The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will be operated by the Department of Homeland Security on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan. It’s replacing a facility located on Plum Island, off New York’s Long Island. It was put there in 1954 because it’s far from agricultural facilities and the prevailing winds blow out to sea, and would take any outbreaks away from land. NBAF sits in the path of Tornado Alley, a large stretch of the Midwest vulnerable to violent storms.   read more

The Nordic island nation was designated the most peaceful nation on earth, according to the Institute for Economics & Peace’s latest Global Peace Index. The United States was way down on the Global Peace Index, placing at No. 94, but a definite improvement from last year’s 101. Part of the improvement came from the partial withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and U.S. efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran.   read more

The Obama administration has little moral ground to stand on when it comes to computer espionage, particularly after Edward Snowden exposed just how often the U.S. government has pried into public and private electronic systems overseas. The NSA infiltrated the servers of the Chinese firm Huawei, which was deemed a security threat by Washington. The NSA monitored the firm's executives and obtained information about its inner workings that Huawei says connect a third of the world’s population.   read more

One of Pfizer’s antibiotics suppliers in China, NCPC, discharges pharmaceutical waste into the environment. Generic drug company McKesson contracts with an Indian company, Aurobindo, which in turn gets drug supplies from four polluting Chinese factories. And Teva, based in Israel, deals with three Chinese companies that “have been in the Chinese media spotlight for various offenses including improper waste management and the release of noxious chemicals.”   read more

the war produced 149,000 fatalities in Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2001 to April 2014. Included in the figures are U.S. military personnel, non-U.S. Allied troops, contractors, Taliban, al Qaeda and other opposition fighters—as well as more than 47,000 civilians from both countries. There have been 26,270 Afghan civilians killed and 21,500 Pakistanis.   read more

Representatives from six South Pacific countries recently announced that they intend to sue carbon polluters for their role in causing climate change. The plaintiffs are vulnerable to rising sea levels and greater storm activity brought on by climate change. Those wanting to bring the polluters to justice face several hurdles, a big one being finding a court in which to sue. U.S. federal courts are an option, but might not work because polluters in America are covered by the Clean Air Act.   read more

About 55,000 Chinese took the SAT in 2014. The total “reflects an increasingly international view of education for Chinese young people, not to mention their parents.” The test is so popular in China that new anti-cheating measures have been instituted. In recent weeks, 23 students were arrested for cheating, some of whom used transmission devices to get answers remotely. To catch them, teachers have been using silent drones to fly around the classrooms monitoring transmission signals   read more

In the wake of the January 2010 earthquake that hit near Port au Prince, Haiti, millions of Americans pitched in and donated to relief funds, much of it to the American Red Cross (ARC). Now, a report says that little of the $488 million sent to that organization has actually gone into rebuilding the country. Its claim that it built houses for more than 130,000 Haitians was a slight exaggeration; it actually built six houses.   read more

A complaint filed on behalf of several Samoans, some of whom live there and others who live in the United States proper, pointed out that those born in American Samoa are considered U.S. nationals, but not citizens. That means that even when they move to Hawaii or another state, they’re not entitled to vote, hold office or enjoy certain other rights reserved for citizens. Their U.S. passports have a restriction that labels them as U.S. nationals.   read more

Reporters Without Borders has awarded Eritrea last place on its World Press Freedom Index for seven straight years. Of the 223 journalists imprisoned around the world, 23 are in Eritrea. The only press allowed in Eritrea is that which is controlled by the government and even then the journalists are not safe. Thirteen employees of an education ministry radio station were imprisoned for five years without being told why.   read more

Instead of paying $30,000 to $50,000 annually in tuition and fees at American private universities, students can attend German institutions for only a few hundred dollars a year. One example is Technical University of Munich, “one of the most highly regarded universities in Europe,” where a U.S. student pays only $120 a semester in fees. The fee includes a ticket that allows free public transportation anywhere in Munich, and student health insurance is less than $90 a month.   read more

Cuba was placed on that list in 1982 when it was supporting guerilla movements in South America. That support has long-since ceased, but the Castro administration remained on the list until now, when a 45-day period for Congress to review the plan ended. Cuba is still subject to an economic and travel embargo, so the only practical effect might be that the Havana government might find it easier to do business with U.S. companies in deals that are authorized.   read more

The politicians "received hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of travel expenses, silk scarves, crystal tea sets and Azerbaijani rugs valued at $2,500 to $10,000. On his return from Azerbaijan, Bridenstine sponsored an amendment to the defense bill that would have required the Defense Department to issue reports on the strategic importance of natural gas interests in the Caspian Sea area and the value of building a pipeline out of the region.   read more

The prosecutor in the case, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, had previously opposed rehabilitation over prison for another Somali-American, Abdullahi Yusuf, who also wanted to join IS. Luger appears to have had a change of heart however, and hopes to fight the recruitment of young people by IS with programs such as mentoring and job counseling. The federal government estimates that between 150 and 180 Americans have tried to leave the country and join up with groups fighting in Syria.   read more

Warren claims the GAO, along with the Labor and State departments, have documented “significant and persistent problems with labor abuses in countries with which we have FTAs.” However, the report notes that the U.S. seldom tries to enforce fair labor provisions. Warren has also objected to the lack of transparency about the exact provisions of the TPP: “We’re being asked to grease the skids for a deal that’s basically done but is being held in secret until after this vote."   read more

High officials from six Persian Gulf countries got assurances from President Barack Obama that the United States would respond, perhaps with military force, to an “external threat” to any of the countries. Amnesty International has cataloged human rights abuses in each of those countries.   read more