Seahorses at Risk, But Conservation Efforts Having Impact

Alongside cephalopods like the octopus and the cuttlefish, seahorses are some of the most fascinating animals in the ocean. One of the strangest things about them is that seahorses are really just fish, closely related to pipefish, those long, thin swimmers you can find hanging around the shoreline. Seahorses are more delicate, and more desirable, …

Poll: Unlike Trump, Americans Want Strong Environmental Regulator

 More than 60 percent of Americans would like to see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s powers preserved or strengthened under incoming President Donald Trump, and the drilling of oil on public lands to hold steady or drop, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. The results could foretell stronger-than-expected public opposition to Trump’s …

Iraqi Forces Push Into IS-held Pocket in Mosul

Iraqi special forces pushed into a pocket of Islamic State-held territory in eastern Mosul on Tuesday, the military said, seeking to recapture the remaining districts under the group’s control east of the Tigris river. The militants have been driven out of most eastern districts in their Iraqi stronghold in a 3-month-old U.S.-backed campaign. Iraqi troops …

Saudi Arabia Quietly Spreads its Brand of Puritanical Islam in Indonesia

When Ulil Abshar-Abdalla was a teenager in Pati, Central Java, he placed first in an Arabic class held at his local madrasa. The prize was six months of tuition at the Institute for the Study of Islam and Arabic (LIPIA), a Jakarta university founded and funded by the Saudi Arabian government. At the end of …

Researchers say Fingerprint Data Vulnerable in ‘Peace’ Photos

Japanese researchers say they have successfully copied fingerprint data from a digital picture of a person flashing a two-fingered “V” or peace sign, raising questions about the potential theft of such information. “One can use it to assume another identity, such as accessing a smartphone or breaking and entering into a restricted area such as …

Writings of Obscure American Leftist Drive Kurdish Forces in Syria

Could the writings of a little-know leftist from a rural American state help to reshape the political structure of the nation that emerges from the Syrian civil war? That could be the case if the Kurdish YPG — one of the most effective forces in the U.S.-backed struggle against Islamic State extremists — succeeds in its goal …

After Long Decline, St. Louis Tries to Rebuild With Startups

It’s tough to rebuild a city’s image when the national perception is that it peaked a century ago, and when recent news has sometimes been dismal. St. Louis was the nation’s fourth largest city in 1904, the year it hosted both the Olympics and the World’s Fair. Since then, a half-million in population has been …