The majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump for president; the majority of voters did not vote for Republican candidates for the Senate; and fewer than 51% of voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The Republican Party now controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, no matter how that came to be. I believe it is worth bearing in mind that a majority of U.S. citizens did not support the Republican winners.   read more

Scientists at the University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment have discovered that black carbon, or soot, has been contributing to global warming on a much larger scale than previously calculated. It now has been determined that soot is the second leading contributor to climate change, behind only carbon dioxide. Methane ranks third.   read more

After avoiding payment for decades, U.S. defense contractor Cubic Defense Systems has been ordered by a federal appellate judge to pay Iran nearly $3 million it owes, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest.   read more

Three years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency was convinced natural gas drilling company Range Resources had contaminated underground wells in Texas. But EPA officials dropped the investigation after the company threatened to not participate in a larger study of fracking.   read more

A new study published by the journal Pediatrics found heavy metal, gothic, punk music, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, and electronic dance music, such as trance and techno, were more likely to cause delinquency among minors than pop, classical and jazz.   read more

According to a secret State Department cable from U.S. consul general Scott Frederic Kilner, the government of Syria used chemical weapons on its own people on December 23 in Homs. That act could have provoked a tough response from the United States, but to date the White House has not become more involved in the crisis.   read more

Media sources and foreign policy analysts have questioned news reports that Iran has an intelligence ministry of 30,000 that is committed to terrorism and assassinations. The figure seemed surprisingly large, prompting ProPublica to investigate its validity, and finding that a terrorism researcher inflated the number.   read more

Coming just a month after the Newtown school shooting, owners of the iPhone and iPad can now download a target range game, thanks to the National Rifle Association (NRA). The phone app, called Practice Range, simulates shooting practice. Children as young as four can play the game.   read more

Fast-rising corporations from developing countries may become the most important players in the global economy, says Boston Consulting Group. These global challengers are outpacing corporations in developed countries in terms of growth, job creation, and productivity, growing at an annual rate four times that of competitors in developed countries.   read more

In 2011, the number of low-income working families increased to 10.4 million, up from 10.2 million a year earlier, according to the Working Poor Families Project. One-third of all working families may not be able to meet basic needs. There are 47.5 million people living in working poor families and the number could reach 50 million within a few years.   read more

The suicide total among military personnel was the highest ever recorded since the Department of Defense began keeping track in 2001. More soldiers committed suicide (349) than were killed in the war (295). The new mark shattered the previous high of 301, set in 2011.   read more

The Department of Defense faces tough decisions about its retirement system and health benefits in order for the U.S. to afford operating an all-voluntary military into the future. A study conducted by the Pentagon’s Reserve Forces Policy Board warns that the current system of pay, allowances, retirement, and medical care is too costly to sustain.   read more

A cyber-espionage operation in effect for five years has gone after targets across Europe, the United States, and other countries. The sophisticated malware, created by Russian-speaking computer experts and dubbed Rocra, which may be controlled by cyber spies bent on selling stolen secrets on the international black market.   read more

Airport screeners with the Transportation Security Administration checked more than 600 million people last year and confiscated both the dangerous and the bizarre from passengers. Among the oddities taken away were a chastity belt, eels, dead venomous snakes, and more than one samurai sword. More than 1,500 guns were discovered in carry-on bags.   read more

Economists at the Wharton School have refuted the idea that money can’t buy happiness, claiming in a research paper, “The New Stylized Facts about Income and Subjective Well-Being,” that money can purchase a happier state of being. They found a direct correlation between richer countries and people who are happier.   read more

Noting that the number of contingent workers has doubled in twenty years to more than 2.5 million, the report underscores Bureau of Labor Statistics data that they suffer higher rates of injury and death than other employees. Because contingent employees rarely have health insurance or even workers’ compensation coverage, employers are able to shift the financial burden of workplace injuries onto the public, and often skimp on safety training of temps.   read more

In a letter to Congress, Obama said American fighter planes “provided limited technical support” to French forces, but did not open fire while briefly entering Somali airspace. The planes flew out of Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, which has grown into a key installation for secret counterterrorism operations in Somalia and Yemen.   read more