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There have been more mass shootings in the US than days in 2015.

A Reddit-based Mass Shooting Tracker keeps count of incidents in which at least four people are killed or injured by gunshot, based on media reports.

Including the shooting in San Bernardino, California, on Wednesday, there have been a total of 352 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker. In the 336 days that have passed so far in 2015, there was at least one mass shooting on 208 of those days: 62% of days in 2015 had at least one mass shooting. On 81 days, there were at least two separate mass shooting incidents.

The Washington Post produced a devastating calendar using the tracker’s counts, showing the enormous number of mass shootings that have taken place this year.

This chart shows the cumulative count of mass shootings in the US over the course of 2015:

Wednesday’s shooting in California has left at least 14 dead and at least 14 more injured, police said. The incident came just five days after another high-profile shooting — at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which left three people dead and injured nine more.

President Barack Obama has sounded increasingly exasperated in the wake of recent mass shootings, saying after last week’s incident at a Colorado Planned Parenthood that the US is “not normal” when it comes to gun violence.

“This is not normal. We can’t let it become normal. If we truly care about this — if we’re going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience — then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period. Enough is enough,” he said.

There were 32 mass shootings in November, according to the tracker. Wednesday’s shooting in California constituted the first mass shooting of this month.

SEE ALSO: Where Americans are most likely to be killed by gun shots

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Britain made a monumental decision today — it decided to bomb ISIS (also know as the Islamic State, ISIL and Daesh) in Syria.

However, while the focus should have been on debating the pros and cons of taking such significant military action, the whole day just demonstrated how fractured and shambolic Labour is — and they can’t blame anyone but than themselves.

The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour’s leader in September rocked the party to the core — progressive Blarite politicians were not happy while other MPs became confused on what the party line was.

However, arguably, the tipping point for the massive schism to course through Britain’s main opposition was when Corbyn sent a public letter condemning military action in Syria.

Now this doesn’t sound like a big deal — after all, Corbyn is known for hardline stances on everything from military action overseas, 1970s style taxation and socialist ideals, a far cry from the Tony Blair era. However, it was symbolic of how fractured the Labour party has become.

Usually, a political party leader would whip around and make sure, after long discussion, that politicians should vote in one certain way (or at least most of them) so the group would be united in what the party stands for and how best it can represent its voters.

Now this is not to say what he supports (an opposition to the bombing) is wrong in any way, it’s more of how he has gone about it. It simply paved the way for a decimation of Labour’s structure during today’s debate and vote.

Labour politicians defied Corbyn

Business Insider stayed for the long haul and covered the debate here.

But while 10.5 hours worth of debates should have garnered poignant volleys of questions, it was mostly dominated by Corbyn and Labour MPs demanding Prime Minister David Cameron apologise for describing those opposing a military intervention as “terrorist sympathisers.”

Corbyn’s provincial style of political house speaking, which was a big hit when he first came to parliament as Labour’s leader, was falling a bit flat in a monumental day in parliament. It was schoolyard point scoring at a time when pertinent questions should have been asked:

Even his party’s members were getting fed up:

Unlike the Prime Minister, as well as politicians across other political parties, he tried to make a hard and fast case for not bombing Syria without opening the floor to too many questions. 

And after today, it is easy to see why Labour politicians were split on whether they were backing the military intervention in Syria or not. 

Embarrassingly, the shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn is in open conflict with Corbyn over the bombing campaign in Syria. He even did this interview on Tuesday night and confirmed his polar opposite view to Corbyn:

And here is Benn’s speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday:

It was so rousing that everyone, including non-Labour politicians, have heralded his speech as the best of the day:

Meanwhile, Yvette Cooper, who was once in the running to be the leader of the Labour party before falling to Corbyn’s unstoppable momentum, gave an impassioned speech explaining why she would support the bombing campaign:

Fellow Labour MP Dan Jarvis, who has served in the British military and is seen by many as future party leader, won praise from staunch Conservative supporters for his speech supporting the government:

Here is his speech:

Jarvis, like Benn and others, also penned a long op-ed about why he is defying his party’s leader. You can read it here.

So what’s next?

Well, Labour has to deal with the fallout of the lost vote and how it appears that Corbyn appears to have control over his party. Foreign policy and social politics is where his heart is and this was his time to put Labour back on the map.

But now, after losing a crucial motion on military intervention overseas, any pretence that Labour was united behind their leader is lost. If anything, Corbyn could now face a leadership challenge — potentially from the public’s and Labour’s new favourite Hilary Benn.

