Philip Morris Threatens To Sue Australia Over Cigarette Packaging Law

Beginning in January of 2012, Australia plans to introduce plain cigarette packaging. As the New York Times reports, legislation, which is expected to pass through the Australian Parliament easily in July, would mandate that cigarettes be sold in green packets without any logos. The move comes just a week, after the U.S. introduced nine graphic [...]

Protest Against Italy’s High-Speed Rail Line Leaves Dozens Hurt

Upset that a planned high-speed railroad line would disrupt their mountainous environment, around 2,000 demonstrators gathered late Sunday for a protest that erupted into violence early Monday. More than two dozen police officers were hurt, along with four protesters, according to reports. The demonstrators say that the planned train line, and the extensive tunnels it [...]

Court: California Can’t Ban Violent Video Game Sales

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children, saying it ran afoul of the First Amendment right to free speech. In one of the most closely watched cases this term, in a 7 to 2 vote, the justices said governments did not have the [...]

What Happens When Charter Schools Fail?

Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are overseen by their own independent boards. Because of their independence, they are allowed to do things that traditional public schools cannot do. School administrators can experiment with things like the length of the school day and the makeup of each school’s curriculum. With that freedom, charter schools have [...]

Pediatricians Recommend A Media Diet For Kids To Fight Obesity

A quick stroll around the mall is all the reminder you need that an epidemic of childhood obesity is all around us. And the media, defined very broadly, is a big part of the big problem, according to a leading group of pediatricians. Kids don’t burn many calories sitting and watching TV or messing around [...]

What Story Would You Tell On Jeopardy?

Maggie Speak and Robert James are a Jeopardy contestant’s best friends: They’re the show’s main contestant coordinators. Jeopardy is pretty vigilant about keeping contestants separate from production staff — there’s no mingling with host Alex Trebek in the green room. So, the contestant coordinators are really your only friends. “On the tape day, my biggest [...]

In ‘Curfew’, A Compelling Brain-Teaser Of A Novel

William is an “epitaphorist,” set with the task of assisting families to create the perfect life summation of their loved ones, to be carved into gravestones. Things get lost in the distillation process. A revolutionary can become the model husband if you cross-out all the bomb throwing. And 92-year-old Paul Sargent Monroe can have “died [...]

Syrian Officials Show Reporters Site Of Fatal Attack

Syrian officials have finally allowed a small group of Western journalists into the country amid anti-government demonstrations. NPR’s Deborah Amos was among those taken to the city of Jisr al-Shughour, where Syrian officials say armed gangs staged a massacre. Jisr al Shughour has come to define the conflict and the contradictions in Syria, where President [...]

Nebraska Nuclear Plant Safe From Floodwaters

Officials say that floodwater seeping into the turbine building at a nuclear power plant near Omaha on the banks of the Missouri River is not a safety risk. Omaha Public Power District spokesman Jeff Hanson said Monday that seepage was expected at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station and that pumps are handling the problem. Hanson [...]

Gates To Depart Pentagon After Serving Bush, Obama

On Thursday, Robert Gates will step down as defense secretary — a position he held for more than four years, overseeing two wars. He’s the only person to hold the job under two presidents from different parties. For the past two years, he’s attained a kind of “wise man” status within the Obama administration. While [...]