Headlines from December 8, 2014

Republican attorneys general in at least a dozen states form secret alliance with Big Energy to fight environmental regulations.
The strange thing about Tony Blair’s Christmas card is how the teeth seem to follow you round the room.
Nations track their citizens with third-party surveillance tools, to the tune of $5 billion annually.
Tens of thousands of immigrants mass at Mexico’s southern border, stranded by a crackdown and targeted by gangs.
Indigenous-rights defender killed just prior to condemning major mining project in Ecuador.
Inept BMW driver gets stuck in a snowy parking lot, over and over again. #video
Grown-ups in Hollywood doing all they can to make millions off viral videos on YouTube and Vine.
VH1 has so successfully courted black viewers, it now struggles to connect with other groups.
Police use teargas on a crowd of nearly 400 protesters in Berkeley, saying protesters threw explosives.
Someone released chlorine gas at a Furry convention in Chicago.
Interesting assessment of democracy’s stall and the return of strongmen in Africa. #longreads
Related: Nathan Thrall on the state of Jerusalem.
Balloon soon to measure neutrinos in Antarctica, perhaps to find mini black holes and a Nobel Prize for Stephen Hawking.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disorder found in NFL players, affects youth football players, as well.
New Jersey teenager interviews his teachers to find out about their favorite music.
Music magazine Fact picks the 20 best free mixes of the year.
There exists a plausible and more distant future in which we are mostly much better off and more equal. Technology hopefully to combat income inequality.