Certain kinds of US corporate welfare amounts to $6000 per family.

I don't think this includes all the forms of corporate welfare.

The "independent" panel that will supposedly investigate the NSA's civil liberties violations is a swindle: it is effectively controlled by the same office that the NSA reports to.

US insurance companies have no doubt about the danger of global heating, and are starting to lobby for a carbon tax.

The FBI has been flying drones for surveillance since 2006.

It is true that they are not qualitatively different from looking at people from aircraft. They are a big quantitative increase in the amount of surveillance that is feasible.

The drug mix called "krokodil" reportedly damages the user's body and brain, but feels like heroin and is cheaper, so desperate users turn to it.

From what I've read, people can use heroin for decades, fairly safely, if they can get it in a pure and reliable form: the danger comes from impurities. If registered heroin addicts could get their supply from doctors, they would be safe and nobody would use krokodil.