Some researchers debate whether incidents like these are truly on the rise. Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox has long criticized what he sees as the overuse of the term “active shooter.” In an e-mail, he said that “it is not clear whether the increase in active shooter events is completely related to the actual case count […]

The FBI study defined “active shooters” as a person or people “actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people” in a “populated area.” That is different from mass shooting incidents, which include any shooting in which more than three people are killed. It also excluded domestic violence and drug and gang-related violence. Of the […]

Some researchers debate whether incidents like these are truly on the rise. Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox has long criticized what he sees as the overuse of the term “active shooter.” In an e-mail, he said that “it is not clear whether the increase in active shooter events is completely related to the actual […]

Polls indicate voters are split on whether the state’s gas tax should be indexed to inflation, but it’s unclear whether the tight race is a reflection of real policy differences or voter confusion. The Legislature pegged the gas tax to the consumer price index in 2013 as part of a series of reforms designed to steer […]

Those hipster baristas better buy this stuff STAT. Two students at Northeastern University created an edible coffee energy bar so that you no longer have to worry about spilling your scalding hot espresso on random people. My question is, can the bar eliminate heinous coffee breath?

This week, the FBI released a report that claimed to show a significant increase in “active shooter” incidents over the last 10 years. The report did not claim to show an increase in mass shooting incidents. Yet that’s how it was widely reported. Over at Reason, Jesse Walker consulted two academics who study mass shootings, […]

“It all started with a simple question,” Ali Kothari recalled the other day. “Why can’t we eat our coffee?” A short while later — with some college-student enthusiasm and some dorm room kitchen ingenuity — Kothari and Johnny Fayad began developing CoffeeBar. It’s basically an energy bar that is infused with a full cup of […]

Only a fluke of timing prevented Kent Brantly from being in Texas when he got sick with Ebola. Brantly, the first U.S. doctor to get Ebola, was infected in late July while working at a missionary hospital in Liberia. But he didn’t immediately realize he was ill. That’s one of Ebola’s tricks: The virus can […]

Earlier this month one research team put the risk of an imported Ebola case in North America at somewhere between 1 and 18 percent by the end of September, based on analysis of air traffic from West Africa to the rest of the world. The risk has undoubtedly declined since then as commercial flights to and from […]

As the U.S. launched the first airstrikes against the Islamic State and other militants inside Syria, it drew on support from five Arab nations: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. President Barack Obama views Arab involvement as key, administration officials have said. He reportedly waited for diplomatic alliance-building efforts to bear […]