* Very quickly, the matter of disbursing these funds became something else, a proxy fight over how to evaluate grief. * America shouldn't stop spying, even on allies, but it must do a better job of not getting caught. * "The 24 Hours Barack Obama Almost Threw His Reelection Away&
Sometimes beauty appears only for a short instant, as a flash of visual energy. It’s the photographer’s job to wait, observe, and then pounce.
* Germany's move to let intersex babies' gender remain unregistered is a first in Europe—parents aren't forced into deciding. * Kenya's president launches a website for citizens to report government corruption and bribery directly to him. * The world's 18 strangest airports. * U.
* Appeals court reinstates most of Texas's abortion restrictions, which will remain in effect until January. * Unfortunately not related: A sinister history of Halloween pranks, from riots to bigotry. * Whatever Obamaism really is, it has run its course. * Profile of John Ramsey, one of the Libertarian kids who are
* Syria wants to turn its chemical weapons factories into civilian chemical facilities, alarming inspectors. * Columnist detained in Saudi Arabia for writing about women drivers. * Greenwald on leaving The Guardian: "Reporting the NSA story has never been easy." * The Pacific Ocean has warmed 15 times faster in the last
* Mother explains why you shouldn't spy on your children, despite the myriad ways technology now allows you to track them. * Petraeus: How we won the surge in Iraq. * Potential HIV treatment completely wipes out virus from lab monkeys; effects may not apply to humans. * Architectural profile of the
* Google and Yahoo outraged yesterday at reports the NSA can collect information "at will" from hundreds of millions of user accounts. * Dick Cheney re-emerges in order to support the Tea Party and his daughter's campaign for Senate. * Boston wins the World Series at home for
* The portions of the Texas abortion law that remain still make it burdensome for women to get abortions. * To win a seat in Congress, it helps to have a family member who's been in Congress. * Woes continue for healthcare.gov, with news that hacking into people's
* Spy chiefs say listening to foreign leaders is par for the course—and that Europeans would spy on Obama if it wasn't for his badass Blackberry. * Former Greek foreign minister admits to eavesdropping on American diplomats. * Haiku generator makes poetry out of NSA-flagged words. * Our security services&
* China does its best to scrub away evidence—both physically and online—of yesterday's car crash in Tiananmen Square, but images get free. * ABC scrubs clip and apologizes after child on Jimmy Kimmel Live! suggests killing everyone in China. * Related: Excellent remembrance of "Tank Man" and
