The H5N1 bird flu virus could change into a form able to spread rapidly between humans, scientists have warned. Researchers have identified five genetic changes that could allow the virus to start a deadly pandemic. Writing in the journal Science, they say it would be theoretically possible for these changes to occur in nature. A US agency has tried unsuccessfully… Read more →
Egypt’s election officials have postponed announcing the results of the presidential runoff election. Sky News explains. “The authorities say the results won’t be for several days, because they need more time to study appeals. The move has raised tensions among voters and candidates.” This delay is the latest snag in the troubled electoral contest between Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, and… Read more →
Russia has declared a state of emergency in several eastern regions due to hundreds of wildfires. NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of fires and smoke in north central Russia on June 15, 2012, at 05:50 UTC (1:50 a.m. EDT) The red spots are where the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard the Terra satellite detected heat… Read more →
LOS ANGELES – The long-standing rap against charter schools is that they cherry-pick only the best and brightest students, and leave the “hard cases” for the underfunded traditional public schools. Critics say this is why charters typically have higher student test scores than traditional schools. A new government report appears to confirm those suspicions. A study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (the… Read more →
(multimedia) Rep. Gowdy discusses the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in Contempt of Congress for his antics concerning Operation Fast and Furious. Next week the full house will vote.
German companies believe the euro crisis has damaged their prospects for growth in 2012, according to new figures released on Thursday. Manufacturing activity hit a three-year low and export orders have also seen a sharp drop. The data suggest the crisis is starting to hit the previously robust German economy. For a long time, the German economic powerhouse seemed immune to… Read more →
(multimedia) A newly released video shows Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman at the scene of Trayvon Martin’s fatal shooting a day later giving police a blow-by-blow account of his fight with the teen. (June 21)
(AP) STOCKHOLM – Sweden raised the security alert for the country’s nuclear power plants Thursday after explosives were found on a truck at the southwestern atomic power station Ringhals. Police said they were investigating possible sabotage. Police said bomb sniffer dogs detected the explosives during a routine check Wednesday afternoon by security staff at an industrial area within the power… Read more →
LONDON — British doctors staged their first strike in nearly 40 years Thursday over plans to increase the amount they pay into their pension fund and make them work until they are 68, ITV News reported. The government says doctors would receive more than $105,000 a year after the age of 68 under its proposals. However the British Medical Association, which… Read more →
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration distributed $9 billion in economic “stimulus” funds to solar and wind projects in 2009-11 that created, as the end result, 910 “direct” jobs — annual operation and maintenance positions — meaning that it cost about $9.8 million to establish each of those long-term jobs. At the same time, those green energy projects also created, in the… Read more →
