Late Friday, as many were heading out for the holiday week, the GOP-dominated House Intelligence Committee quietly announced what several other investigations had found: There was no wrongdoing by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S. military or other high government officials in the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the deaths of four Americans.   read more

The Waldorf-Astoria, built in 1931, is the permanent home of the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and hosts presidents and other top officials when they’re in New York. Now that it’s being sold by Hilton Worldwide Holdings for $1.95 billion to China’s Anbang Insurance Group, which reportedly has ties to the Communist party, U.S. officials fear the new owners could use their new property to gain intelligence information from their guests.   read more

Another milestone has been reached in the ongoing war against suspected terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere—the United States has launched 500 attacks, or “targeted killings” in governmentspeak. The “targeted killings” aren’t as well targeted as they might be; 473 civilians are among the 3,674 who have died in the attacks.   read more

More than 4,000 American cameras are listed on the website. In all, the site has webcam footage from people in 152 nations. Voyeurs can watch everything from babies in their cribs to college campuses to the insides of small businesses. The site also reveals the GPS location of each webcam along with links to a map. “[They claim] what they’re doing is entirely legal because they’ve hacked into cameras where the owners didn’t change the default password," said CBS.   read more

Two of al Qaeda’s top financiers are reportedly living with impunity in Qatar, according to U.S. treasury official David Cohen. Both men are on an international terrorism blacklist. They also have close ties to the country’s ruling elite. Meanwhile, the Qatari government insists it does not support terrorism, and it refuses to disclose any information about al-Subai and al-Nuaymi. Qatar is scheduled to host the 2022 World Cup.   read more

The cost of fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been pegged at $8 million a day, according to the Department of Defense. President Barack Obama asked Congress for an additional $5.6 billion to combat ISIS. Defense News reported that most of this money will be used to train and equip Iraqi and Kurdish militaries, continue U.S. airstrikes and other air operations, and move troops and supplies through the region.   read more

André Shepherd had come to the conclusion that the U.S. war in Iraq was wrong, and that his support for Apache attack helicopters contributed to war crimes because they dropped bombs "indiscriminately—and increasingly catching civilians in the crossfire.” So Shepherd left his post and appealed to the German government for asylum. That request moved closer to becoming a reality after a European Court adviser cited European law as covering asylum requests for someone like Shepherd.   read more

Jimmy Carter announced that he would use force against Iran to ensure that the Persian Gulf didn’t fall into the “wrong” hands. Subsequent events have taken the American military force into Libya (1981, 1986, 1989, 2011), Lebanon (1983), Kuwait (1991), Iraq (1991-2011, 2014-), Somalia (1992-1993, 2007-), Bosnia (1995), Saudi Arabia (1991, 1996), Afghanistan (1998, 2001-), Sudan (1998), Kosovo (1999), Yemen (2000, 2002-), Pakistan (2004-) and now Syria. Few of these adventures have ended well.   read more

Hundreds of American soldiers exposed to chemical weapons during the occupation of Iraq didn’t receive proper care, the Department of Defense now admits. In fact, many were sent on their way with no treatment and told not to talk about the injuries they sustained from the exposure. The Pentagon now has established a phone number, 1-800-497-6261, for veterans to report possible exposure.   read more

The snooping by Britain’s leading spy agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), means the Internet and phone data of Americans is being handled by another country without legal oversight. This was set up under agreements between the British government and Washington, as well as other foreign governments sharing data with GCHQ.   read more

The World Economic Forum lists the U.S. at No. 20 in its 2014 Global Gender Gap Report. In some categories, the U.S. ranking was even lower, like 47th for equal labor force participation and 65th on equal pay for similar work. Then there’s the matter of paid family leave, something offered in most nations. There’s still no requirement for this benefit in the United States.   read more

“We see from Denmark that it’s possible to run a profitable fast-food business while paying workers these kinds of wages,” said U.S. economist John Schmitt. “We Danes accept that a burger is expensive, but we also know that working conditions and wages are decent when we eat that burger,” noted Soren Kaj Andersen of Copenhagen. “We can still make money out of it — and McDonald’s does, too," added Martin Drescher. "Otherwise, it wouldn’t be in Denmark.”   read more

Farm chemicals banned by European and Asian countries are still being used, often in large measure, across the U.S. At least five pesticides being applied to American farms have been outlawed overseas. Some of the most popular are neonicotinoids, which farmers use widely on corn and soybean crops. Another chemical banned in Europe as well as China is paraquat, which kills weeds and was famously used in marijuana eradication efforts in Mexico. It may also cause Parkinson’s disease.   read more

The numbers are eye opening: Tokyo has 13.4 million residents, but only 1,697 are homeless. Compare that to New York, where there are 56,000 homeless. "Income inequality is a massive and growing problem in the U.S., while Japan has historically had one of the lowest rates of inequality among developed countries,” wrote Scott Keyes. In Japan, government provides more social services to help the homeless than the U.S. does, and families have a strong sense of duty to relatives in need.   read more

Of the 2,379 Pakistani drone fatalities, only 704 could be identified. Of those, only 295 were identified as members of an armed group inside Pakistan. “Almost 30% are not even linked to a specific group,” Jack Serle reported. “Only 84 are identified as members of al Qaeda – less than 4% of the total number of people killed.” These findings “demonstrate the continuing complete lack of transparency surrounding U.S. drone operations,” said Mustafa Qadri.   read more

“Afghan farmers grew an unprecedented 209,000 hectares of opium poppy in 2013, surpassing the previous peak of 193,000...in 2007," said SIGAR. "With deteriorating security in many parts of rural Afghanistan and low levels of eradication of poppy fields, further increases...are likely in 2014.” The illicit trade was valued at nearly $3 billion last year. Regions that had become “poppy free” as a result of U.S. anti-drug programs have been experiencing a “resurgence in cultivation.”   read more