photo via:  Drone Wars UK U.S. to disclose legal justification for drone strikes on Americans -- Chicago Tribune "In a case pitting executive power against the public's right to know what its government does, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month reversed a lower-court ruling preserving the secrecy of the legal rationale for the killings, such as the killing of U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen. "Ruling for the New York Times in the case, a unanimous three-judge panel said the government waived its right to secrecy by making repeated public statements justifying targeted killings." First lady: Arts education good for good schools -- Associated Press "The talent show was a vehicle to showcase the 'Turnaround Arts' program. It was created as an experiment in 2012 by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in collaboration with the White House and the Education Department to test whethe...

US Drones Deployed in Search for Kidnapped Nigerian Girls -- TIME "White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said 'unmanned, unarmed' aircraft had joined reconnaissance flights over a swath of Nigeria where Boko Haram is believed to be holding the girls hostage. Carney cautioned during a news conference that the area of greatest suspicion still covering an expanse of land 'along the size of West Virginia.' The announcement comes as some U.S. lawmakers are urging the use of force to rescue the Nigerian girls. Senators in both parties recently floated the idea of using special forces to aid in the search, and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain went further on Tuesday. 'I certainly would send in U.S. troops to rescue them,' McCain told to the Daily Beast. Carney, however, said U.S. counterterrorism experts dispatched to Nigeria would limit their activity to an 'advisory capacity,' focused on finding the girls." source:  Overpass Light Br...

West Antarctica ice sheet collapse: 'it will change the coastline of the world' -- The Guardian "The rise is pretty exceptional in historical terms, at rates that haven't been seen since the end of the last ice age. And this is the first time we are seeing rates like this with a very large human population. We have to adapt to it. For us as a society, that's a really big deal, it's going to have a destablising effect, it's going to be very expensive, and it's going to very hard." Why Neil deGrasse Tyson is a philistine -- The Week "He proudly proclaims his irritation with 'asking deep questions' that lead to a 'pointless delay in your progress' in tackling 'this whole big world of unknowns out there.' When a scientist encounters someone inclined to think philosophically, his response should be to say, 'I'm moving on, I'm leaving you behind, and you can't even cross the street because you...

White House unveils dire warning, calls for action on climate -- Reuters "Some environmental and public health groups hailed the National Climate Assessment as a possible 'game changer' for efforts to address climate change, in part because it makes the impact less abstract to many Americans. ... The extensive report detailed how consequences of climate change are hitting on several fronts, including health, infrastructure, water supply, agriculture and especially in more frequent severe weather such as floods and droughts." Here Are the 55 Colleges in America Facing Federal Sexual-Assault Investigations -- National Journal "The Education Department publicly released Thursday a list of 55 U.S. colleges and universities currently under investigation for mishandling sexual-assault cases, a swift and unprecedented move that arrives just days after the White House pledged more transparency on the issue. The list is populated with large state schools suc...