Russian Meteor: Close Encounter, Preventing Impacts

Feb 18, 2013 7:03pm MOSCOW — As if Friday’s massive meteor explosion over central Russia weren’t enough, just hours later a large asteroid buzzed dangerously close to Earth.And that evening, the California sky was lit up by a fireball, apparently entering Earth’s atmosphere.It’s a barrage from space that has people asking: Are we ready for the big one?Nearly 100...

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Congressional staffers often travel on tabs of foreign governments

About a dozen congressional staffers flew business class on a trip to China last summer and stayed at luxury hotels while touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City and receiving a “briefing on ancient artifacts and dynasties” at the Shanghai Museum. The all-expenses-paid visit came courtesy of China. The Chinese government hosted a day of meetings with officials in Beijing followed...

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Hong Kong Disneyland turns a profit for first time

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's struggling Disneyland in 2012 made a profit for the first time since opening eight years ago, thanks to a surge in revenue as it welcomed a record number of visitors.The park made HK$109 million ($14.06 million) in the fiscal year ending September 29, 2012, compared with a net loss of HK$237 million the year before.The result was fuelled by a 13 per cent jump in...

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No possibility of early Lok Sabha polls: Ajit Singh

MUZAFFARNAGAR: Union civil aviation minister party president Ajit Singh has said Lok Sabha polls will take place at their scheduled time and said his party's alliance with Congress will continue in the future. "The Lok Sabha elections will be held at their scheduled time. RLD's alliance with Congress will continue in the future," Rashtriya Lok Dal president told reporters on Sunday. He also said...

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Meet the Meteorite Hunter

Michael Farmer is one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters. Since the 1990s, the 40-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident has been scouring the world for pieces of interstellar rock, racing to be the first one on the scene and selling his finds to museums and private collectors. On Friday, as Russians reportedly scrambled to collect fragments from a passing meteorite that injured...

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Country Star Mindy McCready Shot Herself, Cops Say

Mindy McCready, the country singer who soared to the top of the charts with her debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," but struggled with substance abuse, served time in jail and fought a lengthy battle with her mother over custody of her son has died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. She was 37.Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office were...

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Dominican Republic port contract scrutinized, along with senator, eye doctor’s relationship

SANTO DOMINGO — When the U.S. Embassy set out to press the Dominican government over a long-stalled contract to provide port security, American officials took on some tough opponents. The deal had languished for more than a decade amid stiff resistance from the American Chamber of Commerce, which represents the interests of American and local businessmen in the Dominican Republic, and the country’s...

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Pakistani city mourns after bomb kills 81

QUETTA, Pakistan: The death toll from a devastating bomb attack on Shiite Muslims in southwest Pakistan rose to 81 on Sunday, as the community threatened protests if swift action was not taken against the killers.The bomb containing nearly a tonne of explosives, hidden in a water tanker, tore through a crowded market in Hazara town, a Shiite-dominated area on the edge of Quetta, the capital...

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Election Commission bars 2171 candidates from contesting election for not disclosing expenditure details

NEW DELHI: In a bid to ensure free and fair elections and curb the use of money power, the Election Commission has disqualified as many as 2,171 candidates for failing to furnish details of expenditure incurred while contesting parliamentary and assembly polls. These candidates will face the bar for three years from the date of disqualification by the Commission, with the maximum being up to January...

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Picture Archive: Making Mount Rushmore, 1935-1941

Photograph from Rapid City Chamber of Commerce/National GeographicThere's no such thing as Presidents' Day.According to United States federal government code, the holiday is named Washington's Birthday, and has been since it went nationwide in 1885.But common practice is more inclusive. The holiday expanded to add in other U.S. presidents in the 1960s, and the moniker Presidents' Day became popular...

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