The NSA documents did not indicate if any journalists were intentionally targeted. However, other documents revealed that the British spy agency considered “investigative journalists” a threat, putting them in “a hierarchy alongside terrorists or hackers,” said The Guardian. A classified document directed to army intelligence stated “journalists and reporters representing all types of news media represent a potential threat to security. Of specific concern are investigative journalists..."   read more

The requested documents contained sensitive trade secrets. Last week, after waiting out the three-month appeal period, the Times sued to get them. The system’s three-stage rocket intercepts the target warhead in space head on in a “bullet-to-bullet” collision. Except when it doesn’t. So far, the missile is eight for 17 at shooting down its target, despite the Pentagon staging “carefully choreographed tests that are more predictable and less challenging than an actual attack would be.”   read more

High-deductible plans are becoming increasingly common. According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2006 10% of workers were enrolled in a plan with a deductible of $1,000 or more. By 2014, that number had increased to 41% of workers. Smaller firms had an even larger percentage of workers covered by high-deductible policies. In companies employing fewer than 200 people, the numbers went from 16% in 2006 to 61% last year.   read more

Children can get a free lunch through the National School Lunch Program if their family is at or below 130% of the federal poverty rate. They get reduced-price lunches, costing no more than 40 cents, if their family income is between 130% and 185% of the poverty rate. In 2013, 51% of children qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. That’s up from 38% in 2000. Mississippi leads the nation with 71% of its children eligible for the school lunch program.   read more

Those living at or below the federal poverty level had a victimization rate of 39.8 per 1,000, while those with high incomes had a rate of only 16.9. The pattern was consistent between whites and blacks, with poor members of both races suffering more than their better-off counterparts. The one anomaly was among Hispanic populations. For them, the victimization rate was about the same regardless of income.   read more

A new scientific study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says large-scale deaths of fish, birds and invertebrates increased over a 72-year period from 1940 to 2012. Researchers came to this conclusion after reviewing the records of 727 “mass mortality events.” The “good news” is that the number of die-offs for mammals remained about the same, while those involving amphibians and reptiles actually went down during the period under study.   read more

The 114th Congress is only a couple of weeks old, and already powerful financial and corporate interests are having their way, particularly in the House. Legislation backed by Wall Street interests has targeted the Dodd-Frank reform law, which imposed a series of restrictions on banks and investment firms. Wall Street lobbying has been fierce. Combined with campaign contributions from various financial interests, 2014 saw a $1.2 billion war chest built for undermining Wall Street reform.   read more

The Visa Waiver Program allows millions to travel between the U.S. and 38 countries without a visa, making it easy for tourists to come here and spend money. But the recent terror attacks in France have some Washington lawmakers rethinking the program, fearing it leaves the U.S. vulnerable to acts of terrorism. “The visa waiver program is the Achilles’ heel of America,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein. The program allows nearly 20 million foreign citizens into the U.S. each year.   read more

Reports revealed a death toll ranging between 55 and 61 civilian prisoners inside the building that was demolished by American missiles. Between 13 and 25 ISIS guards also died in the attack. If those numbers are accurate, it would represent the worst case of civilian deaths caused by the U.S. bombing of Syria. Many of the prisoners were jailed for minor infractions of Islamic Law, “such as smoking, wearing jeans or appearing too late for the afternoon prayer."   read more

Defense lawyers contend it was necessary for officials to ask Israel to review the report before complying with Smith’s request—an unusual move on the part of a U.S. agency involving a FOIA issue.The report may contain details about an internal debate nearly 30 years ago among U.S. officials whether Washington should authorize the sale of a Cray supercomputer to a coalition of Israeli universities -- a sale "that could boost Israel's well-known but officially secret A-bomb and missile programs."   read more

As moving as it was to see millions of people from around the world march for protection of freedom of the press, those who follow the subject of press freedom could not help but snicker, bristle or become outraged to see almost a dozen world leaders taking part in a demonstration whose theme was “Je suis Charlie,” who are themselves guilty of suppressing freedom of the press in their own countries.   read more

An estimated 9 million students in the U.S. could receive a tuition-free ride through community college as long as they maintain a 2.5 grade point average (a C+) and are making “steady progress” toward completing a program. The plan would cover both full-time and half-time students at two-year institutions that offer classes transferable to universities or vocational programs in high-demand fields of work.   read more

The Pentagon announced last week that it will close 15 U.S. bases in Europe. However, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other pressures, the number of American forces on the continent will remain about the same at about 67,000 for the next several years. The closures are expected to save about $500 million from the $500 billion Pentagon budget.   read more

“I’m sure every American worker is saying: thank God the Republicans are going to have me work 10 more hours before I can get health insurance. Aren’t you generous?” Rep. Hoyer said. The Congressional Budget Office said the bill would result in 1 million people losing their health care coverage, forcing them either into government-supported plans or having no medical insurance at all. That would force an increase in federal spending of $53 billion over the next decade.   read more

An alarm has been sounded that the very future of science is at risk. Young scientists are increasingly being denied research grants, a trend that has been growing for more than a decade and resulting in a brain drain from biomedical academia. The continued loss of young scientific minds from this arena “could lead to a gradual evaporation of new discoveries, the loss of future leaders and mentors, a less diverse workforce and the loss of scientists...at a pivotal point in their career."   read more

The study says fracking near Poland Township triggered a previously undiscovered fault. The result was more than 70 earthquakes ranging in magnitude of 2.1 to 3.0, the latter of which was described as “rare” by the experts. Hilcorp Energy, operator of several oil and gas wells in the area, was forced to shut down its drilling after the 3.0 quake. The seismologists’ research was deemed consistent with findings of a “probable” link between fracking and seismic events.   read more