United States

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Record 10% of US Convicts Serving Life

(Newser) - Almost 10% of prisoners incarcerated in the US are serving life sentences, an all-time high, the New York Times reports. In California, which maintains the nation’s highest prison population, that number is 20%, says a report from the Sentencing Project, a group that wants to eliminate life-without-parole sentences. Two-thirds...

Six Good American Gins
 Six Good American Gins 
OPINION
Jul 21, 2009 6:04 PM CDT

Six Good American Gins

(Newser) - Gin has always been the province of the British, but some American distilleries hold their own. Clay Risen takes a look at US bottles worth tasting in the Atlantic.
  • Seagram's Extra Dry: Yeah, it's a mass-market gin, but it's "easily the most drinkable as a straight sip, with a
...

Top Towns to Raise Outdoorsy Kids
 Top Towns to Raise 
 Outdoorsy Kids 
OPINION
Jul 14, 2009 6:45 PM CDT

Top Towns to Raise Outdoorsy Kids

(Newser) - Backpacker combed through info on outdoor programs and proximity to national forests and parks to find the best cities in the US to raise active, crunchy kids. The results:
  • Boulder, Colo.: "Yes, we live here, but Boulder wins on its merits." Close to woods, glaciers, and mountains,
...

Feds Review Terror Alert System

(Newser) - The Homeland Security Department will review the multicolored terror alert system created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has created a task force to determine in 60 days how effective the current system is. The system could get an overhaul—or could be...

Recession's Silver Lining: We're Content With Less

(Newser) - Americans are embracing the no-frills attitude necessitated by the recession, USA Today reports. One-third say they are spending less and plan to keep up the practice as their “new, normal” way of living, according to a study. A whopping 47% of Americans say they have all they need, another...

Obama: 'Blood of Africa' in Me
 Obama: 'Blood of Africa' in Me 
Jul 11, 2009 9:55 AM CDT

Obama: 'Blood of Africa' in Me

(Newser) - President Obama today warned Africans that corruption and strong-arm tactics must be overcome if the continent is to see prosperity, and he promised US support to nations on the right path, Politico reports. “America will be with you,” Obama said in Ghana. “As a partner. As a...

They May Love Obama, But Still Don't Like US

(Newser) - President Obama is viewed favorably around the world, but his popularity hasn't worked any magic on the image of the US, Tom Schaller writes on FiveThirtyEight. A new poll of people in 20 countries finds the average global opinion of the role the US plays in the world is 41%...

Mass. Sues US Over Definition of Marriage

(Newser) - Massachusetts has challenged the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, saying it interferes with a state's right to define and regulate marriage, the Boston Globe reports. “In enacting DOMA,” the lawsuit reads, “Congress...

Ben Stein to Wal-Mart: Hands Off Civil War Battlefield

(Newser) - Ben Stein loves Wal-Mart—just don’t put one smack-dab in the middle of a historic Civil War battlefield in Orange, Va. The 1864 Battle of the Wilderness was a turning point in the conflict, Stein writes in the American Spectator, and the “battlefield is incredibly important environmentally and...

Founding Fathers That Time Forgot
 Founding Fathers 
 That Time Forgot 
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Jul 4, 2009 4:59 PM CDT

Founding Fathers That Time Forgot

And 4 others history has forgotten

(Newser) - Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence, but we only remember a few of the Founding Fathers. Mental Floss shines a light on a few of the lesser-knowns:
  • George Read: the only statesman to oppose the Declaration of Independence. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar at age 19, Read thought Americans
...

Costa Rica Tops 'Green and Happy' List; US 114th

(Newser) - Costa Rica is the happiest, most ecologically friendly country on earth, according to the New Economics Foundation’s Happy Planet Index. The US, on the other hand, came in 114th out of 146, the Guardian reports. The index ranks countries both on the happiness of their citizens and the environmental...

N Korea Fires 7 More Missiles for July 4th

(Newser) - North Korea fired seven missiles off its eastern coast today, South Korea said, in what was seen as a message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day holiday. The launches, which came 2 days after North Korea fired four short-range missiles, could further escalate tensions in the...

Giant Ant Colony Spreads Across World

Insects from different continents treat each other as family

(Newser) - In what may be a first for the animal kingdom, one giant family of ants has established itself in different parts of the world, the BBC reports. Researchers studying the species known as Argentine ants in Europe, the US, and Japan found that they had a strikingly similar chemical profile,...

4 US Troops Killed During Iraqi City Pullout

(Newser) - Four US soldiers were killed in combat shortly before the American military completed a withdrawal from Iraq's cities last night. But prime minister Nouri al-Maliki assured Iraqis in a televised address today that government forces are in control: "Those who think that Iraqis are not able to protect their...

Brazil Rallies, Shocks US at Confed Cup

(Newser) - Brazil’s “Beautiful Game” came alive in the second half today with three comeback goals in a 3-2 win over the upstart United States in the Confederations Cup final. Luis Fabiano scored two of the goals and Lucio added the third in the 84th minute to give Brazil its...

US-Built Bridge Supports Afghan Drug Trade

$37M project facilitates opium smuggling into Tajikistan

(Newser) - A US-built bridge linking Afghanistan and Tajikistan that cost taxpayers $37 million has greatly benefited exporters of Afghan opium, McClatchy reports. The bridge over the Panj river was supposed to facilitate commerce between the two nations, but the surging flow of opium across Afghanistan’s northern border threatens to turn...

US, Russia Clash Over Cyber-Security

Countries dueling plans could prompt new arms race

(Newser) - The cold war may be going digital, the New York Times reports, as the US and Russia clash over how to combat attacks in cyberspace. Washington has dismissed Moscow’s call for an international treaty, preferring to promote cross-border cooperation in hunting down hackers. “We really believe it’s...

Obama Boxes Himself In to False Choice on Iran
Obama Boxes Himself In
to False Choice on Iran
OPINION
Jun 20, 2009 11:30 AM CDT

Obama Boxes Himself In to False Choice on Iran

(Newser) - President Obama talks a lot about "false choices," and he's usually just blowing smoke rhetorically, but now he's got one regarding Iran, writes Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard. “The president thinks he’s stuck with a dilemma,” Barnes writes: “Either support the democratic forces”...

US Fortifies Hawaii Against N. Korea Threat

Gates moves anti-missile system to islands ... just in case

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he is positioning defenses near Hawaii just in case North Korea fires a missile across the Pacific toward the island state. Gates says he has sent the military's ground-based mobile missile system to Hawaii and positioned a radar system nearby. Together the systems theoretically could...

Wolfowitz: We Must Help North Korea's Refugees

(Newser) - When President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak meet today, they will discuss a host of security and economic issues, but Paul Wolfowitz hopes they take some time out for a purely humanitarian concern: North Korea’s refugees. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have fled to China, but...

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