December 17, 2013
By The Morning News
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- Federal district judge says the NSA's program of tracking all Americans’ phone calls most likely violates the Constitution.
- The Pentagon's JROTC program recruits future soldiers from high schools in struggling neighborhoods.
- Detroit-area high school is nation's first entirely "flipped" school.
- U.S. currency used to be made from discarded denim, but then came the demand for body-hugging jeans.
- Humanoid metacarpal discovered in Kenya shows the modern human hand evolving 600,000 years earlier than previously thought.
- French café charges more to customers who forget their manners while ordering coffee.
- Latest receptionist to be crowned best in Japan—most polite and pleasant on the phone—eschews high voice favored by previous generations.
- Wall Street Journal reporter recalls befriending the Tsarnaev family a decade before the Boston bombing.
- Astounding story of a female cop in Delhi who protected women while being ruthlessly harassed by her in-laws, who demanded a higher dowry.
- Prospects for 11 new countries that may soon emerge around the world.
- NASA once commissioned a sculpture on the moon, but the New York art world ridiculed the artist and his masterpiece—which continues to stand 238,000 miles above our heads.
- The Wright brothers flew their first flight 110 years ago today.
- Tyler Brûlé, editor of Monocle, draws up his rich-person's gift guide in "a rather empty cabin on the Qantas 747 service to Brisbane."
- German airport offers to store travelers' winter coats while they fly to warmer climates on vacation.
- Ski movies, once known for stunts, now emphasize darkness and narrative to stand out in a crowded genre.
- Round-up of amusing screenshots from television shows.
- Radiolab live performance now available to stream, with an apocalyptic theme drawing "dinosaurs, death, destruction, and comedic mayhem."
