Last year saw an 80% spike in the total number of deaths from terrorism, the highest increase since 2000. The vast majority of terrorist deaths don’t happen in Western countries. Five countries — Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria—accounted for 78% of the terrorism death toll in 2014, The six new countries with more than 500 deaths were Somalia, Ukraine, Yemen, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Cameroon.   read more

The Air Force was forced to use contractors to fly its MQ-9 Reaper drones because it has struggled to recruit, train and retain military drone pilots. But some people are concerned. “The more closely related an activity is to the kill chain, the greater the likelihood the activity should be barred from contractor performance,” wrote Maj. Keric D. Clanahan in Air Force Law Review. He urged the Pentagon to “only allow military personnel to serve as aircraft pilots and … sensor operators.”   read more

Three decades of established federal policy that gave watchdogs unrestricted access to government records in their investigations is now at serious risk of being undone. That includes at least 20 investigations that have been slowed or completely shut down. “This is by far the most aggressive assault on the inspector general concept since the beginning,” said professor Paul Light. “It’s the complete evisceration of the concept. You might as well fold them down. They’ve become defanged.”   read more

The Republican presidential hopeful has gotten nearly $8.5 million in TV advertising and he hasn’t paid a dime for it. The ads have come courtesy of the Conservative Solutions Project, an organization that is supposed to use its money to promote social welfare causes. But the only cause it appears to be promoting is Rubio’s, which would appear to be a violation of IRS regulations. The New York Times called the organization’s tactic “one of the most brazen” abuses of the political finance system.   read more

Eighty of the largest cities in the world are working together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the effort seems to be a success. A new report says the C40 network of cities (now with 80 members) is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 645 megatonnes by 2020. The reduction would be equivalent to not using 1.5 billion barrels of oil, or nearly 170 coal-fired power plants. The cities collectively represent 600 million people and a quarter of the global economy.   read more

Pritzker and seven scientific organizations have not backed down in the face of Smith’s threats, going so far as to accuse the congressman of conducting “a partisan witch hunt” and “inquests.” “The repercussions of the committee’s actions could go well beyond climate science, setting a precedent to question other topics such as [GMOs] and vaccines that have controversial regulatory and policy implications,” the groups wrote. “It’s an affront to the scientific process," said AAAS CEO Rush Holt.   read more

It’s no accident that a large minority of Americans don’t believe the scientific evidence on climate change. New research shows that corporations have spent two decades funding studies that have sown the seeds of doubt in many Americans’ minds. “We sort of always suspected that this was the case...but this really demonstrates it empirically,” said professor Robert Brulle. Corporate funding helped create “a united network within which the contrarian messages could be strategically created.”   read more

Investigators say Centcom may have underestimated the threat posed by ISIS and later overplayed the effectiveness of military operations against the Islamic militants.The investigations may be hampered by missing documents, because some were destroyed before the materials were given to investigators. Sources told The Daily Beast that Maj. Gen. Steven Grove and his civilian deputy, Gregory Ryckman, deleted emails and files from computer systems before the inspector general could examine them.   read more

“The process is the most intensive of any check conducted for people seeking admission to the United States,” wrote CAP’s Jawetz and Gude. “It is specially designed to mitigate any threats and helps ensure Americans are not placed in harm’s way.” The ordeal takes a year-and-a-half to two years. “If at any stage in that process there is ever the slightest shadow of a doubt or the slightest whisper of suspicion, they are removed from the process. That is that,” said the U.N.'s Christopher Boian.   read more

In the immediate wake of the attacks, as France declared war on ISIS and sharply escalated its bombing campaign against the terrorist group’s targets in Syria, stock prices of major weapons manufacturers skyrocketed. “The markets could barely wait to start buying,” Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept wrote. “The private-sector industrial prong of the Military and Surveillance State always wins, but especially when the media’s war juices start flowing.”   read more

The U.S. women’s incarceration rate has climbed steeply, according to the report. “In the U.S., we are not only incarcerating women far more than nearly all other nations, but we are also incarcerating women far more than we have done in the recent past. The sudden growth of incarceration in our country has been staggering; our incarceration rate nearly tripled between 1980 and 1990,” the report said.   read more

The FDA said food companies would not be required to label the salmon as having been genetically engineered. Many consumer groups reacted negatively to the news, claiming the safety studies were inadequate. Friends of the Earth warns that the salmon approval by the FDA will set a precedent that could make future GMO animal species easier to put on the market. The group claims there are at least 35 other species of genetically engineered fish, cows, pigs and chicken currently in development.   read more

Maplight reported that senators voting for two Senate resolutions (S.J.Res.23 and S.J.Res.24) targeting EPA regulations “received, on average, 17 times as much money ($75,802) from the coal mining industry compared to senators voting against them ($4,464) between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015.” Thirteen senators received more than $100,000 from the industry during that period—and all of them voted for both resolutions. The Senate approved the resolutions by identical votes of 52-46.   read more

“In the last three years, at least 12 states have seen their legislative leaders or top cabinet-level officials charged, convicted, or resign as a result of ethics or corruption-related scandal,” wrote Andrew Emett. “At least five House or Assembly leaders have also fallen." Additionally, “[a]t least 36 states have voted on bills that may present a conflict of interest.” The absolute worst state was Michigan, which got F’s in 10 of the 13 categories of government operations examined.   read more

A hotter world could wind up being a less populated one. Research says this century is likely to experience more days of 80°F or higher than the 20th century, and that the increase won’t bode well for “coital frequency.” "Extreme heat leads to a sizeable fall in births,” reported the researchers. "It could affect hormone levels and sex drives. Alternatively, high temperatures may adversely affect reproductive health or semen quality on the male side, or ovulation on the female side.”   read more

The Red Cross says “close to a hundred” hospital attacks have occurred since March. “The neutrality of health care facilities and staff is not being respected. Health facilities are deliberately attacked and surgical and medical supplies are also being blocked from reaching hospitals in areas under siege,” said ICRC's Kedir Awol Omar. Amnesty International has criticized the U.S. and other states for fueling the conflict while doing little to stop human rights violations.   read more