RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
August13to August 19 Featured Investigation Those seemingly arcane and morbid art of classifying and counting murders committed by extremists has taken on new urgency since President Trump blamed forces "on many sides" for the violence in Charlottesville, Va. News outlets often use exact figures regarding deaths caused by "right-wing," "left-wing" or "Islamic" extremists. But, as James Varney reports for Real Clear Investigations, a closer look reveals that those precise statistics are less science than art, often involving judgment calls that lead organizations to come up with very different answers to the same question. "All of this is inherently fairly subjective at some level," said Alex Nowrasteh, a policy analyst with the libertarian Cato Institute, "because it depends on what people say, or what they sometimes claim as motivation after the fact." Read Full Article Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Internet Unites and Emboldens White Nationalists
Wall Street Journal
In the 1990s, joining one white-supremacist group meant being excluded from the others, but in 2017 the internet is uniting disparate hate organizations. The "Unite the Right" rally to protest the removal of a confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia is an example of how much easier it is for this small but vocal fringe group to organize from around the U.S. using the internet. More Teen Girls Are Killing Themselves
Tonic
New CDC statistics show that teen girls are committing suicide at the highest rate since 1975. While the exact cause is unknown, experts cite the 2008 economic crisis. The number of annual suicides doubled between 2007 and 2015 for girls. Along with ubiquitous social media pressure, young girls face increasing stress around paying for college and entering the job market. Screening Nearly Eliminates Down Syndrome in Iceland
CBS News
Sinceprenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women -- close to 100 percent -- who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated theirpregnancy. About two babies are born with DownSyndromeper year in the Nordic nation, compared to the six thousand in the United States. Farmer Fined $1.1 Million For Plowing Field
Washington Times
When it rains on California farmland owned by John Duarte, the water sometimes gathers on top of the gravelly clay soil, forming vernal pools. Although the pools soon evaporate the government declared them "navigable waters." Now he's spending $1.1 million to get the feds off his back. They Got HurtAtWork, Then They Got Deported
ProPublicaand NPR
Illegal immigrants who are hurt on the job in Florida are more likely to get deported than to receive treatment or compensation for their injuries. Since a 2003 state law made it a crime to file for workers compensation with false identification, undocumented workers have found that a visit to the doctor can land them in jail. Three Saudi Princes Go Missing
BBC
Is Prince Khaled bin Farhan next on Saudi Arabia's abduction list? He wouldn't be the first Saudi prince to face retaliation for criticizing the Saudi leadership. Even living in Germany isn't likely to save him: In the last two years, three dissident Saudi princes have disappeared from their European havens.Suspicious? Russia/Ukraine Catapulted North Korea ICBMs
New York Times
Expert analysis and classified assessments conclude that North Korea was able to have successful missile tests because they purchased rocket engines from a Ukrainian factory on the black market. The factory has historical ties to Russia's missile program. China gets blamed for helping North Korea, but recent missile successes might have come after Russian support. Cults Use YouTube for Recruitment
Vice
While you are binging the latest Netflix series, someone could be drinking digital Kool-Aid in the next room. Cults have taken to YouTube and use the site to recruit new followers. It is a lot easier to gain an audience when you can broadcast your ideas right into their phones and computers instead of relying on in-person meetings. The darker side of YouTube has decidedly fewer cat videos. Investigative Classics: FrankSerpicoExposesCorruption in NYPD
New York Times
By 1970, Patrolman FrankSerpicoand Det. DavidDurkwere beyond frustrated. They had shared their evidence about police corruption with officials at the highest levels of the NYPD and Mayor John Lindsay's office. They heard voices of concern, promises of investigation but saw almost no action. Like a scene out the movies - which it would soon become -SerpicoandDurkwent to the New York Times. | 
