24 July 2007: Morning

  • U.S., Iran restart Iraq talks in Baghdad; on the agenda: accusations and demands, but no catering specified.
  • The $600 million U.S. embassy in Iraq is now complete, and may be engulfed in flames following a military pullout.
  • In Afghanistan, troops kill at least 75 militants in battles in the south; fate of 23 South Korean hostages still in the balance.
  • After the worst floods in England in 60 years, water begins to recede, power is restored. (Photos of the flood.)
  • Hobo pythons in the Everglades got nothing to do except eat these alligators.
  • Gonzales vows to see his duty through, which only makes his remaining staff members uneasy.
  • Almost a quarter skip passages they cannot read or invent words to get to the end of a sentence. Parents fudge bedtime stories.
  • Hey designers: Interesting in joining in with TMN? Click here.
  • Good is bad, up is down: Diet soda linked to heart disease, diabetes; low cholesterol--or maybe statins--linked to cancer.
  • Video: Donald Gunn once posited there are only 12 kinds of ads--here are examples.
  • Developers want to build tiny apartments in L.A., residents get claustrophobic, experts gently remind that it's not New York.
  • One in four New Yorkers have elevated mercury levels--"not bad for the average adult who isn't reproducing."
  • "Sometimes they land in the water fountain." Humans, pigeons reluctantly coexist in the Staten Island Ferry terminal.
  • One lucky reader snared a prize pack in the TMN Headlines Pop Quiz--sign up here to receive your questions this Friday.