Good morning! On this date in 1945, the US unleashed the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Around 80,000 people would die in the blast, with many more succumbing to radiation-related illnesses in the following years. On a far more constructive note, on this day in 1965 LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act.
Tipping point? –> Scientists have discovered plumes of methane gas rising from the seafloor under the Arctic, and believe it’s a result of global warming. The potential danger of large amounts of methane that had been locked up in the ice being released as it melts is enormous, as a pound of methane has approximately twenty times the warming power of a pound of carbon. Scott Sutherland has the details for The Weather Network.
The people have spoken –> The FCC is releasing the 1.1 million comments it received for its proposal to establish a two-tiered Internet, according to WaPo’s Brian Fung. AND: As Free Press points out, Obama’s latest position on Net neutrality appears to be in conflict with the FCC’s.
Afghanistan –> An American two-star general was killed in an attack in Afghanistan, becoming the highest ranking officer to die in combat since Vietnam.
“Out of control” –> The US terror “watch list” has expanded dramatically during Barack Obama’s presidency, and Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Devereaux report for The Intercept that 40 percent of the people on it have “no recognized terrorist group affiliation.” ALSO: HuffPo’s Ryan Grim reports that it appears that the government “spoiled” The Intercept’s scoop by tipping off friendlier reporters at the AP shortly before Scahill and Devereaux published.
Speaking of the War on Terror… –> Mark Hosenball reports for Reuters that the “State Department is increasing security at some American embassies in anticipation of the public release of a long-awaited Senate report” detailing the CIA’s use of torture.
Life-saving –> The story of two American aid workers being treated for Ebola with a compound that had only been tested on a couple of monkeys is quite dramatic. Sanjay Gupta and Danielle Dellorto have the details at CNN.
A sad first –> Polls generally show that while many people loathe Congress, they continue to support their own representatives. But according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, for the first time a majority of Americans say they don’t like their representatives.
Inspiring –> At Esquire, John Richardson profiles Dr. Willie Parker, a devout Christian and one of the two physicians who fly into Mississippi to provide abortion services at the state’s lone remaining clinic.
Inversions –> Julie Hirschfeld Davis reports for the NYT that the White House, “seeking to stanch a recent wave of so-called corporate inversions,” is considering what executive actions it can take “to curtail tax benefits for United States companies that relocate overseas to lower their tax bills.”
Grifters –> Kim Barker reports for ProPublica that Move America Forward, a conservative “pro-troop” organization, “has repeatedly misled donors and inflated its charitable accomplishments, while funneling millions of dollars in revenue to the men behind the group and their political consulting firms.”
Embarrassing –> The LAT’s Michael Hiltzik on a prominent conservative’s argument that low-tax states like Kansas are doing great: “A newspaper fact-checks its own right-wing op-ed; hilarity ensues.”
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