It’s not just the Tea Party: Some 60 to 90 journalism operations, emerging to fill the void left by the collapse of the newspaper industry, are in limbo. Faced with an influx of applications, the IRS now takes 24 to 30 months to review requests for nonprofit status from journalism startups, up from 3 months in 2007. The victim in both instances: the First Amendment. Op-Ed in today’s Washington Post by Sunlight Foundation’s Kathy Kiely and Diana Jean Schemo of 100Reporters. -. [FULL ARTICLE]
A California father and son team described by federal prosecutors as being “at the apex of the rhino horn smuggling pyramid” in the United States has been sentenced to more than three years in prison on federal wildlife smuggling and money laundering charges. Vihn Chuong “Jimmy” Kha and his son, Felix Kha, ran a lucrative smuggling operation estimated at $2.5 million that prosecutors linked to a global network of poachers and buyers from China to South Africa, where an average of two of the endangered animals are killed each day. After a 20-year decline, the traffic in rhino horns has climbed since 2008, and is now valued at up to $8 billion a year, according to the U.S. Fish and … [FULL ARTICLE]
A United States Appeals Court has declined to hear a challenge to a new rule that requires companies in the extractive industries to disclose their payments to foreign governments. Led by the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the companies had argued that the law violates a right to free speech, by compelling them to disclose information that could be considered politically charged in the countries where they do business. The Securities and Exchange Commission had countered that companies must disclose financial information all the time, and this new rule, set to take effect next year, is no different. The case proceeds at a lower court. By Chad Bouchard for 100Reporters. -. [FULL ARTICLE]
In the world of international corruption, researchers and watchdogs are wrestling with an awkward truth: only a smidgen of the billions of dollars in stolen assets that are recovered through government investigation and prosecution ends up back in the countries from which they were taken. In many cases, settlements are negotiated without the knowledge of countries where the crimes took place. A 100Reporters exclusive by Chad Bouchard. -. [FULL ARTICLE]
Oil, gas and mining industries banded together against a new rule in the United States that aims to lift the fog surrounding payments to governments for natural resources. The new rule, part of a sweeping set of financial reforms known as Dodd-Frank, forces companies to disclose project-by-project payments to foreign governments. The companies are arguing that the new law violates their right to free speech. By Chad Bouchard for 100Reporters. -. [FULL ARTICLE]
Thanks to the Ford Foundation for its generous support of 100 Reporters.
Thanks to Arnold & Porter for its top-notch pro bono legal support.
