Setting the Record Straight on Fracking and Earthquakes →

Last year the U.S. Geological Survey released a flurry of reports on the topic of human-induced earthquakes. It is now clear there is a connection between oil/gas extraction and earthquake activity. However, the nature of that connection has been widely misunderstood and misreported, even by some of the most reputable publications in the world.
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Specifically, the connection between oil/gas extraction and earthquakes has been generally accepted since at least the 1960’s and plainly obvious for about the last decade. Although some politicians may still question the connection, I was building earthquake models during that time and can say with confidence that science does not.
If there was any question remaining, the recent case of Oklahoma should remove all doubt...

UN approves toughest sanctions on North Korea in 20 years →

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades, reflecting growing anger at Pyongyang's latest nuclear test and rocket launch in defiance of a ban on all nuclear-related activity.
The United States and China, North Korea's traditional ally, spent seven weeks negotiating the new sanctions, which include mandatory inspections of cargo leaving and entering North Korea by land, sea or air; a ban on all sales or transfers of small arms and light weapons to Pyongyang; and expulsion of diplomats from the North who engage in "illicit activities."

The Most Important Exchange of Wednesday’s SCOTUS Abortion Arguments →

Wednesday’s oral arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, probably the most important Supreme Court abortion case since 1992, centered around one key question: Does a Texas law that forces abortion clinics to meet stringent new standards—in the name of shielding “women’s health”—impose an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy? In other words, would the law make it difficult, or maybe even impossible, for many Texas women to exercise their right to abortion? And if so, can the state wave away this issue by insisting, without much evidence, that such draconian regulations are still necessary to protect women?

Reentry groups invest in ex-inmates to break the cycle of crime →

According to Justice Department figures, about 650,000 people are released from state and federal prisons each year. Millions more are released from local jails annually, according to the Council of State Governments. After reports last year that 46,000 drug offenders in federal prisons could qualify for early release under revised sentencing guidelines, reentry organizations such as OAR have been bracing for a potential surge in clients.
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OAR’s life-skills classes focus on anger management, parenting and financial literacy. Other classes aim to help inmates understand the effects of crime and how to avoid the thought processes that lead to criminal behavior. These classes are particularly important, Cosby said, because criminal thinking — such as resistance to authority and an inability to delay gratification — is one of the main risk factors for returning to jail.

China just announced one of the largest single layoffs in history →

China may soon have a rust belt of its own.
Chinese officials announced plans to lay off roughly 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries, as part of president Xi Jinping’s politically difficult effort to restructure the world’s second-largest economy. It’s unclear as to the time frame for the cuts, which were announced by Yin Weimin, China’s minister for human resources and social security.
In recent decades, China built its economy on heavy state investment in export-oriented manufacturing industries. Those investments created large numbers of jobs for low-skilled people flooding China’s fast-growing cities.

No, raising the local minimum wage doesn’t hurt local businesses →

It’s not a crazy concern. When the national minimum wage goes up, no business is at a competitive disadvantage — they all face the same wage floor. It’s fair to wonder whether sub-national minimum wages might encourage businesses to avoid an increase by moving, a question with implications for people all over the country — from Olympia, Wash., to Lexington, Ky., to Bangor, Maine — who are trying to secure a raise. The geographical variation that has sprung up over time, however, has allowed economists to test Hubbard’s claims, and the evidence supports the actions of the Birmingham city council.
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This variation has provided opportunities for something rare in empirical economics: quasi-experimental studies. In one famous paper, economists Alan Krueger and David Card compared fast-food employment in New Jersey, which raised its minimum wage in 1992, with that in Pennsylvania, which did not. “We find no indication that the rise in the minimum wage reduced employment,” they concluded.
Are sub-state localities different from states? Another important study gets at this question by looking at county-level data, comparing every contiguous county across state borders where minimum wages differed over the course of 16 years. Instead of “all sorts of problems,” the researchers found “no evidence of job losses for high impact sectors such as restaurants and retail.”

Being a good parent will physiologically destroy you, new research confirms →

If the best parenting comes at such a high cost, and raising the next generation is such an important job, society should recognize the effort, and reward it.

Kids with empathetic parents have well-documented advantages: less depression, less aggression, more empathy themselves. Parents also report better self-esteem when they make the effort to understand their children’s feelings.
But inside, it’s tearing them up.
A team from Northwestern University has examined the hidden costs of parental empathy. They found that while the children of empathetic parents are better off physically and emotionally, the parents’ cells reveal chronic, low-grade inflammation. When their children suffer psychologically, empathetic parents’ immune systems take a hit.

Iran elections: gains for Rouhani could help promote greater opening to the west →

Early results in Iran’s hard-fought elections are showing strong gains for supporters of President Hassan Rouhani that could help promote greater opening to the west and limited political advances at home – and secure him a second term in office.
Friday’s polls for the parliament and the assembly of experts – its role is to choose the Islamic republic’s clerical supreme leader – were extended by nearly six hours due to a high turnout that was seen as likely to favour the reformist-moderate camp.
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Reports from the semi-official Fars and Mehr news agencies and a count conducted by the Associated Press showed the hardliners were the main losers of the vote.