Aug 16 Monday: Karzai Sets Exit Deadline for Contractors; Gulf Shrimp Season Opens Afghan President Hamid Karzai is setting a four-month deadline for private security companies to cease operations in the country, a government spokesman said Monday. The Associated Press reports that the Interior Ministry has 52 security firms licensed, but some… Continue reading
Aug 13 Allen: Well Not Yet Killed, BP Will Move Forward With Relief Well Updated 3:34 p.m. National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen said Friday that the blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is not yet dead, and that BP will proceed with a relief well to permanently kill it. Continue reading
Aug 13 Study: Early Puberty in Girls on the Rise By Talea Miller A growing body of research indicates puberty is starting earlier among girls in the United States and Europe, raising new questions about the roles of obesity and exposure to chemicals in accelerating development. More girls in the United States are… Continue reading
Aug 13 Debate Over Reopening Gulf Fishing Grounds Falls Along Surprising Lines By Tom Bearden The state of Louisiana is about to reopen several state-controlled fishing grounds that were closed because of the Macondo oil well disaster. You'd think that fishermen would be thrilled with that idea. You'd be wrong. A couple of dozen… Continue reading
Aug 12 Online Fraudsters Increasingly Skilled at Hacking Bank Accounts By Joanne Jennings All this week, we’ve been looking at the complexities of cybersecurity, including the potential for attacks on government computers and the views of former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden on the scope of the “cyber conflict.” On… Continue reading
Aug 12 Spread of Antibiotic-Resistant ‘Superbugs’ Causes Global Concerns By Talea Miller A new gene mutation that can make bacteria into "superbugs" capable of resisting almost all antibiotics is spreading from India and Pakistan and popping up around the globe, according to British researchers. The Lancet medical journal published a paper… Continue reading
Aug 12 Watch Online Crime a Cat-and-Mouse Game for Hackers, Security Companies Spencer Michels wraps up his cybersecurity series with a look at online crimes and the technology being used to stop them. Continue watching
Aug 11 In the Gulf, Questions Over Where to Put Oil Waste The Macondo oil well in the Gulf may be capped, but the containment and cleanup effort generated a huge amount of waste. First, there's 13 million gallons of liquid waste -- oil mixed with water -- that… Continue reading
Aug 11 Pew Report: U.S. Broadband Adoption Slows, but Blacks Gain Ground The Pew Internet & American Life Project released its Home Broadband 2010 Report Wednesday, revealing a dramatic slowing of broadband adoption by Americans this year, but showing notable growth in use by blacks. Among the findings were statistics… Continue reading
Aug 11 Wednesday: BP Crews Wait Out Storm; Pakistani President Defends Trip Crews in the Gulf of Mexico drilling the final feet of a relief well intended to permanently plug BP's oil well will have to wait two to three days as a tropical depression passes over the site. Retired… Continue reading