Unsolved murders, also known as cold cases, are really starting to pile up across the U.S. That’s because detectives are not clearing homicides like they used to. In 1965, the national homicide clearance rate was 90%. By 2012, that rate had fallen to 64%. As an example, Detroit’s police department arrested only 9% of those responsible for the city’s 386 murders three years ago. New Orleans didn't fare much better, clearing only 15% of its 193 killings in 2012.   read more

Before setting rates, insurance companies check the USGS’s National Seismic Hazard Map, which makes earthquake predictions. This map will now take into account quakes that occur within the vicinity of fracking wells. That means insurance rates may go up in areas considered more at risk of seismic events due to fracking operations. Between 2010 and 2013, central and eastern U.S. had five times as many annual quakes as between 1970 and 2000. Fracking has been cited by scientists as a cause.   read more

Of all tooth extractions performed by oral surgeons, nearly 80% are wisdom teeth. Although a local anesthesia can be used, oral surgeons are able to administer general anesthesia—which costs much more—to knock their patients out completely. “They like to give general anesthetic,” said dentist Jay Friedman.. “It's a big money maker." One survey found nearly 90% of those questioned about why they had their wisdom teeth removed said it was because their insurance paid for part of the work.   read more

When Barack Obama became president, he vowed to step up the analysis of chemicals by EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) to determine which should be restricted or banned because of toxicity. The George W. Bush administration had evaluated only about five chemicals a year. Lisa Jackson, Obama’s first EPA administrator, said the target should be 50 a year. Instead, the EPA has completed only 41 evaluations since Obama took office in 2009, with only one being done in 2014.   read more

The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East sued 97 oil and gas companies, asking for compensation for the damage done by the oil industry in dredging canals and installing pipelines, causing more erosion of the land and making it more vulnerable to hurricanes. Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal tried to throw a wrench in the suit by firing some of the members of the board that filed the action.   read more

The big trees, more than two feet in diameter, were found in decline from Southern California to the Northern Sierras. Some areas of SoCal showed nearly a 75% decline. They were in decline even in the wild, where logging and development were not factors. The study compares the numbers from 80 years ago with a survey taken between 2001 and 2010, so the current four-year drought is not a factor.   read more

Robert MacLean was fired after he exposed what he considered to be a reckless decision by the TSA three years earlier. In 2003, the agency issued an alert of a possible hijacking plot on a commercial flight. Air marshals were on alert, but TSA officials canceled overnight missions for MacLean and others in an effort to save money on hotel lodging. MacLean thought the decision was shortsighted, and revealed the decision to the TSA inspector general.   read more

In his letter to Obama, Burr requested “that all copies of the full and final report in the possession of the executive branch be returned immediately.” Burr’s move is “apparently aimed at keeping the full version of the report from being released to the public,” said the Post.“I strongly disagree that the administration should relinquish copies of the full committee study,” said Feinstein. “Doing so would limit the ability to learn lessons from this sad chapter in America’s history."   read more

The latest mess generated more concern among opponents of the Keystone project who say the recent accidents demonstrate how dangerous the pipeline could be for the environment. Keystone would cross the Yellowstone about 20 miles upstream from the Poplar Pipeline spill. Sen. Tester said it was important for the government to have more inspectors checking oil pipelines across the country. “We need to take a look at some of these [old] pipelines...and say, ‘Are they still doing a good job?’”   read more

State prison policy forbade the growing of a beard for security reasons, claiming the facial hair could be used to smuggle contraband. Only neatly trimmed mustaches are allowed under departmental rules governing inmates. Holt challenged the prohibition, arguing it violated his religious rights. The Supreme Court agreed unanimously. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the prison’s “interest in eliminating contraband cannot sustain its refusal to allow petitioner to grow a half-inch beard.”   read more

Pope Francis says climate change is a serious problem and that mankind is responsible for causing and fixing the problem. But at least a dozen GOP Catholic lawmakers reject the idea that humans are responsible for global warming. One of them, Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, said she believes it is ridiculous to think humans are the cause of climate change because God created the climate.   read more

The “Friendship Nine” challenged racial segregation in Rock Hill, South Carolina on January 31, 1961 by refusing to leave the lunch counter at McCrory’s, a five-and-dime store. They went into the store with a strategy called “jail, no bail,” intending to force local law enforcement to incarcerate them, which they believed would draw more attention to their cause. The men refused to post bail and were sentenced to 30 days of hard labor at a county prison farm.   read more

The Miss Universe pageant got a little political when Miss Israel, Doron Matalon, posted a selfie on Instagram with several other contestants, including Miss Lebanon, Saly Greige. Having Miss Israel next to Miss Lebanon was a big deal because the two countries have no diplomatic relations, going back to 1948 when Israel was created. Some in Lebanon were so upset by the photo that they demanded Greige lose her title for being publicly seen “with the citizen of an enemy state,”   read more

Police back the halt in deportations because it makes undocumented immigrants more likely to report crimes and cooperate with police. “When criminals know that their victims are afraid or are unwilling to cooperate with the police, then they enjoy that. And, in fact, crime thrives,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank told the Salt Lake Tribune. The National Immigration Law Center praised the chiefs and sheriffs for their move, which they say supports public safety.   read more

It took Slahi six years to get his book published after the U.S. tried to keep it classified and contains 2,500 redactions ordered by the federal government. Guantánamo Diary is being published in the U.S. and 19 other countries. Like other accounts from detainees, Slahi’s is filled with stories of being tortured, including sleep deprivation, death threats, sexual humiliation, threats against his mother, forced to drink salt water, and beaten for hours at a time while immersed in ice.   read more

On June 10, 2006, three prisoners were found hanging in their cells. The base commander, Rear Admiral Harry Harris, said not only were the deaths suicides, but were orchestrated to make the United States look bad. “I believe this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us,” he said. Now Staff Sgt. Joseph Hickman, who was on duty the night of the deaths, has called the official version of events “impossible.”   read more