United States

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US Starts Talks With Taliban
 US-Taliban Talks Stumble 
update

US-Taliban Talks Stumble

Afghan fighters oppose cease-fire proposed by Washington

(Newser) - Long-rumored talks between the US and Taliban officials just got started and are already faltering, MSNBC reports. Meeting in Qatar, Taliban representatives balked today at Washington's demand for a cease-fire before negotiating a prisoner swap. "Our stance is the same. We will announce a cease-fire when the...

For Iran, Pentagon Wants a Bigger Bomb

Current 'bunker busters' don't go deep enough

(Newser) - The US military's largest conventional bomb is the 30,000-pound "bunker buster," or Massive Ordinance Penetrator, designed to take out fortified nuclear facilities in Iran or North Korea. Now, the Pentagon has decided it's not big enough, and is asking for $82 million to make the...

World's Timekeepers: Kill 'Leap Seconds'

Debate rages over fundamental shift

(Newser) - Countries across the globe are divided—and it's only a matter of time. Some, including Britain and China, want to retain a special "leap second" occasionally added to the calendar to keep atomic clocks in line with the Earth's rotation. The US, France, Germany, and others, however,...

Report Blames US in Deadly Pakistan Strike

Report blames lack of trust, mistakes for killing of 24 Pakistanis

(Newser) - A lack of trust between the United States and Pakistan was the key culprit in a series of blunders that resulted in the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers on Nov. 26 , reports the Wall Street Journal . US forces made two major errors that day: not informing the Pakistanis that the...

Global Carbon Emissions in Biggest Jump Ever

Rising greenhouse gasses will worsen climate change, say scientists

(Newser) - Carbon dioxide emissions around their world jumped by the largest amount ever last year, increasing by half a billion tons, reports the New York Times . As a percentage, the 5.9% rise was the largest since 2003 and a sign that 2009's drop of 1.4% was an aberration...

Brits Steel for Possible US Strike on Iran: Report

Israel also gears for attack, Iran vows 'heavy' response

(Newser) - Talk of striking at Iran's nuclear enrichment program is rapidly heating up in Israel—and apparently the US. Not only is Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trying to gather support for such attacks, but Britain's armed forces are working on contingency plans to support the US, should America...

Iran Demands Access to 'Bomb Plotter'

US calls for strong response, stops short of military intervention

(Newser) - Iran is demanding access to the Iranian-American man accused of plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States , reports Reuters . "There is no doubt regarding the baselessness of the US allegations," said an Iranian official, according to Iran's state broadcaster IRIB. "However, providing personal...

Obama, Jay-Z, Steve Jobs: America Is World's Coolest Country, Poll Says


 It's Official: 
 US Is World's 
 Coolest Country 
15-country poll

It's Official: US Is World's Coolest Country

Obama, Jay-Z, Steve Jobs help win crown

(Newser) - When it comes to foreign policy, perhaps Americans aren’t the world’s favorite nationality. But the US has clearly cornered the market on coolness. Just ask the 30,000 people from 15 different countries polled by social networking site Badoo.com. When asked to choose the coolest country, America...

US Infected Thousands of Guatemalans With STDs

Earlier reports said hundreds were victims

(Newser) - Earlier reports said hundreds of Guatemalans were victims of horrifying US experiments involving STDs; in fact, the number of people infected during the 1940s study may be closer to 2,500 , Guatemalan medical authorities say. A US report this week said that around 1,300 were deliberately infected with STDs...

Firms Raked in Big Bucks for CIA Rendition Flights

$300K 8-day trip for suspect is bared in court documents

(Newser) - What was bad for suspected terrorists turned out to fatten the wallets of US firms. Certain flight firms raked in cash as a result of the CIA's rendition program, in which suspects were carted off to foreign jails where they could be tortured and held without charges. The US...

Record Heat Claims 5 Lives
 Record Heat Claims 5 Lives 

Record Heat Claims 5 Lives

Top temperatures stagger Midwest, East Coast

(Newser) - America's baking heat wave claimed five lives this week before storms plunged temperatures as much as 40 degrees. The heat was so intense across the Midwest and East that it buckled pavement on a major Michigan interstate, killed power in Detroit, and shut schools across New Jersey, reports MSNBC...

Best Place to Be a Mom Is ...
 Best Place to Be a Mom Is... 

Best Place to Be a Mom Is...

...Norway, says index that considers maternity leave, mortality rates

(Newser) - Moms who want the good life should consider heading north. That's because Norway is the best place in the world to be a mother, according to new survey. Why? Norway has great health benefits, an average year-long maternity leave from work, and low child mortality rates, along with a...

US Hispanic Population Exceeds 50M

Latinos account for 16% of the nation

(Newser) - The latest Census Bureau numbers mark a milestone for the Hispanic population in the US—the figure exceeds 50 million for the first time. The total (50,477,594 to be exact) is a 43% increase from a decade ago, reports CNN . Related stats:
  • Hispanics, now the nation's second largest
...

Daniel Hannan: Member of European Parliament Warns the US Is Becoming Too Much Like Europe
 European Politician to US: 
 Don't Be Like Us
OPINION

European Politician to US: Don't Be Like Us

Parliament member thinks America becoming too much like Europe

(Newser) - Barack Obama isn't a socialist as some of his critics like to say, but he's definitely a "Eurocrat," writes Daniel Hannan. And he should know—he's been a member of the European Parliament for 11 years. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, he argues that Obama is trying...

Wake Up, America, You're in Dangerous Decline

Fareed Zakaria: Our days of glory seem to be behind us

(Newser) - Fareed Zakaria is seriously worried about his adopted homeland of the United States. In a Time essay titled "Are America's Best Days Behind Us?" he makes the case that if they're not, they will be soon unless we wake up. The US may have been No. 1 for decades,...

Sorry, Naysayers, US Isn't Doomed

 Sorry, Naysayers, 
 US Isn't Doomed 
OPINION

Sorry, Naysayers, US Isn't Doomed

Rebuttal essay: Don't cherry-pick stats, look at the bigger picture

(Newser) - David von Drehle begs to differ with fellow Time writer Fareed Zakaria's gloomy view of America's future . These doomsayers have been around since the country was in diapers, and the modern ones love to "cherry-pick dismal statistics from here and there to create an overall image of decline,"...

Yemen President: This Is a Secret US-Israeli Plot

Ally against al-Qaeda is apparently an ally no more

(Newser) - The president of Yemen lashed out at the US and Israel today and accused them of secretly controlling the democratic uprisings in the Arab world, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key ally of the US in the war on al-Qaeda and the recipient of billions in...

North Korea Begs West for Food

But US, others, not so sure that's a great idea

(Newser) - North Korea is so hungry that it has, for the moment at least, abandoned its trademark bluster and started begging foreign governments for food, the Washington Post reports. But the US, which was the largest provider of food aid to North Korea until it shut off shipments two years ago,...

Obama's Goal of 1M Electric Cars by 2015 Is Doomed

Study: Manufacturers aren't ready to commit to those numbers

(Newser) - President Obama's goal of getting 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on America's roads by 2015 is all but certain to fail, concludes a new report done in conjunction with the auto industry. Despite decent debuts from the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, major manufacturers won't be producing the volume of...

Israel Tested Stuxnet Worm Before Iran Attack

Tests on centrifuges in Israel helped make worm to effective

(Newser) - The high-tech computer virus that derailed Iran's nuclear program last year was tested in Israel as part of a joint US-Israel program, reports the New York Times . Israel's Dimona complex, home to its hush-hush nuclear arms program, tested the Stuxnet worm on nuclear centrifuges nearly identical to the ones Iran...

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