Dec 23 President Obama signs executive order for 1 percent federal worker pay raise President Barack Obama signed an executive order Monday that set 2014 pay scales for federal civilian and military employees, Reuters reports. Under the new pay scales, both military and civilian employees will receive a 1 percent pay raise. The… Continue reading
Dec 23 Jim Lovell re-enacts 1968 Apollo 8 Christmas Eve broadcast Crew of Apollo 8. From left to right: James A. Lovell Jr., William A. Anders, and Frank Borman. Photo by NASA Forty-five years after Apollo 8's live Christmas Eve broadcast, former astronaut and retired Captain James Lovell Jr. Continue reading
Dec 23 America's favorite seafood often isn't inspected Americans love their shrimp. We ate close to four pounds of it per person in 2012, according to the National Fisheries Institute. And if you're heading to a holiday party this season, you may even find yourself… Continue reading
Dec 23 The bug that ate Christmas The balsam wolly adelgid is an invasive species known to kill popular fir tree species. Image by the Forest Service of the USDA. Wild populations of Canaan and Fraser firs -- some of the nation's most popular and… Continue reading
Dec 23 U.S. moving troops for possible security actions in South Sudan South Sudanese take shelter on Sunday at a camp for displaced people set up by the U.N. Photo by Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images. WASHINGTON -- Defense officials say the U.S. is moving additional Marines and aircraft from Spain to the Horn… Continue reading
Dec 23 Greece offers free electricity in bid to stem soaring smog levels Greece has started offering free electricity to many low-income families in an effort to curb the use of firewood, which officials say has caused "alarming levels" of air pollution. In recent weeks, pollution levels have soared in the capital… Continue reading
Dec 23 Colleges offer fixed-rate tuition to help families budget education costs About 320 colleges and universities offered flat-rate tuition in the 2012-2013 school year, enabling students to plan how they'd pay for a multi-year education. Photo by Glenn Asakawa/The Denver Post via Getty Images MILWAUKEE -- Freshmen at Northland College, a… Continue reading
Dec 23 Inventor of the AK-47 is dead at 94 His AK47 became familiar worldwide and a symbol of revolution - Mikhail Kalashnikov obituary: http://t.co/HnRe46pID3 pic.twitter.com/kqlpZXbvJ2— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 23, 2013 Popular among revolutionaries, arms traders, and militaries worldwide, the… Continue reading
Dec 23 South and west dominate wireless-only households Cord-cutters are more likely to live in the rural south and west, according to a new poll. Image from the PEW Research Center Today, 90 million adults and 33 million children live in households with wireless-only access… Continue reading