Headlines from July 12, 2011

On the trail of bin Laden, CIA set up fake vaccinations to gather DNA evidence.
It wasn’t the Professor who went to Harvard, it was Mr. Howell. Harvard grads at the top of everything, except in Canada.
Things state flags are sometimes saying.
First known for designing Central Park, Olmsted became famous for his Civil War reportage on Southern life.
Polar bears’ closest ancestors are brown bears from Ireland, now extinct. #nature
Fascinating chronicle of a year an international antivirus team spent battling, and finally defeating, Stuxnet. via
Paul Ford wonders what it means to walk in the woods with Zuckerberg.
From corked bats to juiced balls, cheating in baseball isn’t as effective as some players may wish. #sports
Hoping to rid a reef of an invasive fish species, environmentalists want humans to begin eating it. #dining
Rethinking his legacy, Robert Kennedy’s family questions housing archives at JFK library.
Q&A with the author of The Beekeeper’s Lament.
Paris says Gadhafi’s emissaries are suggesting the dictator is ready to leave.
Gordon Brown hacked by journalists for more than 10 years, with privacy invasions from conmen and “blaggers.”
Brown: If European growth continues to run so far behind, by midcentury it may be as small as Africa.
News of the World hides final parting message in crossword puzzle.
Kids visit newspaper office, make ominous remarks about journalism’s future.
Summary of America’s debt problem: it’s politicians’ fault; right now, blame falls on the Republicans.
Gen-X mothers look for parenting advice from the people who raised them: their friends.
Video: Ericsson says appliances in the future will be friendly, and men will be antisocial hipsters. via
Portrait of Ernest Nussbaum, inventor of the Practicello, a packable cello.
DEA declares Ecuador, with lax visa policies for almost every citizen of the world, the “UN of crime.”
Blogger plays baseball video game on LSD to recreate Dock Ellis’s acid-addled no-hitter.
Man travels SF to LA taking only public transit to answer two questions: can it be done, and who would do it? #masstransit
The art of the luggage label. via
Adventure tale of men canoeing the Mississippi during 2011’s flood, dodging deadly currents and SUVs.
Tumblrs to keep things Tuesday interesting (some NSFW).
For about four years there, everyone wanted to be gathering. Believer interview with Phish’s Trey Anastasio.
“Mamils”—middle-aged men in Lycra riding bicycles—fear “the Man with the Hammer,” who makes them vomit. #biking