A long held belief by scientists that the universe began to rapidly expand at the dawn of time may have been confirmed by a telescope that UC San Diego helped build at the South Pole to study the earliest moments of the cosmos.
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced Monday that the BICEP 2 telescope might have detected the aftermath of the “cosmic inflation” that they think occurred just after the universe arose 13.8 billion years ago in the so-called Big Bang.
Scientists see 'fingerprint' of Big Bang
Earthquake strongly felt across Los Angeles
A pre-dawn earthquake rolled across the Los Angeles basin on Monday, rattling residents from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach.
The quake's magnitude was 4.4 and it was centered 15 miles west-northwest of the downtown civic center, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Los Angeles police and fire officials said there were no immediate reports of damage.
"It rocked and rolled for about 10 or 12 seconds. I'm surprised nothing fell off the walls or broke — and nothing did — but it was quite a shaker," said Brian Bland, a retired AP Radio correspondent who lives in suburban Santa Monica.
White House sanctions 11 Russian government officials in wake of Crimea
The White House announced Monday it has expanded sanctions against Russia, looking to further isolate the country for intervening in Ukraine.
The new executive order expands one that Obama signed less than two weeks ago by authorizing Treasury -- in consultation with the Secretary of State -- to impose sanctions on named officials of the Russian government, "any individual or entity that operates in the Russian arms industry, and any designated individual or entity that acts on behalf of, or that provides material or other support to, any senior Russian government official."
US ships arms to aid fight against Islamist militants in Iraq
The US embassy to Iraq says the United States has delivered 100 Hellfire missiles, along with assault rifles and ammunition, as part of its anti-terrorism assistance to the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the embassy said the delivery was made earlier this month in order to help bolster Iraq forces fighting a breakaway al-Qaida group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Alex Baer: Would You Like to Eat on a Star?
... or, you could carry moonbeams home in a jar. You could go shopping for a snack. And, you know, nibble on a Pitt?
So much for musical whimsy. Down to business: How about some Angelina chops? Some Brad burgers or Pitt pits? No, we're not talking about acting abilities or World War Z cuisine. Not really.
We're talking Soylent Sausages here. Or, as a buddy chimed in, The Other White Meat. Yes: It's what for barter, if the dollar fails. Or, as another one emailed: Is this Soylent Bling?
Yes, it's all of those things. And more. Too much more.
US terror 'watchlist' risks stigmatizing hundreds of thousands, says ACLU
The U.S. government's “massive” watchlist database risks stigmatizing hundreds of thousands of people as known or suspected terrorists – including some its own citizens, a leading civil liberties group has warned.
Around 875,000 names are believed to be on the list, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said. Many are included "based on information that is often stale, poorly reviewed, or of questionable reliability," it added in a report published Friday. Moreover people are being put onto the watch list based on secret evidence and secret standards, with no meaningful process to challenge mistakes, the ACLU warned.
Alex Baer: Progress Means Siring Satire & Parenting Parody
Once upon a time, life in America made sense, at least in everyday comings and goings. There were unspoken bargains of reasonableness in effect. These were the handshakes and nods of fairness in play. When it came to some sort of public issue, there were more tipped hats than launched birds-of-a-middle-finger flocking together.
Of course, back then, we were a hat-obsessed nation, with head coverings of all sorts trickling their way into the language. When we weren't hanging around, hats in hand, we were taking our hats off to this or that person or idea. We even had feathers that others gave us, to put into our caps, thinking or otherwise. You could actually wear a Pork Pie, right on your head.
US criticised by UN for human rights failings on NSA, guns and drones
The US came under sharp criticism at the UN human rights committee in Geneva on Thursday for a long list of human rights abuses that included everything from detention without charge at Guantánamo, drone strikes and NSA surveillance, to the death penalty, rampant gun violence and endemic racial inequality.
At the start of a two-day grilling of the US delegation, the committee’s 18 experts made clear their deep concerns about the US record across a raft of human rights issues. Many related to faultlines as old as America itself, such as guns and race.
How old is sonar? Fossilized whale skull puts it at over 32 million years.
Sperm whales do it. Dolphins do it. Orcas do it. And now, researchers have unveiled the fossilized skull of a 28-million-year-old marine mammal that did it too – used sound to find its next meal or swim safely through turbid waters.
The creature, Cotylocara macei, is the earliest known cetacean to show skeletal evidence for a natural form of sonar, according to a research team reporting the results in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
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