Many more people are dying from gun suicides than gun-related homicides →

Gun suicides are becoming far more common than gun-related homicides, accounting for 64 percent of all gun deaths in 2012, according to new statistics. And the suicides have become especially common among older white men.

There were 32,288 deaths from firearm violence in the United States in 2012, a rate that's remained relatively stable over the past few years. But since 2006, gun suicides have increased from 57 percent of all firearm-related deaths, according to research published this month in the Annual Review of Public Health.

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Suicide risk rises in adolescence, but it also increases sharply among white men in retirement age. By 85 and older, the gun suicide rate for white men was five times higher than the rate for black men and 3.2 times the rate for Hispanic men.

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The new U.S. Surgeon General's nomination was held up by more than a year largely because the NRA opposed him for having the nerve to call guns a health care issue. But these new statistics underscore why you can't ignore firearm deaths as a threat to public health.

A Veteran’s View of ‘American Sniper’ →

An interesting and detailed look at the movie from a veteran and movie producer. One such quote:

“American Sniper” does not, however, much address the overall complexity of the larger political issues surrounding the war — or the complexity of the Iraqi side of the experience. And that’s OK. Kyle, much like many I served with, and our president himself during most of the Iraq War, held a very black-and-white view of the conflict. We were right, they were wrong. That’s how they saw things. Eastwood and Cooper have both commented extensively that they looked to classic Hollywood Westerns to inspire this film. And they succeeded. In “American Sniper,” like in Chris Kyle and George Bush’s Iraq War, American troops wore the white hats, and Iraqi fighters wore the black ones. That was their war. That was their truth.

Navy bribery probe far from over despite key figure’s plea →

The Navy has put more checks in place and says it is better scrutinizing its contracts. But questions remain as to how such a large-scale scheme that overbilled the Navy by as much as $20 million and involved officers who went as far as changing the routes of major military ships could happen.

Bowling Ball →

You are in a boat directly over the Mariana Trench. If you drop a 7kg bowling ball over the side, how long would it take to hit the bottom?

When Americans Ate Horse Meat →

History's so interesting.

For centuries, Americans have eaten horse meat -- both out of necessity, and for its unique taste. And at times, didn’t just eat it: they loved it, savored it, and treasured every last morsel. Our strange relationship with horses goes beyond companionship and into the realms of culinary enjoyment...

We Were Promised Space Lasers: The State of the Union's Biggest Fibs →

This Tuesday, Jan. 20, President Barack Obama will honor an American tradition as old as George Washington: the State of the Union. The constitutionally ordained address to each new session of Congress has been a presidential ritual since 1790. It’s a chance to check in on the present and make some pledges for our future.

It’s that future bit that got us thinking: If all that talk had come true, even the crazy, far-out pledges—especially the crazy, far-out pledges—what would our world look like today?

Young pyromaniacs see what happens with 5 pounds of thermite on a grill →

Underclassmen in high school should never, ever play with substances that reach 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit; things like that should only be handled by trained professionals, with stockpiles of licenses and safety gear, under strictly controlled conditions. That said, we're glad that 15-year-old Tyler Barlow decided to stick an old barbecue in a grassy field and ignite 5 pounds of thermite on top of it, because the resulting video is super cool...

Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police →

Good. Hopefully this will be properly and officially overturned.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without warrants or criminal charges.

Holder’s action represents the most sweeping check on police power to confiscate personal property since the seizures began three decades ago as part of the war on drugs.

Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.

The program has enabled local and state police to make seizures and then have them “adopted” by federal agencies, which share in the proceeds. It allowed police departments and drug task forces to keep up to 80 percent of the proceeds of adopted seizures, with the rest going to federal agencies.

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The decision follows a Washington Post investigation published in September that found that police have made cash seizures worth almost $2.5 billion from motorists and others without search warrants or indictments since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.