* The NSA's decades-long partnership with AT&T was essential to the agency's surveillance program. * How ProPublica determined the NSA's unnamed telecommunications partner was AT&T. * The Iowa State Fair is hell on a candidate's campaign-trail diet. * Trump wins
* US has "credible information" ISIS used chemical weapons on Kurdish forces in Iraq. * Over the past year, ISIS has developed a horrific, systematic market of sex slavery. * On the anniversary of Japan's WWII surrender, Abe expresses remorse, but—significantly—doesn't apologize. * Explained: Why Japan&
* "The heroin epidemic of the 21st century is largely a white person's scourge." * Connecticut Supreme Court rules death penalty unconstitutional. * Children of incarcerated parents suffer from depression and PTSD—which should be no surprise. * Workers' children are those most affected by unpredictable work schedules. * To
* "Data on use of force by police across US proves almost useless." * Pragmatically, a sixth New York borough will never happen. But what if? * Mapping how bohemian New York's boroughs are along an inverse relationship between income and education. * Clinton Correctional Facility inmates claim beatings and
* Video of the Day, Ash Koosha, "I Feel That." * Robots are learning to play jazz—which is great—so they can improvise on the battlefield. Which is, well. * Robert Gagno is Canada's pinball champion. He also has autism. * Ferguson declares state of emergency after police shoot
* Maura Johnston and Billy Joel close down the Nassau Coliseum. * "If you want to know why executive pay is skyrocketing...it's because of this change in the tax code." * Researchers are divided over whether there's a single property that links all languages. * Why jails
* Republicans took center stage in Cleveland last night—and Cleveland is taking center stage in their strategy. * He got huge cheers for saying exactly what he thinks throughout the debate, never tempering his now-signature style. * The Donald wins with campaign finance reform: Don't blame me for the
* Kerry sees everybody winning in the Iran deal—if Congress can keep its finger off the trigger. * What Trump would do as president. * The CIA said it was getting out of the torture business, but Panetta's correspondence suggests otherwise. * David Graeber: To overcome the circle of violence, we
* China outsources to South Carolina, where wages are offset by subsidized cotton, tax breaks, and cheaper energy. * The biggest corporate donors are supporting two candidates: Bush and Clinton. * Jeb's latest "misspeak" about overfunding for women's health suggests a troubling problem with debates looming. * Nine
* Republican candidates gather in New Hampshire without Trump and make bombastic statements of their own. * Stupidity in politics is old, going back to "bunkum" (1820s) and earlier; at least today we don't have duels. * Nearly 50,000 people have given to Ben Carson's campaign,
