The number of emergency workers and first responders who have developed different types of cancer after being at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has doubled since last year. According to the New York Post, more than 2,500 first responders and other rescuers who took to the site of the former World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks have been diagnosed w [...]

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas) said it was "too early to tell" whether his fervent support for the Kremlin will hurt his son Sen. Rand Paul's (R., Ky.) potential 2016 presidential candidacy, BuzzFeed reported on Friday: “I don’t think so, it’s too early to tell,” Paul said when asked if his positions on Russia and Vladimir Putin could harm Sen. Rand Paul’s possible presidential camp [...]

Russia's military has completed work on a new missile defense radar in southern Russia that has some U.S. military officials worried Moscow is building up offensive and defensive strategic forces in in destabilizing combination. The large radar station near Armavir, located near the Black Sea and designed to detect missiles launched from Europe and Iran, is nearly complete, said U.S. officials. [...]

After 20 years living in Switzerland, Scott Schmith renounced his American citizenship, to escape the obligation to report his income and assets to the US government. “I have nothing to hide. But I don’t want to be punished because I chose to live outside the United States,” said the new Swiss passport holder, a photographer who lives near Zurich. [...]

Russian-made firearms are reportedly flying off the shelves of American gun stores after the United States Treasury Department announced sanctions last week against the maker of the popular AK-47 rifle. Kalashnikov Concern, the company responsible for the eponymous gas-operated 7.62 caliber assault rifle known largely around the world as the AK-47, is among the latest Russian-owned entities to [...]

When we spend almost 30 times as much money locking youth up as educating them, how can we say that education matters? I'm tired of talk. Let's educate our kids. We say that education matters, yet California is ranked number 47 among the states in per pupil spending on education. [...]

Entrepreneurism in American has been on the decline for at least 30 years, a new report suggests, and for the first time in three decades the number of business "deaths" in the United States exceeds that of "births." The report, published on Monday this week by economists from the Brookings Institute, examines business dynamism in America — or how the process by which firms are continually bo [...]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed its growth expectations for the world's biggest economy to 1.7 percent for the year, after a harsh winter crushed growth in the first quarter. In June, the Washington DC-based institution forecast US growth at 2 percent. The revised forecast is below last year’s 1.9 percent growth rate, and would be the slowest annual rate for the United St [...]

The White House is tracking visitors to its website, despite proudly promising that WhiteHouse.gov complies with federal privacy laws and does not use cookies. The AddThis tracker is present on every page on the site, according to EFF. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) studied the White House site for the new type of online tracking system after a new report by ProPublica found that the [...]

A never-before-published document released by The Intercept on Wednesday reveals the flexibility with which United States officials may place individuals on watchlists and deem them terrorists without obtaining concrete proof. [...]

An increasing number of businesses are opting out of staying virtually connected and are reverting back to old technologies to avoid being spied on. The move has led to a surge in typewriter sales in Germany. German typewriter makers such as Bandermann and Olympia have cited climbing sales amid NSA spying revelations. [...]

Officials in Berlin were long in denial that their closest allies were spying on Germany. Now, ministries are undertaking measures to improve security and counterintelligence. They're anticipating frosty relations with the US for some time to come. [...]

Closing arguments ended and a jury began deliberating in former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's defamation lawsuit against the estate of "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle. Both men were US Navy SEALs. [...]

Criminal prosecution is likely to be expanded on Americans involved in recruiting and supervising activities of German officials spying for the US intelligence, Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Welt am Sonntag. If investigators find a body of evidence that alleged double agents in Germany’s federal intelligence service and Defense Ministry have been spying to the benefit of American in [...]

Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, talks exclusively to Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, and reporter Ewen MacAskill in Moscow. The 31-year-old former intelligence analyst discusses whether he is a Russian spy, his likely fate if he returns to the US and the relevance of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four in the age of Google. [...]

Microsoft will cut a record 18,000 jobs next year, as the company's new CEO Satya Nadella seeks to boost efficiency, according to a company memo on Thursday. “The first step to building the right organization for our ambitions is to realign our workforce. [...]

Russia considers the latest package of sanctions against it issued by the US as revenge for the failure of Washington's schemes in Ukraine and blackmail. Moscow reserves the right to retaliate. [...]

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights believes the world owes a "great dea" to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying he should not face trial for his revelations of sweeping state surveillance as they have served the public interest. “Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected: we need them,” Commissioner Navi Pillay told reporters on Wednesday. [...]

America’s public debt will rise to 106 percent of GDP in the next 25 years, a level seen just once in US history - just after World War II, the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned. US debt has skyrocketed to over $17 trillion, and is now about 74 percent of total gross domestic product, the CBO said on Tuesday. [...]

The latest revelations of US spying on Germany have unleashed unprecedented levels of distrust in Berlin. The government has already expelled the CIA's chief here and may soon be planning additional measures as it seeks answers from Washington. [...]

Air travel in the US is set to become more expensive beginning next week - but airline profits and jet fuel costs aren't to blame this time. Instead, the price hike will come as a result of a TSA fee increase. The Transportation Security Administration’s fee – known as the ‘Civil Aviation Security’ or the ‘9/11 Security’ fee – helps fund the agency. [...]

The UK's spy agency has developed a number of crafty tools to monitor and comb the web, planting false information when necessary, Glenn Greenwald said while disclosing a fresh batch of Snowden's files. The tools were created by the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) within the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), according to the leaked documents. [...]