The Fall of New Jersey's Sopranos Senator
Bob Menendez’s bribery scandal was straight out of a mafia show.
Corruption
N.J. Businessman Indicted for Sopranos-Style Economic Development Racket
George Norcross III's alleged actions are almost cartoonishly corrupt. But for economic development programs, it's not too far off from business as usual.
House Passes a Bill To Create Independent Oversight of the Troubled Federal Prison System
Staff shortages and chronic corruption have plagued the Bureau of Prisons for years, exposing inmates to abuse and whistleblowers to retaliation.
Can This Woman Sue the Rogue Prosecutor Who Allegedly Helped Upend Her Life?
Prosecutor Ralph Petty was also employed as a law clerk—by the same judges he argued before.
Cop Who Dodged Sentence for Killing Sex Worker Gets 11 Years for Abducting More Sex Workers
The victims received no restitution payment.
New Jersey Mayors Want the Power To Sue You For Asking Too Many Questions
A bill backed by the Conference of Mayors would let courts issue restraining orders when people “harass” officials with information requests.
No, Unions Aren't Having a Resurgence—and That's Good for Workers
Private unions have every right to exist, but that doesn't mean they're actually beneficial on net.
A Year Before Albuquerque's Police Corruption Scandal Made Headlines, an Internal Probe Found Nothing
In 2022, police received a tip that officers were getting paid to make DWI cases disappear—the same allegation that prompted FBI raids in January.
Albuquerque's Police Chief Ran a Red Light and Broadsided a Car. A Review Board Says It Was Unavoidable.
Harold Medina, who severely injured a driver while fleeing a gunman, ordered a thorough investigation of his own conduct.
Are New Jersey Voters Too Dumb for Normal Ballots?
Democratic Party bosses in the Garden State say that a court order to design better ballots will make it harder to tell voters what to do.
Is This It for New Jersey's Corrupt Primary System?
The race to replace accused bribe-taker Sen. Bob Menendez could bring an end to one of the state's most egregious political practices.
A 5th Albuquerque Cop Resigns Amid Widening DWI Corruption Scandal
"There is a much bigger story here," the officer's lawyer says. "It goes outward and upward."
Public Schools Charge Tuition, Just Like Private Schools
All too often, admission is only open to students whose families can afford a home inside the districts’ boundaries or pay transfer student tuition.
New Mexico MADD 'Officer of the Year' Resigns Amid DWI Corruption Scandal
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, who promised to "get to the bottom of this," is himself the subject of an internal investigation after broadsiding a car last month.
Sheriff Who Presided Over Violent 'Goon Squad' Tries To Play Dumb
"Nobody's ever reported that to me," Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said after his deputies admitted to brutalizing innocent people.
Why Is Panera Exempted From California's New Minimum Wage Law?
Probably because Greg Flynn, who operates 24 of the bakery cafes in California, is a longtime friend of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The Bukele Model Means Security Without Liberty
El Salvador stands at a crossroads between popular sentiment and adherence to constitutional principles.
Albuquerque Cops Allegedly Got Paid To Make DWI Cases Disappear
The scandal has resulted in the dismissal of some 200 DWI cases, an internal probe, and an FBI investigation.
A Form of Navalny
Plus: Teen boys go after tampons, Ken Paxton goes after migrant charities, and more...
Argentina, Once One of the Richest Countries, Is Now One of the Poorest. Javier Milei Could Help Fix That.
The new libertarian president believes in free markets and the rule of law. When people have those things, prosperity happens.
5 Years After a Deadly Drug Raid, Houston's Former Police Chief Might Finally Be Held Accountable
Since leaving Houston, Art Acevedo has bounced from job to job, continuing a spotty career marred by scandal.
In Guatemala, Protests Have Brought Economic Life to a Halt
Few doubt the right of Guatemalans to protest. The challenge arises when protests exact a heavy toll on the well-being of its citizens.
Hunter Biden Gets Caught in America's Double War on Drugs and Guns
Plus: A listener asks for the editors’ advice on how to spend his money.
There's Plenty of Evidence of Corruption Around Biden
When talking heads say “no evidence,” they mean “no smoking-gun proof.”
Kevin McCarthy Announces Impeachment Inquiry Into Joe Biden
The investigation could look into "allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption" related to the president's involvement in his son's foreign business dealings.
Both Biden and Trump Are Bad Candidates
The next presidential election may be between the two men. Can't we do better?
Trump and 18 Others Charged With Election-Related Crimes in Georgia
Plus: The beauty of microschools, the futility of link taxes, and more...
IRS Whistleblowers Claim Political Interference in Hunter Biden Investigation
Out with the old corruption and in with fresh scandals.
A Decade After Bankruptcy, Is Detroit Better?
The 2013 bankruptcy filing didn't make the city more prosperous, more functional, or less corrupt.
Florida Cop Jails Toddler Son for Poopy Pants
Plus: Snapchat cleared in sex crime case, New Hampshire embraces universal licensing reciprocity, and more...
Did Trump Admit Obstruction on Fox?
Plus: Americans may be getting more socially conservative, poverty policy beyond welfare, and more...
FTC Chair Lina Khan Ignored Ethics Official's Advice About Meta Case, Then Said She Didn't
Plus: RIP Daniel Ellsberg, the Pioneers of Capitalism, and more...
City Council Indictment Shows How L.A.'s Overregulated Housing Market Breeds Corruption
City Councilmember Curren Price is indicted for steering favors to affordable housing developers who were bribing his wife.
Did Trump Break a Law That Shouldn't Exist?
Plus: A rundown of recent nonsensical proposals for constitutional amendments
Trump Indicted, Faces Federal Criminal Charges Under Espionage Act
Plus: FIRE investigates "woke" Florida professor's dismissal, inequality index finds progress across multiple dimensions, and more...
Conservatives Pushing 'Common Good Capitalism' Sound a Lot Like Progressives
The ideology champions the same tired policies that big government types predictably propose whenever they see something they don't like.
For $6.5 Million, Durham Report Finds FBI Didn't Have Solid Dirt on Trump and Russia
Plus: Reexamining the roots of qualified immunity, who's really hurt by business regulations, and more...
SCOTUS Chooses California Over Pork Producers and Bacon Consumers (and Issues Four Other Opinions Too)
The Supreme Court issues five merits opinions, but there are still forty more waiting.
Trump Indictment Could Be the Jolt His Flailing 2024 Campaign Needs
Plus: Evidence that social media causes teen health problems "isn't convincing," more states ban gender transition treatments for minors, and more...
New York Arrest Would Be a Gift for Trump
Plus: Libertarians ask Supreme Court to consider New York ballot access rule change, Wyoming bans abortion pills, and more...
Sheriff's Employee Embezzled Funds in Keeping with the Spirit of Civil Asset Forfeiture
One guy with gambling debts is a news story, but a formal policy of legalized theft is a national scandal.
Want Less Corruption? Try Having Smaller Government.
People can never be made incorruptible. We can, however, design governmental systems filled with checks and balances that limit the temptations.
Oregon's Whiskey Ring Shows Perils of State Liquor Control
Top government officials reportedly kept rare bourbons for themselves and other powerful insiders.
New Israeli Government's Judicial Reforms are not Anti-Democratic—But they May Create a Tyranny of the Majority
By destroying judicial review, they would empower the narrow right-wing majority to violate the rights of minorities.
Don't Let the House Hunter Biden Investigation Become a Russiagate-Style Search for Election Excuses
Plus: Lab-grown meat, the allure of raw milk, and more...
