A new report from CO₂ Scorecard claims that the U.S. shale boom has increased net global emissions, but seems to employ questionable methodologies to reach that conclusion.

For a Thursday evening pick-me-up, here’s a list of our favorite links.

Ukraine’s economy is taking a beating from the war. If Ukraine is to build a real state if and when the conflict dies down, it needs to get its economic and political house in order.

Richard Dawkins was recently forced to apologize for his recent remarks advocating abortion for babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome. But most of them are actually aborted.

Our southern neighbor’s struggles with drug cartels get plenty of attention, but there’s a very real success story going on in Mexico that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto highlights a number of promising reforms in a recent FT opinion piece.

A British MP has shone a light on radicalism he says is far more pervasive than the government admits.

The Administration made the right decision in refusing to pay a ransom for James Foley.

Revelation of a Hamas coup planned against Mahmoud Abbas and preconditions on aid may further isolate the terrorist group, even as it resumes fighting.

Drillers are figuring out new ways to eke more oil and gas out of wells thought to be previously exhausted. The shale boom rolls on.

Both the Kurds and the Sunnis want to press Iraq’s parliament for better treatment. Can Baghdad afford prolonged negotiations while it continues to battle the ISIS threat?