FBI agents paid to watch movies, exercise, wash clothes, and attend cocktail parties; FBI paid up to $7.8 million in improper overtime and wages between 2003 and 2007 click here to read more “Gross mismanagement and waste” undermining the Hazardous Materials and Emergency Preparedness grants that give states millions of dollars to improve responses to hazardous materials spills; Grantees spending grant money on unauthorized activities, such as setting up and traveling to conferences click here to read more
POLITICAL SCIENCE: Congress distributed $1.7 billion of National Institutes of Health research funds based upon political parochial interests rather than scientific merit click here to read more National Heritage Area pays to create a poster of aging garages in Michigan town; A lecture and guided tour is also planned click here to read more $250,000 FEMA grant pays for an Iowa welcome center click here to read more Federal education grant funding being allocated based upon the percentage of public forest lands in school districts rather than size of student enrollment click here to read more Grocery store in Illinois looks to expand its base with the help of a federal grant aimed, including $10,000 to bolster its marketing efforts click here to read more Montana mansion getting a million dollar make-over paid for, in part, with a $500,000 federal grant click here to read more
Researchers will spend the next thee years measuring the motion of video game systems thanks to $112,781 grant from the National Science Foundation click here to read more
Maryland county commission president credits spending public money to purchase and provide alcohol to officials at meetings for securing millions of dollars in federal funds click here to read more
National Science Foundation spends $119,660 for study measuring how housecats move in pursuit of food treats or feline toys click here to read more
Survey paid for with an $8,750 federal grant finds that most shoppers in Wenatchee, Washington, are not interested in living downtown click here to read more
Men tend to have more reddish skin and greenish skin is more common for women, according to federally funded study click here to read more
$100,000 Department of Transportation grant to pay for a 10-foot observation deck for bird-watching along the Mississippi River click here to read more
$400,000 federal grant will pay for a 10-foot-wide, all-weather bike trail along an Illinois river click here to read more
New high school football stadium paid for with a $200,000 congressional earmark click here to read more
Federal agencies’ research concludes plant seeds dispersed by birds benefit most quickly from landscape corridors; Researcher says this was an expected result click here to read more
Scavenger hunts to help train young journalists funded by the National Science Foundation click here to read more
$1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation pays to take North Carolina teachers on field trips to businesses that use math and science every day click here to read more
Federally funded study blames climate change for the decline of the Roman and Byzantine Empires more than 1,400 years ago click here to read more
From the Lobster Institute to the Woodstock Museum, TIME counts down the top 10 most outrageous congressional earmarks of the year click here to read more
Dance, Dance Revolution music video game consuls, rock walls, and fitness equipment purchased for Connecticut town’s public schools with a $314,212 federal grant click here to read more
$25,000 federal grant will support Newark, New Jersey’s effort to find a new, more artistically appealing, design for its low-rise housing click here to read more
Chamorro-English dictionary project funded by the National Science Foundation (The Chamorro are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands of which there are about 177,000 worldwide) click here to read more
National Science Foundation funds the first complete dictionary for the Menominee language, which is spoken by only 40 of the tribe’s 8,800 members click here to read more
200-year-old building in Alaska is getting a makeover, thanks in part to a federal grant click here to read more
National Institute on Aging study finds that knowing someone who is happy makes you more likely to be happy yourself click here to read more
New Hampshire charges the federal government $67,000 for upgrades to a mobile command van that is in storage; Upgrades included a $5,800 television, a $1,200 satellite television antenna, and a $16,000 satellite television subscription that includes the Game Show Network and the Travel Channel click here to read more
Van’s total cost charged to the federal government will be $412,000; State Liquor Commission Chairman says “In my view, this represents a triumph of bureaucracy over common sense. … we probably spent $100,000 reviewing this.” click here to read more
City council pulls the plug on $2.3 million congressional earmark for a childcare center in an Illinois town that failed to get off the ground click here to read more
17 Missouri trail projects will receive $1,174,393 from the federal Recreational Trails Program click here to read more
Department of Education analysis finds that the $6 billion spent on its Reading First program had had “no impact” on kids’ reading comprehension click here to read more
Federal officials have frozen $25 million in transportation funds intended for North Carolina because the state doesn’t have a management plan showing where the money goes and how it’s spent click here to read more
The American Folk Festival has received $60,000, still organizers are concerned about fundraising for the 2009 festival click here to read more
$500,000 Federal Highway Administration grant will restore Michigan theater to its original 1882 Second French Empire design click here to read more
Delays in NASA’s Mars mission could add $400 million to the price tag, which is likely to top $2 billion click here to read more
Illinois grocery store receives a $10,000 federal grant to pay for its marketing efforts click here to read more
Seattle housing program used public funds to throw a private party that included a $700 tab for hot dogs and chips, $559 for chocolate truffles and alcohol, and nearly $400 for furniture rental click here to read more