Weather in the New Year
There was active winter weather over the holiday season in the Boston area, with two major snowstorms occurring over the last two and a half weeks. After a snowy start to the new year this past weekend, this week will be decidedly quieter. There will be relatively clear skies today and tomorrow. Temperatures will continue to be slightly below normal, with high temperatures around freezing (32°F, 0°C) both today and tomorrow. A shortwave trough will move over New England on Friday, bringing snow showers to the region. Light accumulation is possible. The shortwave will also intensify a coastal low pressure system, which should pass well to our southeast, and not have much of an impact in Cambridge. Over the weekend, an arctic air mass will move in behind the shortwave that passed through on Friday. Skies will be mostly sunny with colder temperatures and moderate (10–15 mph) winds from the northwest. Calm weather is expected to continue into early next week.
Iranian Student Protesters Clash with Police
On a day of angry street clashes, thousands of people rallied against the government on Monday at universities across Iran, defying a wide-ranging advance effort to suppress the protests and bringing a new ferocity to the opposition movement’s confrontation with the regime.
Shorts (right)
Unveiling significant changes to its dominant search engine on Monday, Google said it would begin supplementing its search results with the updates posted each second to sites like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
Records Show Millions in U.S. Drink Contaminated Water
More than 20 percent of the United States’ water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last five years, according to a New York Times analysis of federal data.
Chicago Suspect Charged in 2008 Mumbai Attack
An American at the center of an international terrorism investigation has been charged with helping plot the 2008 rampage in Mumbai, India, that left 173 people dead, according to a Justice Department complaint unsealed Monday.
Shorts (left)
As Dubai World and its creditors steel themselves for tough negotiations over the conglomerate’s debt, some foreign investors say they have enough support to force the company into default and lay claim to its most prized assets.
Ahh, Winter in New England
Do you like cold, rain, and wind? You’re in luck! An intense low pressure system moving through the Great Lakes will trigger a secondary storm that will affect our region tomorrow. Precipitation may start out as sleet or snow due to the cold air currently in place, but will soon change over to rain as warm air is advected in the area. Rain may be heavy at times during the day tomorrow. The wind will also be an issue tomorrow and Thursday, with very blustery conditions much like what we have been seeing recently. After the storm exits, cold air from Canada digs into the region, with lows in the 20s°F and highs in the 30s°F Friday and Saturday.
Supreme Court to Hear <br />Rights vs. Religion Case
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from a Christian student group that had been denied recognition by a public law school in California for excluding homosexuals and nonbelievers. The case pits anti-discrimination principles against religious freedom.
Militants Face More Attacks By U.S. Drones
Two weeks ago in Pakistan, Central Intelligence Agency sharpshooters killed eight people suspected of being militants of the Taliban and al-Qaida, and wounded two others in a compound that was said to be used for terrorist training.
Shorts (left)
Jason Timmerman coaxed a balky calf into a chute on his feedlot one recent afternoon and injected the animal with a new vaccine to make it immune to a dangerous form of <i>E. coli</i> bacteria.
Bernanke Defends the Fed In Confirmation Hearing
Under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike, Ben S. Bernanke PhD ’79 on Thursday defended his record as chairman of the Federal Reserve but conceded that the central bank’s lapses contributed to the financial crisis.
Web/TV Divide is Back in Focus With NBC Sale
As she prepared her daughter for college, Anne Sweeney insisted that a television be among the dorm room accessories.
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It is anyone’s guess how the 32 teams in the 2010 World Cup will be grouped by the draw Friday in South Africa, but one thing is for sure: The event will elicit sightings of things as far-fetched as UFO’s and the Virgin Mary’s image on a potato chip.
A Focus on Jobs, But No Promises Of a Turnaround
After months of focusing on Afghanistan and health care, President Barack Obama turned his attention on Thursday to the high level of joblessness, but offered no promise that he could do much to bring unemployment down quickly even as he comes under pressure from his own party to do more.
An Abortion Provider’s Killing Sways a Colleague to Step In
The national battle over abortion, for decades firmly planted outside the Kansas clinic of Dr. George R. Tiller, has erupted here in suburban Omaha, where a longtime colleague has taken up the cause of late-term abortions.
From Record Warmth to Snow?
Hopefully everyone enjoyed the warm sunny day we had yesterday, because this weekend brings a return to more seasonable conditions. The preliminary climate report from the National Weather Service indicates that yesterdays recorded high temperature of 69°F at Logan Airport was a whopping 23°F above normal. It broke the previous record for December 3, which was 65°F set back in 1932.
Shorts (right)
General Electric has reached a tentative agreement that clears the way for the sale of NBC-Universal, including the flagship NBC network, to Comcast, according to people briefed on negotiations.
Now With Foothold in Iraq, Oil Companies Look to the Future
More than six and a half years after the U.S.-led invasion here that many believed was about oil, the major oil companies are finally gaining access to Iraq’s petroleum reserves. But they are doing so at far less advantageous terms than they once envisioned.
Obama Gives Troop Orders Before Speech on Afghan War
The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama had issued orders to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan, relaying his decision to military leaders late Sunday afternoon during a meeting in the Oval Office.
CBO Says Senate Health Bill May Cut Cost for Many
The Congressional Budget Office said Monday that the Senate health bill could significantly reduce costs for many people who buy health insurance on their own, and that it would not substantially change premiums for the vast numbers of Americans who receive coverage from large employers.