| In the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, what’s a win worth to the little guys? Posted: 15 Mar 2017 04:40 PM PDT ![In the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, what's a win worth to the little guys?]( "In the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, what's a win worth to the little guys?") In the closing seconds of Tuesday night's First Four match, Mount St. Mary University's forward Chris Wray raced forward to bat down a long inbounds pass, then ran away with the ball, sealing a tight victory over the University of New Orleans. The win earned Mount St. Mary's a long-shot chance against first-seeded Villanova on Thursday – and at least a few precious days of national limelight for the Emmitsburg, Md., university of just over 1,500 undergraduate students. Recommended: How well do you know the NBA?
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| Who is Wayne Tracker? Tillerson's pseudonym puts Exxon emails at fore of investigation Posted: 15 Mar 2017 02:48 PM PDT ![Who is Wayne Tracker? Tillerson's pseudonym puts Exxon emails at fore of investigation]( "Who is Wayne Tracker? Tillerson's pseudonym puts Exxon emails at fore of investigation") New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman caused a stir on Monday when he wrote to a judge saying that Exxon Mobil Corporation had not told his office that Rex Tillerson, the former chief executive of Exxon and current US secretary of State, used an email alias to discuss a number of subjects, including climate change. Mr. Schneiderman is currently investigating Exxon to determine whether the corporation misled the public and its shareholders about the role of the oil industry in human-caused climate change. At Exxon, Mr. Tillerson used the email address Rex.W.Tillerson@ExxonMobil.com for most communications, receiving thousands of emails every day, including many from environmental activists.
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| Trump to ramp up drone warfare. Will more civilians die? Posted: 15 Mar 2017 02:47 PM PDT ![Trump to ramp up drone warfare. Will more civilians die?]( "Trump to ramp up drone warfare. Will more civilians die?") President Trump's administration has plans to loosen drone warfare restrictions set for the CIA and military, a move that could increase the number of targeted attacks on so-called enemy combatants, as well as increasing the risk of civilian casualties. The administration says it has nearly completed a review of the current policies and is considering reforms that would make it easier to launch drone strikes against groups like Al Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State.
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| EU rules on headscarves at work: pragmatic call, or an open door for the right? Posted: 15 Mar 2017 02:23 PM PDT ![EU rules on headscarves at work: pragmatic call, or an open door for the right?]( "EU rules on headscarves at work: pragmatic call, or an open door for the right?") Despite a recent surge in far-right populism and anti-migrant sentiment as European countries navigate the integration of millions of Muslim refugees, experts say the ruling doesn't necessarily reflect the rise of far-right ideology, as it aligns with past rulings by the court over similar matters. Recommended: Are you smarter than an atheist?
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| The hope needed to end a hunger crisis of historic scale Posted: 15 Mar 2017 02:09 PM PDT ![The hope needed to end a hunger crisis of historic scale]( "The hope needed to end a hunger crisis of historic scale") Soon after being chosen as secretary-general of the United Nations last year, António Guterres vowed to serve "the most vulnerable" in the world. The lives of more than 20 million people – nearly equivalent to the population of Australia – are at risk of famine in four countries, the UN estimates. Of the four, South Sudan in northeast Africa has already been formally declared as a famine zone.
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| Why are Californians so happy? Posted: 15 Mar 2017 01:45 PM PDT ![Why are Californians so happy?]( "Why are Californians so happy?") When it comes to happiness, balance is key, a new WalletHub analysis suggests. California cities took 8 of the top 10 places in the personal finance website's 2017 "Happiest Places to Live" ranking, which rated 150 of the United States' largest cities on the happiness of their residents.
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| Mass grave in Mexico points to drug cartel murders: 250 skulls found Posted: 15 Mar 2017 12:53 PM PDT ![Mass grave in Mexico points to drug cartel murders: 250 skulls found]( "Mass grave in Mexico points to drug cartel murders: 250 skulls found") Mexican authorities have announced the discovery of more than 250 buried human skulls in the eastern state of Veracruz. "Veracruz is a huge grave," the state's attorney general, Jorge Winckler, told local media. This grisly find might appear to mark a new low for a country racked by years of "disappearances." But the grave's discovery is also a story of courage and perseverance on the part of family members.
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| Florida governor signs bill tightening death penalty Posted: 15 Mar 2017 12:34 PM PDT ![Florida governor signs bill tightening death penalty]( "Florida governor signs bill tightening death penalty") On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 280 into law. The bill requires a jury to unanimously recommend the death penalty before a judge can impose it. The move brings Florida law in line with death penalty procedures across the rest of the United States, leaving Alabama as the only state that does not require a unanimous jury in order to hand down the death penalty.
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| Why GOP plan's 'historic' reform of Medicaid has many worried Posted: 15 Mar 2017 12:33 PM PDT ![Why GOP plan's 'historic' reform of Medicaid has many worried]( "Why GOP plan's 'historic' reform of Medicaid has many worried") The Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is not just about doing away with Obamacare. Of the federal government's three big entitlement programs, the two most familiar to the public are the ones focused on seniors: Social Security, which provides retirement income, and Medicare, which is medical help for seniors and the disabled. The Republican bill would dramatically affect the third one, Medicaid – the federal-state health care program for the poor.
