privacy around the world, the American writer who helped expose the NSA'€™s far-reaching surveillance powers said on Tuesday. Glenn Greenwald of the UK’s Guardian answered questions about the ongoing NSA leaks and his source, the now notorious former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, [...]

America is waking up to the danger which Israel poses to her continued existence as a world superpower, writes Mark Glenn. The good news however is that America is waking up to the danger which Israel poses to her continued existence as a world superpower and it is highly unlikely that the US, at the political, military and intelligence levels, would be willing to cooperate with the same depth and [...]

The prison industry is more lucrative than you think. “Global Tel* Link. You have a collect call from: ‘Tim.’ An inmate in Shelby County Correctional Facility…. If you wish to accept and pay for this call, dial zero now.” I don’t know how many times I heard the same robotic voice speak these words since last fall. [...]

California Gov. Jerry Brown just signed Senate Bill 566 which legalized industrial hemp… sort of. With all of the attention focused on the legalization of cannabis’ psychoactive variety we call marijuana, it’s no surprise much of the public is unaware of the developments regarding cannabis’ non-drug variety we call industrial hemp. [...]

Woman said to have tried to ram White House gate, care chase and shooting ensued—one officer said to be wounded. Shots rang out near the U.S. Capitol this afternoon, and a "shelter in place" was in effect during what was at first described as an "active shooter situation." [...]

Agriculture giant Monsanto has announced acquisition of the Climate Corporation, a climate data research company, expecting that its info will help farmers maximize crop yields with fewer resources. The $930 million cash purchase is set to give the company an upper hand in the quickly expanding field of scientific weather data, something that would put vast amounts of climate information at farmer [...]

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law barring state cooperation with any attempt by the federal government to indefinitely detain people. The legislation targets the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Brown signed into law AB351, which goes beyond any other state in rejecting federal indefinite detention power, according to the Tenth Amendment Center. [...]

Despite a string of ‘unbelievable’ hurdles, a diving operation to lift the biggest-yet discovered fragment of the famous Russian meteorite stuck in a mud lakebed has entered the final phase. RT is scheduled to show live the recovery of the 50cm by 90cm space rock weighing an estimated 600kg, which plunged into the depths of Lake Chebarkul in February. [...]

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on whether a conviction for domestic violence precludes Americans from obtaining a firearms license. The Obama administration has argued that ending the prohibition would invalidate bans in much of the US. The Justices announced Tuesday they would hear eight cases of the more than 2,000 appeals that accumulated over the summer. [...]