Military

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued an updated alert last week stating that a variant of the BlackEnergy malware had infiltrated the SCADA systems that control critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines, water distribution systems and the power grid."

"Hackers from China breached the federal weather network recently, forcing cybersecurity teams to seal off data vital to disaster planning, aviation, shipping and scores of other crucial uses, officials said."

"More than 600 American service members since 2003 have reported to military medical staff members that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq, but the Pentagon failed to recognize the scope of the reported cases or offer adequate tracking and treatment to those who may have been injured, defense officials say."

"Islamic State's assault on dams and water systems threatens Iraq's supply, which was already squeezed by dams in Turkey and Iran."

"Veterans who were exposed to toxic contaminants during their service are increasingly becoming casualties in a war with the government -- particularly the Veterans Affairs Department—which they say has a record of delaying and denying benefits promised to them by acts of Congress."

"KIRKUK, Iraq — Roughly two dozen huge oil tankers are idly turning figure eights around the Mediterranean or on the high seas, loaded with oil pumped from wells in Iraqi Kurdistan but with nowhere to legally offload it."

There is strong evidence that the Assad regime in Syria is using chlorine gas -- commonly found in U.S. industrial operations -- as a chemical weapon against its own people.

"RALEIGH -- The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has ruled that Marine veterans and their families cannot sue over groundwater contamination at Camp Lejeune."

"From 2004 to 2011, American and Iraqi troops repeatedly encountered, and at times were wounded by, chemical weapons that were hidden or abandoned years earlier."

"The Pentagon on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages. It also predicted rising demand for military disaster responses as extreme weather creates more global humanitarian crises."