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| Cybersecurity in seven minutes Posted: 15 Mar 2017 11:50 AM PDT ![Cybersecurity in seven minutes]( "Cybersecurity in seven minutes") Knowing about cybersecurity risks isn't the same as protecting against them.
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| Is this the end of Turkey's flirtation with Europe? Posted: 15 Mar 2017 11:11 AM PDT ![Is this the end of Turkey's flirtation with Europe?]( "Is this the end of Turkey's flirtation with Europe?") European relations with Turkey, a NATO ally, have been rattled for years by issues from the flood of migrants into Europe via Turkey to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's authoritarian slide. For years, the starting point of any cooperation was Turkey's bid to join the EU, whether that bid was realistic or not. Recommended: Think you know Turkey?
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| Navy's 'Fat Leonard' sex-for-secrets scandal widens, ensnares retired admiral Posted: 15 Mar 2017 10:03 AM PDT ![Navy's 'Fat Leonard' sex-for-secrets scandal widens, ensnares retired admiral]( "Navy's 'Fat Leonard' sex-for-secrets scandal widens, ensnares retired admiral") A retired US Navy admiral is one of six former officers arrested and charged with bribery in a recently-unsealed indictment, part of an ongoing investigation into the "Fat Leonard" scandal. Retired Navy Adm. Bruce Loveless appeared in federal court in San Diego on Tuesday. A former intelligence officer for the Navy's Seventh Fleet, which is responsible for Southeast Asia and Australia, he stood accused of providing classified information and offering preferential business treatment to Malaysian defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis, known as "Fat Leonard." In exchange, the indictment charges, he and the other members of Mr. Francis's "Wolf Pack" received a host of bribes, including meals, hotels, and encounters with prostitutes.
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| Why Trump tax revelation leaves many unsatisfied Posted: 15 Mar 2017 09:22 AM PDT ![Why Trump tax revelation leaves many unsatisfied]( "Why Trump tax revelation leaves many unsatisfied") Donald Trump tax documents leaked to the media and broadcast on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show add an interesting dollop of knowledge to the public understanding of the president's opaque business dealings. In particular, they proved that prior to winning the White House Mr. Trump did indeed pay taxes. In 2005 he paid $36.5 million in income tax on earnings of $153 million, according to the summary pages.
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| What does Trump's 2005 tax return reveal? Posted: 15 Mar 2017 09:17 AM PDT ![What does Trump's 2005 tax return reveal?]( "What does Trump's 2005 tax return reveal?") Throughout the campaign and into the White House, President Trump has refused to publicly release his tax returns. In 2005, the documents indicate, Mr. Trump reported an income of $153 million and paid $36.5 million in income taxes. Thanks to a tax loophole in the 1990s, his substantial business losses in 1995 – primarily at his casinos – could have been deducted from his tax payments in subsequent years.
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| Event: Exploring the US-Israeli relationship in cyberspace Posted: 15 Mar 2017 08:33 AM PDT ![Event: Exploring the US-Israeli relationship in cyberspace]( "Event: Exploring the US-Israeli relationship in cyberspace") Cybersecurity has taken center stage. You can't avoid it. News about the WikiLeaks release of alleged CIA hacking tools; Russian hacking designed to influence western elections; and sophisticated cybercriminals manipulating electronic banking systems to steal millions.
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| As Tillerson arrives in Asia, Japan's Abe emerges as effective global statesman Posted: 15 Mar 2017 08:09 AM PDT ![As Tillerson arrives in Asia, Japan's Abe emerges as effective global statesman]( "As Tillerson arrives in Asia, Japan's Abe emerges as effective global statesman") When Shinzo Abe took power in December 2012, the prognosis didn't look good. In the past five years, Abe has established an economic plan named for him (Abenomics), consolidated his domestic power base with a so-called "super majority" of two-thirds in both houses of parliament and, perhaps most unexpectedly, morphed into an effective international statesman. Recommended: Think you know Japan?
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| Revised travel ban gets day in court: Will it be found constitutional? Posted: 15 Mar 2017 07:30 AM PDT ![Revised travel ban gets day in court: Will it be found constitutional?]( "Revised travel ban gets day in court: Will it be found constitutional?") It was only a matter of hours after President Trump signed his original executive order on immigration in January before a flurry of lawsuits emerged – challenges that ultimately stymied the implementation of one of his signature issues. When he put his signature to a revised version of that order last week, it took several days before any new legal challenges were lodged. This may be a sign, at least the Trump administration hopes, that the revised – and significantly narrowed – travel ban now has enough precision and legal rigor to withstand judicial scrutiny.
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| Did piracy ever really go away in Somalia? Posted: 14 Mar 2017 04:14 PM PDT ![Did piracy ever really go away in Somalia?]( "Did piracy ever really go away in Somalia?") Until 2012, the commercial freighters that crawled past the coast of Somalia produced fortunes for pirates who held their crews captive for ransom. "The original idea behind piracy was that there was no state to protect [Somalia's] shores," says Abdi Samatar, chair of the University of Minnesota's department of Geography, Environment and Society, in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor.
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