White House Kills Dollar Coin Program
The federal government will stop minting unwanted $1 coins, the White House said Tuesday. The move will save an estimated $50 million a year. Earlier this year, we reported on the mountain of $1 coins sitting unused in government vaults. The pile-up — an estimated 1.4 billion coins — was caused by a 2005 law [...]
Jacques Pepin: An American From Paris
A few weeks after he arrived in New York, Jacques Pepin was invited to the home of a new American friend. He was offered a sandwich — which he declined, not wanting to spoil his lunch. “I didn’t realize that was lunch,” he says. We know Jacques Pepin — or as I can’t help calling [...]
Early Sound Recordings From Alexander Graham Bell Recovered, Played Again
Sound recordings that hadn’t been heard since they were first made by Alexander Graham Bell and others in the 1880s were played publicly Tuesday at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The sounds captured in the collection include recited verse, human sounds and basic factual information such as the date. The recordings — long [...]
Gingrich Iowa Political Director Steps Down After ‘Cult Of Mormon’ Comment
Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith has been less of an overt issue so far in the 2012 presidential race than it was in 2008 but it’s still lurking out there. That was demonstrated Tuesday when Newt Gingrich’s Iowa political director stepped down after he made a comment during a focus group about the antipathy some evangelical [...]
FDA Tells Weight-Loss Surgery Centers To Pull Misleading Ads
In an unusual move, the Food and Drug Administration has warned a marketing company and eight surgery centers in Southern California that their billboards and other advertisements touting weight-loss surgery are misleading because they don’t adequately describe the risks from the procedure. The agency’s letters ask the surgery centers and the marketing firm 1-800-GET-THIN to [...]
Fakin’ It: Three Books On Masquerading Identities
Scratch just a little below the surface of American writing, and you’ll find a substratum of stories that revolve around an impostor, a figure at once sinister and fascinating. This charlatan moves fluidly between personae, and in doing so, proves that identity is — especially in America — up for grabs. The impostor thus is [...]
As Caucuses Loom, Iowans Bemoan Lack of Face Time
The Iowa caucuses — the first contest of the 2012 presidential nominating season — take place in three weeks. That means there’s precious little time for candidates to make their case and close the deal with Hawkeye State Republicans. But candidates were tough to find in Iowa on Tuesday. Only former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum [...]
Analysis: Rich To Benefit Most In Gingrich Tax Plan
According to many polls, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is now leading the Republican pack. His plan to rewrite the nation’s tax policy hasn’t gotten as much attention as some of his other proposals, but, according to a new analysis, it would require sweeping changes to the government. Gingrich proposes a two-tier plan: taxpayers can [...]
No ‘God Particle’ Yet, But Scientists Say Stay Tuned
Physicists have a grand theory that describes how tiny particles interact to form all the stuff we see in the universe — everything from planets to toasters to human beings. But there is one particle predicted by this theory that has never been detected in experiments. It’s called the Higgs boson. Scientists are dying to [...]
In Brazil, Oil Boom Brings Environmental Worries
In Brazil, the discovery of huge oil deposits has prompted a patriotic outpouring as Brazilians celebrate the country’s rise as an oil power. Currently the world’s ninth largest oil producer, Brazil believes it may become one of the top four or five oil producers in a few years. But a recent spill 200 miles off [...]
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