* Health care, housing, and other reasons to be optimistic about the U.S. economy. * Last year carbon emissions rose at their second highest rate since 1959, surpassing scientists' worst-case scenarios. * Timeline of memorable Chávez moments. * Chávez bequeaths a nation beset by crumbling infrastructure, unsustainable public spending, and underperforming
* After Obama's win, partisans said the market would tank; now that it's way up, they're searching for political interpretations. * Hours after his book on immigration is published, Jeb Bush disagrees with its premise, following GOP party winds. * Jon Stewart to direct movie about reporter
Personal collections groomed over decades gather signs of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and other hidden animals—crumbs of a fuller truth preserved by citizen scientists. One such collection in Maine is open to the public.
My paternal grandmother hailed from the north country. That made her a descendent of the Lanna Kingdom, and in photographs from her younger years, you can see hints of that bloodline in her pale skin and elongated features, Chinese-like, but not completely. Years later, having moved to Bangkok and
* The overall political views of a district are less important for policymaking than the organized political groups in a district. * Indian woman on 12-year hunger strike against police brutality denies accusations of attempted suicide. * Palestinian workers riot over Israel's new segregated West Bank bus lines. * With nearly
* South Carolina's Mark Sanford is running for office again, having learned empathy—for other cheaters. * If Congress doesn't pass a "Continuing Resolution" by March 27, the government will likely shut down. * Anonymous sources say Pakistan is employing drone strikes against militants and blaming them
* Enormous turnout for Kenya's elections; process seen as smooth, though six police officers were killed. * Scientists believe girl born with HIV is the first child and only the second person known to have been cured. * India's Muslim population is steadily growing, and steadily falling behind the
* The sequester looks here to stay, and may possibly take several months to negotiate. * Study finds fewer people are “very concerned” about various environmental issues than at any point in the last 20 years. * Reported death of al-Qaeda leader Mohktar Belmohktar represents a major blow to terrorist operations in
Inspired by Old Master still lifes, Paulette Tavormina’s photographs lie in an uncanny valley of beauty—dew-dappled flowers combined with jumping goldfish.
* World Health Organization says people living near the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant have an increased risk of cancer. * In Bangladesh, street brawl over court decision to hang Islamic fundamentalist leader leaves 32 dead. * A poem for citizen Ratzinger, in the wake of the VatiLeaks scandal: "Everyone Popes." * Open
