In response to rising citizen demand for government transparency and efficiency, this year China plans to defog the secretive workings of the government and ruling Communist Party, a senior official said Wednesday. "In this new year, we will adopt an even more open attitude and even more forceful policies," asserted Wang Chen, a Chinese propaganda official.

After being slapped with a $2.4-million bill by the Beijing tax bureau, Chinese artist and political dissident Ai Weiwei (left) could be charged with illegal fundraising. Ai disclosed to the public his hefty tax bill only last week, and since then nearly 20,000 people have donated more than 5.3 million yuan ($840,000) to help the artist pay an enormous sum of back taxes and fines.

As the issue of rising gas prices dominates Obama’s current standing among the public, the White House is scrambling to broadcast the President’s purported dedication to U.S. energy independence. And one strategy the administration is engaging in is to accuse congressional Republicans of stonewalling executive efforts to improve the country’s energy and environmental stature.

Following a scathing exposé that uncovered details on a lavish government conference in Las Vegas, the head of the General Services Administration (GSA) resigned, while two top deputies were fired and four managers were placed on administrative leave. GSA chief Martha Johnson (left) admitted in her resignation letter to a "significant misstep" at the federal agency — which handles real estate for the government — and as a result, she acknowledged, "taxpayer dollars were squandered."

Without a concrete plan for funding, proponents of a California high-speed rail project began pitching their plan this week to legislators and the general public. Updated from a previous proposal, the new plan narrows the scope of the project and intends to speed up construction to save money. However, despite the spending reductions, the rail still leans on shaky funding sources that might never materialize.

While GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich release their 2010 tax returns, nearly 100,000 federal workers owe more than $1 billion in unpaid taxes in 2010. Congressional staffers owed $10.6 million in 2010, adding to a growing portion of the approximate $1 billion total owed by all civilian federal employees, which include military, postal service, executive branch, and congressional workers.

Former Congressman William D. Delahunt (left) from Massachusetts established a lobbying firm, the Delahunt Group, soon after retiring as one of the federal legislature’s most liberal lawmakers. After claiming an office on the 16th floor of a Boston skyscraper, Delahunt launched his business, and one of his first clients was the small town of Hull, on Massachusetts Bay, which agreed to pay him $15,000 a month for assistance in launching a wind energy project.

President Obama pulled no punches on Saturday night during a live televised speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where he roasted real estate magnate Donald Trump, labeling him a conspiracy theorist and unqualified presidential candidate.

On Thursday night, real estate mogul, Celebrity Apprentice host, and presidential hopeful Donald Trump unleashed a hailstorm of profanity during a speech at a Las Vegas casino, while assuring a rally of 1,000 people that he would soon announce his decision on a 2012 presidential run.

President Obama rejected a permit to expand the controversial Keystone pipeline Wednesday, blaming Republicans for ordering a hurried deadline that, he claimed, did not provide sufficient time for officials to review the plan. "The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline's impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment," the President said in a statement.