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Big ideas in the news from around the web
Ten Americans are being held by Haitian authorities after they attempted to leave the country with 33 children who didn't have passports. "Ten Americans were detained by Haitian police on Saturday as they tried to bus 33 children across the border into the Dominican Republic, allegedly without ...
Experiments using levitating magnets at MIT mimic the earth's magnetic fields and make clearer the possibility of energy through fusion. “Fusion has been a cherished goal of physicists and energy researchers for more than 50 years. That's because it offers the possibility of nearly endless supplies ...
It is thought that J.D. Salinger has written as many as ten unpublished novels that now, with his passing, may eventually see the light of day. “Was JD Salinger best known, in later years, for being the most celebrated literary recluse in the world? After 1965, he withdrew from engagement with the ...
After the withdrawal of two State Representatives, the first-ever tea party convention is facing some infighting over how to organize the event. "With conservative firebrand Sarah Palin headlining, it’s been billed as an event to fuse and celebrate the tenets of the disparate ‘tea party’ movement ...
TV commercials relating to abortion and a gay dating website that have been scheduled to appear during the Super Bowl are causing CBS to navigate an ideological mine field. "This year, the Super Bowl will be jollified by a side-plot that perhaps reflects the true state of the nation: an angry ...
The Obama Administration is moving to put missile defense technology in Persian Gulf countries to deter Iran, a move that will require the presence of more U.S. troops in the region. "The Obama administration has increased the U.S. military presence near Iran and is accelerating installation of ...
New solar cells that mimic photosynthesis are reaching the marketplace and being put in unusual places in order to recharge electrical devices like cell phones. "A new solar cell that imitates Mother Nature’s way of converting sunlight to energy is making its debut in a variety of consumer products ...
Some of the Indian Independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's ashes have been scattered into the ocean off the coast of South Africa 62 years after his death. "The ashes were sprinkled on to the Indian Ocean in a Hindu ceremony attended by about 200 people to mark the 62nd anniversary of Gandhi's death ...
Consumers and manufacturers helped the GDP grow nearly six percent last quarter, the highest growth rate in as many years. “The surge in U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter depended on more than manufacturing and investment. Households also played their part. Gross domestic product grew at a ...
The New Republic is one of many liberal publications criticizing Rahm Emanuel’s plan to put Obama’s economic agenda before passing healthcare reform. “Is health care reform dead? Megan McArdle says so, offering two arguments -- one persuasive, the other not. Her unpersuasive argument is that ...
Falling levels of water vapor in the stratosphere may be slowing the effects of global warming as part of a natural earth cycle. “A decade-long plateau in global warming appears to have occurred in large part because the stratosphere – the layer of atmosphere that few but airliners enter – got drier ...
The first genetically modified forest has been planted by timber companies in the southeast replacing native pine with eucalyptus. “Genetic engineering is coming to the forests. While the practice of splicing foreign DNA into food crops has become common in corn and soy, few companies or researchers ...
The historical commission of California voted to protect space-trash that Apollo 11 left behind on the moon as a State treasure since it was produced by Californian companies. “In one small step for preservation and one giant leap of logic, the official historical commission of California voted ...
After recalling 2.3 million cars in the U.S., Toyota is extending its recalls to Europe where another 1.8 million cars will be recalled. “The carmaker says it will recall eight models including the Yaris, the Corolla and the RAV4 sports utility vehicle. On Thursday, Toyota announced it was recalling ...
An anti-abortionist activist was convicted in Kansas of murdering a doctor in the first degree who performed abortions. “A Kansas jury deliberated just 37 minutes before convicting an anti-abortion activist of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of an abortion provider. The jury found Scott ...