The U.S. government said on Sunday Dec. 7, 2014 that six men who have been held more than 12 years at Guantanamo Bay have been sent to Uruguay to be resettled as refugees. Image: Brennan Linsley/Associated Press MIAMI — Six prisoners held for 12 years at Guantanamo Bay have been sent to Uruguay to be…
This morning I made coffee for my brother-in-law before he started a long commute into New York City, then set out breakfast for my two nieces and sister, who were all sleeping in our guest room. Scenarios like this are being played out in homes up and down the East Coast in the aftermath of…
An asteroid wider than nine ocean liners sailed safely past Earth today (May 31), making its closest flyby of our planet for at least the next 200 years. Asteroid 1998 QE2, which is about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) wide, cruised within 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) of Earth at 4:59 p.m. EDT (2059 GMT)…
Representatives from the three different companies chosen by NASA to develop private space taxis to carry astronauts to orbit say their vehicles are making substantial progress toward launching people into orbit within the next few years. The companies — Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), The Boeing Company and Sierra Nevada Corp. — are competing to…
Apparently sexting isn’t the only heart-pounding activity young adults are getting into on their mobile devices. According to a survey from free texting app textPlus, half of young adults surveyed (ages 18-24) say they’ve discussed the upcoming election on their mobile devices via text message. More than half (56 percent) say they’ve specifically chatted about…
A newly created webpage for embattled Missouri Republican congressman Todd Akin prominently featured a human fetus and a grammatical error until refreshed versions of the website removed the photograph and fixed the mistake. “I’m pro life and I stand with Todd Akin,” read the page. “Tell McCaskill That Your [sic] Standing With Todd Akin!” Version…
This Nov. 14 photo shows Peggy Young, of Lorton, Virginia, with her daughter Triniti, 7, in Washington.Image: Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press In 2006, United Parcel Service driver Peggy Young was put on unpaid leave because she got pregnant. Now, Young is suing her former employer because she believes UPS violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the…
In celebration of Earth Day, a website called HooplaHa.com is asking for people everywhere to submit their own Vines of Earth-friendly acts of kindness under the hashtag #GivingVine. HooplaHa, a self-proclaimed “feel good” website that produces original, guaranteed-to-make-you-smile videos, started the #GivingVine campaign earlier this year with the sole purpose of collecting Vines of good…
Government officials do not have the hardware or the authority to collect and analyze the artillery receipts, health records and other data that could have signaled a threat was headed toward a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., last week, former federal officials said. Nor do Americans have the stomach to grant the government such intrusive…
Google, with its fully decked-out media lounge, backstage “Conversation Room” and end-of-the-week epic party, was inarguably the most prominent of the technology companies at the Republican National Convention — a list that also included Facebook and Twitter. That makes sense – Google and YouTube were the official social network and live stream provider of the…
7 Spectacular Fireworks GIFs for the Fourth of July 1. Fireworx by Alfredo Álvarez Don’t try this one at home, kids. 2. 2010 Fireworks by JR Manuel This stunning cityscape was captured in the United States territory of Guam. 3. Fireworks by Juan Pablo Rodriguez There is something dreamlike and rather lovely about this little…
11 Classic Political Campaign Advertisements 1. “I Like Ike” Dwight Eisenhower’s 1952 presidential campaign ad was produced by Walt Disney Studios and Citizens for Eisenhower-Nixon. “I Like Ike” is one of the most well-known and catchiest political slogans of all time. 2. JFK Jingle John F. Kennedy’s repetitive jingle aired during the 1960 presidential campaign.…
President Barack Obama, stands with his nominee to become Health and Human Services secretary, Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, while speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 11, 2014, where he made the announcement.Image: Susan Walsh/Associated Press *Pending her confirmation. Kathleen Sebelius is resigning from her post as secretary…
Nicholas Ivie, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, was killed earlier this month while on duty, leaving behind a wife and two daughters. Billy Sanders, Ivie’s classmate at the Border Patrol Academy and former colleague at the Naco Border Patrol Station, has since turned to online crowdfunding to help Ivie’s family, raising almost $30,000 in less…
Wikipedia’s arbitration committee has taken action against editors who insisted that whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who is transsexual, go by her former name, Bradley. They are now prohibited from editing any page related to trans issues. Manning is one of the most controversial American figures in recent memory, for reasons wholly unrelated to her gender identity.…
The police officer who doused students with pepper spray during Occupy Wall Street protests at the University of California, Davis, is no longer employed by the University. “Consistent with privacy guidelines established in state law and university policy, I can confirm that John Pike’s employment with the university ended on July 31, 2012,” UC Davis…
Like so many people, I watched in real time on TV earlier this week as Hurricane Sandy pounded away at the Jersey Shore, a place I spent many summers with my Philadelphia-based family growing up. Although news coverage showed extensive footage of the shore, days passed and we didn’t know if our beach home was…
The digital rollout of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., as the Republican vice-presidential candidate is hitting a few virtual speed bumps. The Obama team launched a Google advertising campaign keyed to searches on Ryan’s name that links to web pages with talking points criticizing Ryan’s budget proposal. The ad stood alone for a time on Monday,…
Apple is planning on constructing a huge solar farm alongside its Reno, Nev. data center in a bid to ultimately power the location using 100% renewable energy. What’s more, through a unique partnership with NV Energy, Apple’s solar farm will also supply renewable power to the local grid, the Cupertino, Calif. company said in a…
Astronomers have gotten the first-ever peek at our solar system’s tail, called the heliotail, finding that it’s shaped like a four-leaf clover, NASA scientists announced Wednesday. The discovery was made using NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), a coffee-table-sized spacecraft that is studying the edge of the solar system. “Many models have suggested the heliotail might…