Shorts (right)
Autopsies on two Boston firefighters who were killed while battling a restaurant blaze in August revealed that one had a blood alcohol content more than three times the legal limit and the other had cocaine in his system, news media outlets here reported Thursday.
Shorts (left)
Sen. Larry E. Craig of Idaho, defying the wishes of many in his own Republican Party, said Thursday that he would remain in the Senate through next year despite a court ruling against him in Minnesota, where he sought to rescind his guilty plea stemming from an undercover sex sting.
Wall Street Posts Records After Write-Downs by Banking Giants
Wall Street’s banking giants on Monday started to admit their problems, which began in the mortgage lending business and led to a summer of wild stock market swings.
Security Alert Issued Regarding Toys With Remotes at Airports
Citing “credible specific information” about terror tactics, Transportation Security Administration officers nationwide on Monday stepped up their scrutiny of passengers carrying remote-control toys aboard airplanes.
Texas Oilman Admits to Cheating U.N.’s Iraq Oil-For-Food Program
Oscar S. Wyatt Jr., the Texas oilman accused of cheating the U.N.’s oil-for-food program, pleaded guilty Monday to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s government in 2001 to gain access to lucrative Iraqi oil contracts.
Supreme Court Turns Down Two Cases Concerning Church-State Separation
One contentious topic missing from the Supreme Court’s docket as the new term opened Monday was religion. The justices evidently plan to keep it that way, at least for now.
Shorts (left)
Taliban insurgents in the southern province of Helmand kidnapped a 15-year-old key maker, accused him of being a spy for the Afghan and foreign authorities, beat him severely, then hanged him from an electrical utility pole, Afghan officials said Monday.
Russian President Positions Himself to Be Prime Minister
Vladimir V. Putin, who is constitutionally barred from seeking another consecutive term as president of Russia, announced on Monday that he might become prime minister next year.
Shorts (right)
A U.N. envoy was to meet with the leader of Myanmar’s junta Tuesday as authorities continued a crackdown after crushing huge peaceful demonstrations last week.
Spring (in the Southern Hemisphere)
The reversal of seasons between hemispheres should not be a surprise to most educated people in the world (although we are reminded of a famous educational experiment in which Harvard graduates failed to give a good reason for why this happens). As we entered the autumn season in the northern hemisphere, the winter came to an end in the southern hemisphere. The sun being close to the equator this time of the year makes the mean temperatures similar across the same latitudes in both hemispheres. According to this simple rule, we should find that locations in the southern hemisphere around 42° of latitude have about the same temperatures as we are experiencing in Boston.
Hasta La Vista, Summer?
Summer has come and gone as of last Sunday morning at 5:51 EST, but try telling that to the weather! We have been in an unusual high pressure pattern lately, which has allowed temperatures this week to soar and cut down precipitation to just 35 percent of normal since Aug. 1. Logan’s high of 88°F on Tuesday nearly tied the record high of 89°F for the same date in 1926. Again on Wednesday and Thursday, highs of 93°F and 85°F were only two degrees and one degree off from tying records, respectively. Thankfully, the muggy and rainy conditions today will usher in much drier and cooler air for the weekend.
Supreme Court Ruling Prompts Stay of Execution in Alabama
Amid renewed questions by many states about the future of lethal injection in capital punishment, Alabama ordered a rare stay in an execution that had been scheduled for Thursday night.
With New Test, U.S. Citizenship Is Still a Question of Answers
Patrick Henry and Francis Scott Key are out, but Susan B. Anthony and Nancy Pelosi are in. The White House was cut, but New York and Sept. 11 made the list.
Blackwater Role in Shooting Said To Include Chaos, Civilian Deaths
Participants in a contentious Baghdad security operation this month have told U.S. investigators that during the operation at least one guard continued firing on civilians while colleagues urgently called for a cease-fire.
Testimony Describes a Sniper Squad Pressed to Raise Enemy Body Count
An Army sniper is taught to kill people “calmly and deliberately,” even when they pose no immediate danger to him. “A sniper,” Army Field Manual 23-10 goes on to state, “must not be susceptible to emotions such as anxiety or remorse.”
Shorts (left)
Sales of new homes plunged in August to their slowest pace in more than seven years as tighter credit and rising inventories continued to weigh down the housing industry. The grim statistics could foreshadow further economic weakness in the fourth quarter, analysts said.
Shorts (right)
The Senate voted on Thursday to widen federal jurisdiction over hate crimes and to extend protections to people victimized because of sexual orientation, disability, gender or gender identity.
Military Junta Quells Protests Amid International Criticism
Brutality and defiance marked the second day of an armed crackdown in Myanmar on Thursday as the military junta tried to crush a wave of nationwide protests in the face of harsh international condemnation.
DEA Cracks Down on Steroids, Growth Hormones From China
Three dozen Chinese companies sent massive quantities of steroids, human-growth hormone and other illicit bodybuilding drugs to a sprawling underground network of distributors throughout the United States, authorities said in five states on Monday, proclaiming a breakthrough in the largest steroid enforcement action in U.S. history.
Shorts (left)
President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress prepared Monday for a showdown over the future of health insurance for more than 10 million children.