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NOW WATCH: Here’s why Obama won’t send troops into Syria to destroy ISIS

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If you are a car fanatic, listen up. 

The tech team at Tech Insider is looking to hire a paid intern to write about the most innovative, luxurious, and technologically advanced cars coming to market. 

Tech Insider interns are a vital part of our team and participate in everything from pitching, reporting, writing and producing stories. 

The ideal candidate will also have: 

• Experience writing for a news outlet or a degree in journalism or related concentration. 
• A passion for car culture, obsession with car specs and technology, and knowledge of all the latest car rumors and news. 
• A strong understanding of the car industry and familiarity with major car companies like Tesla, BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo, Toyota, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and Ford.
• An interest in all forms of transportation technologies, including electric vehicles to futuristic travel technologies like the Hyperloop and jetpacks. 
• A willingness to also write about other types of transportation, including trains, planes, and ships. 

If this sounds like your dream job, APPLY HERE. Be sure to send us a resume and cover letter. 

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MOSCOW (AP) — The Islamic State group on Wednesday released a video in which a Russian-speaking man confesses to spying for Russia’s security service and then is shown apparently being beheaded by another Russian-speaking man.

The authenticity of the video or the claims in it could not immediately be confirmed and there was no comment from Russia’s Foreign Ministry or its FSB security service. There was also no indication when and where the video was produced.

Russia on Sept. 30 launched airstrikes in Syria that it says are focused on IS fighters and the illegal oil trade that funds them. However, critics in both Syria and abroad claim that Russia is heavily targeting other rebel groups not affiliated with IS, in order to back up the forces of longtime Moscow ally Syrian President Bashar Assad.

IS claimed responsibility for bombing a Russian airliner shortly after it took off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh in mid-October, killing all 224 people aboard.

The video begins with a graphic in Arabic and Russian, saying “You will be conquered and humiliated, O Russians.”

Then a bearded man appearing to be in his late 20s is shown speaking from a chair. He says he is from Chechnya, identifies himself as Magomed Khasayev and says he is a spy sent to IS-held territories with orders from Russian intelligence to identify fighters who seek to return to the Caucasus region to carry out attacks.

He says he was pressured into working for the FSB, to report on Russians who had gone to fight with the Islamic State. He says he traveled to Turkey and then was sent by an IS recruiter to Iraq, and had contacts with his Russian intelligence handler, but was arrested by IS.

The video then shifts to showing the man kneeling on a beach while another man stands behind him, delivering a speech to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The man, brandishing a knife, says in Russian, “Listen to me, Putin, you dog” and declaring that Russians will be killed in retaliation for Russia’s airstrikes in Syria against IS. The man then places his large knife against the prisoner’s throat and appears to begin decapitating him.

In the wake of the Russian airliner bombing and the November terror attacks in Paris, Moscow has publicly declared determination to defeat IS and has pushed for international cooperation toward that goal.

However, Russia’s Syria operation took a blow last week, when Tukey shot down a Russian warplane that it said had violated Turkey’s airspace. Russia hotly denies any airspace violation and has announced an array of sanctions against Turkey, including a ban on fruits and vegetables from Turkey and halting the sale of package tours to Turkey; Russians are an important component in Turkey’s tourist industry.

Russia’s Caucasus region has been it by Islamist insurgencies for two decades, including two full-scale wars in Chechnya. The IS is believed to find the Caucasus a productive region for recruiting fighters.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Cynthia Robinson, a trumpeter and vocalist whose bold and brassy style made her a key member of Sly and the Family Stone, has died at age 71.

Jerry Martini, her longtime friend and fellow horn player in the band, said Wednesday that he was among those with her when she died of cancer Nov. 23 at her sister’s home in Carmichael, California.

A Sacramento native, Robinson joined Sly Stone (the stage name for Sylvester Stewart) and four others in the late 1960s for what became one of the first bands to feature women and men and blacks and whites. Sly and the Family Stone’s wide open, funky style helped change popular music and Robinson’s trumpet playing and singing was hard to miss on such hits as “Everyday People,” ”Hot Fun in the Summertime” and “I Want To Take You Higher.”

After Sly and the Family Stone broke up in the mid-1970s, Robinson toured with Prince, played with former Sly bassist Larry Graham’s Grand Central Station and, until recently, toured with Martini as part of The Family Stone, which continues to perform.

