WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – Despite a
well-deserved reputation for scandals, New Jersey is among the
state leaders in the fight against official corruption, with
most states doing a poor job, according to a wide-ranging study
released on Monday.

Five states received a “B” grade for accountability and
transparency and eight got an “F” in the investigation by the
nonprofit groups Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity
and Public Radio International. No state got an “A.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Department of Agriculture is defending the use of ammonium-treated beef, dubbed “pink slime” by detractors, in meals destined for schoolchildren as part of the national school lunch program.

The Internet news source The Daily reported this week that 7 million pounds (3.2 million kg) of the product — beef trimmings treated partly with ammonium hydroxide to fight contamination — would appear in school lunches this spring.

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) – The American
Dictionary of Regional English has finally reached its final
word – “zydeco” – as researchers wrap up almost 50 years of work
charting the rich variety of American speech.

The dictionary’s official publication date is March 20 but
lexicographers and word fans have been celebrating ever since
its fifth and final volume emerged earlier this year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. troops who burned copies of the Koran at a base in Afghanistan last month should have been aware it would enrage Muslims based on the reaction to previous instances of desecrating Islam’s holy book, the head of Afghanistan’s independent human rights body said on Wednesday.

Sima Samar, chairwoman of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, said Americans previously have dealt with issues relating to the treatment of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and had seen the furor created by the burning of the Koran at a Florida church last year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eight current and former U.S. service members alleged in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday they were raped, assaulted or sexually harassed while in the military and were retaliated against when they complained.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington accuses military leaders of having a “high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks, and ‘zero tolerance’ for those who report rape, sexual assault and harassment.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The rash of devastating tornadoes early in the season across the Midwest and South will not deplete the U.S. disaster fund which was replenished by Congress last year, officials said on Monday.

The Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund now has about $3.7 billion, a FEMA source said on Monday, after nearly being emptied last year with some $13 billion in spending.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – James Q. Wilson, the political scientist who helped create a U.S. law-and-order revolution with the “broken window” theory of community policing, has died at 80, Boston College said on Friday.

The university’s Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, where Wilson had been a fellow for several years, announced his death on its website.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Washington’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, one of the biggest U.S. springtime parties, is expected to see an earlier-than-normal peak bloom between March 24 and 31, a National Park Service forecaster said on Thursday.

The prediction carries special weight since this year’s celebration marks the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees as a sign of friendship with the United States.

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) – The Obama
administration is going forward with a plan to protect the
endangered northern spotted owl that includes removing or
killing rival barred owls.

In its latest attempt to save the imperiled owl, the
Department of the Interior plan would designate habitat
considered critical in Washington, Oregon and California. It
would allow some logging in the areas, however, to reduce the
risk of forest fires and to create jobs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is going forward with a plan to protect the endangered northern spotted owl that includes removing or killing rival barred owls.

In its latest attempt to save the imperiled owl, the Department of the Interior plan would designate habitat considered critical in Washington, Oregon and California. It would allow logging in the areas to reduce the risk of forest fires and to create jobs.