The state of Alaska is trying to drum up publicity for its offer to pay some of the cost of exploratory drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but the pitch appears to stand no real chance. » read more

Recovery operations continue Tuesday morning after a tornado, reported to be a mile wide, touched down in Moore, Oklahoma, leveling Plaza Towers Elementary School and killing 20 children inside. » read more

When polygrapher Walt Goodson began moonlighting for a private company, he didn’t think the law enforcement agency he worked for would care. After all, his supervisor had worked for his company’s competitor and had approved his outside job. But after investigators found Goodson’s relationship with the manufacturer to be improper partly because of his involvement in a bid, Goodson agreed it looked bad. Public employees are supposed to avoid conflicts of interest because they could give a company an unfair advantage over competitors or create a greater expense for the public agency that’s buying a product. Even so, Goodson is one of 14 current or former law enforcement officers across the country who’ve been described by Lafayette Instrument Co. Inc. as dealers over the last six years. » read more

Thousands of job applicants come to FBI offices every year, eager to work for the top law enforcement agency in the U.S. But many of them have their hopes dashed, and it’s not because of their work experience or education or criminal records. They’re turned down because they’ve failed their polygraph tests. The FBI’s policy of barring applicants who fail their polygraph tests clashes with the view of many scientists that government agencies shouldn’t rely on polygraph testing to decide whether to hire or fire someone. » read more

Police departments and federal agencies across the country are using a type of polygraph despite evidence of a technical problem that could label truthful people as liars or the guilty as innocent, McClatchy has found. As a result, innocent people might have been labeled criminal suspects, faced greater scrutiny while on probation or lost out on jobs. Or, just as alarming, spies and criminals may have escaped detection. » read more

The push for mass coal exports from Washington state, already facing a huge environmental battle, also could get hit with slowing Chinese demand for coal shipments. » read more