Sly and the Family Stone was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Robinson was a widely respected trumpeter and one of the first black female trumpet players to play in a major group. Martini told the AP that Robinson “didn’t consider herself a great soloist, but she was.” He also says while she didn’t do a lot of long trumpet solos to show off her skills, “every note she played meant something.”

As a vocalist, too, Robinson emphasized feeling over technique and was as likely to shout her lines as sing them. It’s Robinson’s voice that is heard on the Sly and the Family Stone breakthrough hit “Dance to the Music,” urging people to “get up and dance to the music.” At one point, Robinson advises: “all the squares go home.”

The message, wasn’t, Martini says, intended to offend anyone but to say that “If you aren’t into this music, go home.”

According to Martini, Robinson had two children, Laura Marie Cook and Sylvette Phunne Robinson, whose father is Sly Stone.

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A record number of whales are found washed up on the shores of Chilean Patagonia where scientists believe a fatal toxin may be present in the waters.

Produced By Matt Johnston. Video courtesy of Reuters.

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BALTIMORE (AP) — The Orioles have acquired outfielder/first baseman Mark Trumbo and left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser from the Seattle Mariners for catcher Steve Clevenger.

The 29-year-old Trumbo, who is eligible for arbitration, hit .262 with 22 homers and 64 RBIs in 142 games this year with Arizona and the Mariners.

Clevenger batted .287 in 30 games with the Orioles in 2015.

Riefenhauser, dealt by Tampa Bay to Seattle in a six-player trade last month, was 1-0 with a 6.30 ERA in 24 games with the Rays over the last two seasons.

To make room on their 40-man roster, the Orioles designated right-handed pitcher Steve Johnson for assignment.

Baltimore also agreed Wednesday to a $2.6 million, one-year contract with right-hander Vance Worley, avoiding arbitration.

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Britain’s government just confirmed that the country will join the US and other nations in a bombing campaign against ISIS (also known as the Islamic State) in Syria.

The votes stacked up as follows:

In favour of bombing: 397

Against bombing: 223

A majority of 174.

The result came after 10.5 hours worth of parliamentary debates. 

Political pundits would remark that it was nearly certain that politicians would mostly back military air strikes against ISIS in Syria because, last week, Prime Minister David Cameron said he would only push for a vote if it was clear that MPs would approve the bombings.

Cameron said he didn’t want to risk ISIS being given a propaganda win if British politicians voted against military intervention in Syria.

Britain’s government has 8 Tornado jets based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus that are ready to be deployed. The Tornado jets can fly at twice the speed of sound and have a cruise speed of 8 miles a minute.

One of the takeaways from the vote is that the majority is a lot larger than pundits predicted. In fact, despite many Labour politicians breaking support from its leader Jeremy Corbyn, the government didn’t need the Labour vote in the end:

The speech from shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, which closed the parliamentary debate, apparently swayed a lot of opinions in favour of a bombing. Some of public on social media even said his rousing speech was a “mark of a leader.“

Meanwhile, the Britain’s foreign secretary and Conservative MP Philip Hammond told BBC’s Newsnight:

“I thought Hilary Benn’s speech was very good, I haven’t heard him give a speech like that before. It (the speech) was mainly to his own colleagues pleading with them not to abandon Labour’s long held tradition of internationalism.”

“Britain is safer because of the actions taken by MPs today.” 

“We will see this operational as soon as practical but we won’t give a running commentary about how these operations are progressing. 

“There were all sorts of debates going on today. What I would say to members who didn’t vote tonight is to think carefully about the arguments put forward tonight, about the multi-strand approach we are taking in Syria. We are doing the right thing. Military strikes alone won’t help Syria, won’t keep us safe from Daesh. But this multi-strand approach will.”

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GOOSE LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush frequently pans the Obama administration’s war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria for being too timid in its bombing campaign. But some statistics he cites to bolster his argument are wrong or outdated.

The former Florida governor says 75 percent of the bombing missions into Iraq and Syria come back without dropping bombs. And he charges that every mission must be approved by the Defense Department — complaining that the White House is micromanaging the war — but overstates the approval process.

Bush, whose father and brother served as wartime presidents, has been wading more frequently into national security and military issues.

Speaking this week in Iowa, he said that “75 percent of the sorties that leave the air bases to go drop their ordnance are sent back without dropping them.”

That statistic has been making the rounds of administration critics for the past year, based in part on various interpretations of the Pentagon’s monthly summary of airstrikes. In addition to being outdated, it reflects a simplistic view of a military bombing campaign.

