There has always been something highly conspicuous about our obsession with the macabre deaths of famous people. There is the aforementioned Sylvia Plath bowing into the oven, playing Gretel to the wicked witches in her head; Kurt Cobain and all the conspiracy theories casting a gaseous haze around that sinister shotgun; even Anna Nicole Smith, who has been immortalized, paradoxically, because the narrative of her life seemed so destined to end in sordid, premature death. 

It is easy to believe that the security threats are exaggerated and complacency can set in. The truth is that there are small networks of sympathizers to radical Islamist causes in Kenya and also apparently in Tanzania. It was only a matter of time before a high profile target such as Westgate was attacked. For some years Nairobi's Kenyatta International Airport has been regarded by Western intelligence agencies as particularly vulnerable, and international airlines have invested in additional security screening procedures that seem to have reduced the risk.

Recalling the day her Islamic divorce was finalized, Olivia said, "I was more than ecstatic, because it was almost like having a noose around your neck, and just relieved that somebody doesn’t have that power over you, and you’re out of such a hostile situation." Olivia, who chose not to use her real name, separated from her husband after six years of marriage and divorced him in civil court, but when he refused to grant her a religious divorce, she traveled across the country for four years meeting with imams in different cities asking for a divorce. 

Alexis attributed his mental-health issues to his assignment in cleaning up contaminated debris at the 9-11 Ground Zero site, but the Navy claims no such record of this work. A report in British paper Daily Mail notes Alexis was seen exiting a subway near the World Trade Center just as the twin towers were collapsing. The sight, it says, quoting Alexis' father-in-law, left him "traumatized." Indeed, the career of Alexis runs parallel to the 9-11 era, when thousands of servicemen were assigned to secret combat missions that do not appear on their military records.

One year of revolution has turned into two years of violent conflict that has taken lives on a massive scale – over 100,000 have been killed, including an estimated 7,000 children – and displaced millions of Syrians like Mohamad and Husam. Two weeks ago, the United Nations High Commission for Refuges (UNHCR) announced that over 2 million Syrians have left the country, a plurality (716,000) of which are living in Lebanon (a country of 4 million). 

In June 2013, the Chicago Public Schools made the decision to close 49 schools -- one of the largest closing of schools in any American city in years. The CPS made the tough decision facing a near $1 billion budget deficit, which they are still scrambling to contain. After the announcement of the school closings, it was evident that mass layoffs were inevitable. Later in the month, the Chicago Sun Times reported that of the 48 schools to be closed, 420 teachers and 1,005 school staff were to be subsequently fired. 

Turns out the NRA’s logic is BS.  The facts are that from 1994, when the Brady Gun Safety Act went into effect, through 2010, background checks stopped 2,079,000 applications for firearms transfer through licensed firearm dealers.  In 2010 alone, about 73,000 applications were denied by the FBI and about 80,000 by state and local agencies.  47 percent of the FBI denials were because of felony convictions or because the applicant was a fugitive from justice; 31 percent of the state and local denials were to convicted or indicted felons.

Changing dynamics in the economy and politics in recent years have further highlighted the need for civil society development. Vietnam is now considered a middle-income country, resulting in international donors withdrawing aid from a number of development areas, and a decrease in official development assistance grants. As such, the country has entered the longest period of economic slowdown since Doi Moi. 

While the foreclosure crisis is over and the housing market rebounding, the recovery is uneven, with many homeowners still affected. About half of Richmond’s homeowners are under water, according to City Manager Bill Lindsay. Cities like Richmond, with many African American and Latino homeowners, were among those hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, owing in part to banks having been more likely to target these communities for subprime loans. 

A political party led by young people and indigenous Mayans wants to bring to Guatemala something that it has never seen: American-style democracy. Nearly two decades after the end of its bloody civil war, the country and its politics remain dominated by a white oligarchy and most political parties are built only to propel those leaders to high office. But a new party -- comprised largely of young adults and indigenous Mayans -- aims to change that.