The Washington Post's David A. Farenthold reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has weakened protections for the North Atlantic right whale. NOAA decided to change "buffer zones" for these whales to a 20-mile area off of Altantic Ocean ports instead of ...

Somebody take away Pat Buchanan's newspaper and disconnect his internet! The New York Times' Sam Roberts reports that by 2042 there will be more non-white people in the U.S. than white people. There will be more non-white people under 18 than white people in ...

The Washington Post's Christopher Lee flags a disconcerting bit of news first reported by the San Jose Mercury News: the U.S. Census Bureau will classify gay, married couples as "unmarried partners" in its 2010 census. There are more than 10,000 gay ...

The Washington Post's N.C. Aizenman lays out the problems that could result from a botched 2010 census. The Commerce Department's U.S. Census Bureau will not get the electronic hand-held devices they planned on by 2010, meaning that government employees will have to go door-to-door with pen and paper recording ...

It took a while for George W. Bush to acknowledge the seriousness of climate change. But the administration's U.S. Climate Change Science Program has released reports unflinchingly showing global warming's effects.

The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin looks at such a report released yesterday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ...

Commerce Department Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez admitted yesterday that a plan to  digitize the collection of Census Bureau information is a bust. The Census Bureau gave $600 million given to Florida-based Harris Corp to make tiny, snazzy computers that would collect information from citizens who don’t fill out ...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering whether to put four different kinds of seals in the Bering Strait on the endangered species list because of melting ice. The Washington Post’s Juliet Elperin points out that the seals may not be the first arctic ...

John Solomon of the Washington Post writes that the Inspector General of the Commerce Department, Johnnie Frazier, is leaving his post because of major violations of government whistleblowing laws and mistreatment of his staff, but not before he celebrates with a going-away party "on government property and government time."  The ...

The Bush Administration has proposed major cuts to the Census Bureau’s Survey on Income and Program Participation, or SIPP. SIPP tracks users of federal social programs, providing data about participation levels and effects on well-being of citizens who benefit from Medicaid, welfare payments, food stamps, and school lunch ...

Inspectors General, the in-house examiners of employee conduct at federal agencies, have received positive reviews of late, but the allegations surrounding the Commerce Department’s IG, Johnnie Frazier, make clear the potential for abuse this important position holds, as John Solomon and Joe Stephens report in the Washington Post.  ...