Pentagon data show that as of Oct. 31, about 58 percent of the 24,255 air combat missions flown since August 2014 returned without dropping munitions. Even those numbers can be a bit misleading, however, because some of the fighter jets are escorts that are designed to protect other coalition aircraft and, while they are armed and can drop munitions, they don’t have assigned targets. They often come back without launching weapons.

Also, as the campaign against IS has escalated, expanded into Syria, and included more coalition member countries, that percentage has steadily dropped. In October, about 40 percent of the combat air missions returned without firing a shot. Newer figures show that proportion dropped further, to 35 percent, in November.

Regardless of the numbers, military leaders say it’s misleading to use those statistics to represent the effectiveness of the war. They fail to account for the different types of missions and the ongoing need to avoid killing innocent civilians, they say.

When fighter jets reach their target areas, the pilots may find that the trucks they were supposed to bomb have left, or the buildings they were going to level are now filled with civilians or children. They also may encounter bad weather, sandstorms, equipment problems or other issues that cause them to return without launching weapons.

Complaining about White House micromanagement, Bush also said: “Every sortie has to be approved by the Department of Defense.”

Top Pentagon and White House officials set the rules of combat and define when and how troops can use force. But day-to-day airstrike missions for Iraq and Syria are approved by the air combat commander at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

In most cases, intelligence analysts and other specialists in the targeting center develop a list of potential targets. The orders, which include the target, the designated aircraft and its home country, are approved by the CAOC commander, currently Lt. Gen. Charles Brown Jr., the head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command. In certain cases, high-risk operations such as rescue missions or other special operations do get higher approval from senior military or Pentagon leaders, or if needed, the White House.

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Baldor reported from Washington.

EDITOR’S NOTE _ A look at political claims that take shortcuts with the facts or don’t tell the full story.

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Washington (AFP) – Following the stunning news of their $45 billion philanthropy initiative, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife face the challenging task of ensuring the staggering sum is put to good use.

The announcement Tuesday by Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan said the couple would donate 99 percent of their shares in Facebook over their lifetime to causes “to improve the lives of all those coming into this world.”

The new Chan Zuckerberg Initiative aims “to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation,” according to the message posted as a letter to their newborn daughter.

“Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.”

Yet many well-intentioned gifts can end up doing little to achieve their goals, such as Zuckerberg’s 2010 donation of $100 million aimed at improving public schools in Newark, New Jersey, which has been seen as a failure.

“One of the biggest challenges for the big donors is to make sure that their money benefits those who need it the most,” said Pablo Eisenberg at the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at Georgetown University.

Eisenberg said some philanthropists “give money to large and well established institutions and not to the neediest people and the marginalized population.”

Having a large sum available makes it important for the Zuckerbergs to have advisers “who understand what’s going on, and to appoint a board to the foundation that is diverse and has roots in the community,” he added.

Other major philanthropy initiatives have been created by Microsoft founder Bill Gates with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Buffett Foundation by the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, both of which fund a variety of projects.

Yet not all philanthropic efforts achieve their intended results, analysts say.

– Celebrity missteps –

“There’s always a risk but hopefully Zuckerberg will properly evaluate the impact of his grant making process to make sure that he’s not doing more harm than good,” said Sandra Miniutti of Charity Navigator, which advises donors on charitable giving.

“Sometimes philanthropy goes wrong with celebrities because they try to do it all by themselves and they don’t bring on the right persons to help them. Philanthropy is a totally different thing from running a for-profit.”

The Gates Foundation has been both praised and criticized for its efforts in fighting poverty and eradicating certain diseases. In Brazil, the charitable group has sued oil giant Petrobras, in which it holds a stake, over allegations of bribery and corruption.

Zuckerberg “has been very vague about the structure of his philanthropic venture,” said Arthur Gautier, who heads philanthropy research at the Essec Business School in France.

Instead of a charitable foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will be a limited liability corporation set up “to further the mission of advancing human potential and promoting equality by means of philanthropic, public advocacy, and other activities for the public good,” according to the company.

Gregory Adams at Oxfam America said some philanthropists’ efforts are less effective if they seek to set the agenda, which may or may not address the needs of disadvantaged populations.

“There’s sometimes a trap that philanthropists can fall into to assuming they can predict a particular outcome based on data,” Adams said.

“They have to be humble and trust the people they’re trying to help.”

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