Katie Rucke

Katie Rucke is a MintPress staff writer and investigative report specializing in the war on drugs, criminal justice, marijuana legislation, education and watchdog investigations as well as whistle-blowers. Her investigations related to the coverage of the 2010 Toyota recall scandal, and coverage of the trials of Anonymous hacker and proclaimed activist Jeremy Hammond as well as Bradley Manning have received international acclaim. Rucke has been recommended by the Wikileaks organization as a trusted journalist in 2013. Rucke has also written pieces for Yahoo! and various community magazines. Follow Katie on Twitter: @katierucke

House Approves Marijuana Industry’s Request For Banking Access

Shut out of banking services, marijuana-related businesses in states where the substance is legal operate as cash-only businesses, but that may be changing.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
Bob Leeds

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 231-192 in favor of a bipartisan-backed piece of legislation that blocks the Treasury Department from using federal funds to penalize banks or other financial institutions for providing services to marijuana businesses in states where the substance is legal. The amendment to the financial

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Swedish Court: Charges Against Julian Assange Stand

Swedish court reaffirms legal basis of warrant that’s kept the WikiLeaks founder holed up as an asylum-seeker in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for two years.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
A figure depicts Julian Assange on a cross on top of a supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a vigil outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

On Wednesday, lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange asked that the Swedish government’s call “for the detention of Julian Assange to be lifted, effective immediately.” In Stockholm District Court, they argued that the order, which was issued in 2010, restricts Assange’s civil rights and cannot be enforced while he is

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Texas On Trial For Violating Voting Rights Of Blacks, Latinos

One analyst says the case could turn Texas into a “purple state” by shifting power away from predominantly white conservatives and giving left-leaning voters more of a say.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
Marc Veasey

Newly released emails between members of the Texas Republican Party from November 2010 confirm what black and Latino voters in Texas have argued for decades: Changes to political districts in the state are done in a strategic and discriminatory manner to ensure that the votes cast by minority groups -- typically for Democratic officials -- would be

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Nestle Continues To Bottle Water In Drought-Crippled California

The country’s largest bottled water company has found a way to bypass California’s strict water use restrictions: bottle water on an Indian reservation.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
ARROWHEAD MORONGO NESTLE

As Californians struggle with the extreme drought gripping the entire state and work to preserve the precious resource by implementing bans and restrictions regarding its use, a major food supplier has been taking water from a particularly parched part of the state and bottling it. Since 2002, Nestle has had a deal with the Morongo Band of

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Hemp Oil Versus CBD Oil: What’s The Difference?

Hoping to ensure that consumers are not misled about the intended uses of hemp and CBD oils, the Hemp Industries Association issues a statement explaining the differences.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
Hemp Oil CBD difference

Confusion amongst the public on how exactly hemp oil differs from cannabidiol, or CBD, oil, has prompted the nonprofit Hemp Industries Association to issue a statement explaining the difference between the oils in order to ensure that consumers -- specifically, medical marijuana patients -- are not misled about the intended uses. Hemp is often

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A Guilty Verdict In Silk Road Case Could Doom Internet Freedoms

In the case against Ross Ulbricht, one man’s personal freedom is at stake and maybe even Internet freedom as we know it.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

Ross Ulbricht, the 30-year-old American who allegedly created the online black marketplace Silk Road, was unsuccessful last week in convincing a federal judge that he is not the notorious hacker Dread Pirate Roberts and did not conspire to deal illegal narcotics and launder money, sparking concern among privacy advocates that Internet freedoms may

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Medical Marijuana Researcher’s Termination Smells A Bit “Skunky”

For a controversial, but well-established, researcher and professor, a controversial termination that may halt a study on marijuana’s effects on PTSD patients.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

When Sue Sisley, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona, was notified by the university that her contract would not be renewed on June 27, medical marijuana advocates cried foul. Legalization proponents argued that the professor was fired by the university because she was in favor of medical marijuana

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