Jan 01 Evacuated towns surrounding Fukushima face uncertain future By News Desk An official in a full radiation protection suit scans an evacuated mother and child with a geiger counter to check radiation levels in Koriyama city in Fukushima prefecture, about 60km west from the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant on March 16,… Continue reading
Jan 01 Watch News Wrap: Celebrations around the world usher in 2014 In our news wrap Wednesday, the first day of 2014 was marked by a papal address, mayoral inaugurations and a series of bowl games for football fans. Also, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor temporarily blocked a health care law mandate… Continue watching
Jan 01 Watch Malala hopes to earn prize of seeing ‘every child’ go to school By PBS News Hour Malala hopes to earn prize of seeing 'every child to go to school'… Continue watching
Jan 01 Al-Qaida-linked group behind Somali car bombings An al-Qaida regional affiliate, known as al-Shabab, set off two bombs in Somalia, killing at least eight people. Here, Somali boys wave the militant group's flag. Photo by Stringer/AFP/Getty Images At least eight people were killed Wednesday when… Continue reading
Jan 01 U.S., Afghan tensions grow over prisoner release Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images The United States and Afghanistan are at odds over the Afghan government's decision to release several prisoners from a military jail in Kabul, further straining an already tense relationship between the two… Continue reading
Jan 01 Japanese population declined by record number in 2013 Cherry Blossom Walk in Osaka Flickr user Gaheilon The Japanese population, which has been shrinking for the last couple of years, declined by a record 244,000 people in 2013, according to health ministry estimates. Continue reading
Jan 01 Consumers enjoy first puffs of recreational marijuana from licensed retailers in Colo. By News Desk Sean Azzariti of Denver made the first purchase of recreational marijuana under the new law at 3D Cannabis Center in Denver. Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images It's a new day in Colorado; 2014 kicked off with… Continue reading
Jan 01 Palestinian ambassador dies from blast in Prague residence The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic died Wednesday from an explosion at his apartment that officials said occurred when the diplomat opened an old safe that had remained untouched for more than 20 years. Ambassador Jamel al-Jamal, 56,… Continue reading
Jan 01 U.S. lags behind arctic nations in race to stake claims to untapped resources By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Countries are scrambling to stake claim to untapped resources, previously frozen in the Arctic. But with a lack of basic infrastructure and funding commitments, critics say the U.S. trails other countries in preparations for the increased activity in… Continue reading
Jan 01 Quiz: Test your knowledge of the new laws of 2014 By Joshua Barajas, Frank Bi In which state can you now go on a bar crawl using a "pedal pub"? Photo by Flickr user Sonja Stark More than 40,000 new laws were enacted in 2013, thousands of which took effect at the stroke of midnight,… Continue reading