According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the national dropout rate for high school students is about 10 percent. Since 1990, the national dropout rate has only fallen a few percentage points. However, critics still point out that despite fewer students dropping out, the quality of the education system is still very poor. In fact, there are complex reasons why over one million high school students drop out every year.

NBC News reported Monday on a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general that found that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) failed to identify 73 airport employees with links to terrorism. The report comes a week after the media covered another internal investigation that found disturbing security failures at several major airports.

NBC News reports:

One of the stranger San Diego political battles brewing for the 2016 season is a challenge to County Supervisor Dianne Jacob being mounted by fellow Republican Joel Anderson.

What makes this strange is that Jacob shows no evidence of political weakness. Her image of backcountry populism plays well with her East County constituents, and she has picked her fights carefully.

State of the Union, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said anyone can find a place in the GOP, whether they are a staunch conservative or an environmental activist. As long as a person believes there is "too much debt" and "too many terrorists," there is a place for them in his party.

A bipartisan team of legislators have passed amendments with a goal of retaining privacy protections presumably lost with the passage of the USA Freedom Act.

On June 3, IVN reported on the Kansas budget woes of the so-called "tea-party experiment," including the almost imminent furlough of non-essential state employees beginning on June 7.

In an interesting twist to an already wild political roller-coaster ride, the Kansas House unanimously passed an emergency measure with a simple aim: reclassifying all state workers as essential employees:

Murder and violent crime have risen dramatically in several major cities in 2015. In New York, the murder rate has gone up 20% compared to the early months of 2014. In Los Angeles, violent crime is up 27%. In Houston, murders are up nearly 50%. In Baltimore, murders are up 37%.

The power of celebrity in America cannot be overstated. When a well-known celebrity (or even a not-so-well-known one) does something like try to run over a paparazzo with an ATV or alters their personal appearance, the American people get to hear about it. The media firestorm this week over Caitlyn Jenner's new 'groove' is no exception.

Professor "Edward Schlosser" (a pseudonym) wrote a thought-provoking article for Vox on Wednesday about the role identity politics plays in the college environment and how that role has changed dramatically in a relatively short period of time.

"The student-teacher dynamic has been reenvisioned along a line that's simultaneously consumerist and hyper-protective, giving each and every student the ability to claim Grievous Harm in nearly any circumstance, after any affront, and a teacher's formal ability to respond to these claims is limited at best," Schlosser writes.

Californians are concerned about the state's abysmal voter turnout and seem ready to try some different solutions to increase participation. The state experienced historically low turnout in California's June primary and the November general election in 2014, and Californians seem to have noticed.