Dec
19

Human hands evolved so we could punch each other

Forget toolmaking, think fisticuffs. Did evolution shape our hands not for dexterity but to form fists so we could punch other people? That idea emerges from a new study, although it runs counter to conventional wisdom. About the same time as...
Read More..

Baseball: Ichiro Suzuki inks new 2-year deal with NY Yankees

NEW YORK: Ichiro Suzuki signed a two-year contract with the New York Yankees, giving the Japanese outfielder a chance to crack 3,000 career Major League Baseball hits while wearing Yankee pinstripes.The deal, worth a reported $13 million, allows the Yankees to keep a 39-year-old standout who has been a 10-time All-Star in 12 seasons since coming from Japan. He was obtained by the Yankees...
Read More..

Blizzard warning issued for large swath of Midwest

Drivers in Colorado contend with heavy snow Wednesday.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: 156-mile stretch of freeway closed in Colorado23-car pileup in Texas dust storm kills one, injures 17Heavy snow, high winds stretch from Colorado to Wisconsin in season's first blizzardStorm to crawl from Midwest to New England by Friday(CNN) -- People traveling early for Christmas in the center of the country will be dashing...
Read More..

Hundreds arrested in China over doomsday rumors

Farmer Liu Qiyuan poses among survival pods that he built and has also dubbed 'Noah's Arc', in a yard at his home in the village of Qiantun, Hebei province, south of Beijing on December 11, 2012. Inspired by the apocalyptic Hollywood movie '2012' and the 2004 Asian tsunami, Liu hopes that his creations consisting of a fibreglass shell around a steel frame will be adopted by government departments...
Read More..

Obama Invokes Newtown on 'Cliff' Deal

Invoking the somber aftermath of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., President Obama today appealed to congressional Republicans to embrace a standing "fair deal" on taxes and spending that would avert the fiscal cliff in 13 days."If there's one thing we should have after this week, it should be a sense of perspective about what's important," Obama said at a midday news conference."I...
Read More..
Dec
18

Today on New Scientist: 18 December 2012

Violent polar storms help control the world's weather Without the mini-hurricanes which form over the Arctic, the world could face massive weather disruptionAncient city of Troy rebranded itself after war Changing styles of pottery 3200 years ago show the Trojans were quick to align themselves with the region's new political powerCourt ruling will clarify end-of-life decisions Canada's supreme...
Read More..

Temasek raises stake in Olam

SINGAPORE: Temasek Holdings has raised its stake in commodity trader Olam International to 17 percent from 16.3 percent. In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, Olam said Temasek had bought 200,000 shares for S$293,000 from the open market on Tuesday through its investment vehicle Aranda Investments. In an emailed comment to Channel NewsAsia, a Temasek spokesperson said: "We have invested...
Read More..

Benghazi investigation finds 'failures' at State Department

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in LibyaAttack on the U.S. Consulate in...
Read More..

Texas school district encourages armed teachers for protection

HARROLD, Texas -- There's at least one school that welcome firearms to class. It believes nothing makes a school safer than teachers who are armed, The Harrold Independent School District is one building with 103 students. It's 20 minutes away from the nearest sheriff's station. Superintendent David Thweatt created what he calls a "guardian plan" after the attack at Virginia Tech. "These people...
Read More..

Newtown Shooting: Bushmaster Under Fire

When the private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management announced Tuesday it would unload its interest in Bushmaster – the company that built the weapon used in last week's mass murder of 20 Connecticut first graders -- it marked the beginning of what experts say is likely to be a challenging period for the North Carolina-based weapons manufacturer."They are looking at...
Read More..