* Texas slashes student testing after parents revolt despite starting the movement 30 years ago. * Houston's Astrodome is dated and dusty, ugly to some eyes, but it is also irreplaceable. * Tumblr of great art in ugly rooms. * Archeologists in Mexico discover 4,926 cave paintings by nomadic peoples who
* Fifty years ago, a mob attacked students and teachers who were protesting a Mississippi Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter. * Sweden wracked by rioting, with some Stockholm neighborhoods shut down even to ambulances. * Mystery solved: Secretary of State John Kerry really ate a turkey shwarma in Ramallah. * Scientists say
* NOAA predicts active hurricane season, with up to double the typical number of major storms. * Praise, disappointment over Boy Scouts' decision to admit openly gay Scouts. * Overexposure to fluoride carries health risks—but not due to it being an unnatural industrial chemical. * Suicide rates are rising, but there is
* There is no light at the end of the tunnel for drone strikes...and other counterterrorism operations after 12 years of a global war. * Anti-Islam backlash grows in Britain after Woolwich machete attack. * UCLA surgeons broadcast brain surgery over social media. * Doctors use 3D printing to create a new
* In 2011, the NYPD made more stops of young black men than the total number of young black men in New York City. * Data shows white people stopped by the NYPD are more likely than minorities to be carrying guns or drugs. * Scientific inaccuracies found in common idioms. * New Star
* Fema uses its own "Waffle House index" as an informal way of measuring the impact of a disaster. * Government experts warn tornado victims could face deadly fungal infections caused by airborne molds usually found in dirt and decaying wood. * John Cassidy's brief history of austerity in
* Q&A with a tornado chaser. * Riots break out in Stockholm suburbs over racism-fueled police brutality. * Conspiracy theories also seem to be more compelling to those with low self-worth, especially with regard to their sense of agency in the world. * As the world's population continues
* In 2011, American households spent more on their pets annually than they spent on alcohol, landline phone bills, or men's and boys' clothing. * Stunning cellphone footage shows Oklahoma tornado beginning to form, starting to wreak havoc. * See also: Time-lapse video of the Moore tornado as seen
* China’s new-home prices rose last month in 68 of 70 cities, with average annual wages for urban private company employees jumping 14 percent. * Japanese researchers figure out why babies respond to patting and being moved: to avoid existential threats. * On the comeback trail, hallucinogens are being tried recreationally
* Fashion models are almost twice as likely as computer programmers to get visas to enter the U.S. * Era of private space travel begins within the year, with more than 800 people signed up to blast off from New Mexico. * America's collective sense of shock over Oklahoma'
