* The real story of this year's presidential election in France is the "rock and roll" far left. * Hollande, French Socialist candidate, uses "Ni**as in Paris” video to appeal to youth voters. * Touré considers the mind of a woman who tells him she's
Twenty years ago—or even 10—Nashville was falling to the bottom of any list of top U.S. destinations. Music City’s recent resurgence is a reminder of what Americans really value.
* Global approval of U.S. leadership continues to decline, but is still higher than the final years of the Bush administration. * Visualizations of demographic trends if the world were a village of 100 people. * Key to U.S. recovery and growth aren't New York and Los Angeles, but
* Report says Breivik massacre has led Norwegians to believe more strongly in their open society. * Tales from 100 hours of wilderness medical training. * New crisis—pictures of soldiers posing with insurgents' remains—suggests discipline lost in Afghanistan. * Pat Summitt, winningest coach in college basketball, stepping down due to early-
* India tests intercontinental missile. * North Korea to continue rocket launches, announces it's abandoning February nuclear deal with U.S. * Nongovernmental organizations sponsor knowledge exchange and collaboration between U.S. and North Korean scientists. * From eyeless shrimp to clawless crabs, deformities becoming common in Gulf seafood—researchers blame 2012
Last week, the Pulitzer Prize board refused to give its prestigious award to any novel published in 2011. Something is clearly broken. We roused our commentators from the Tournament of Books, Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner, for their remarks.
* Afghan school administrators claim drinking water poisoned to keep girls out of class. * Odds considered on when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will travel abroad, and whether Myanmar will let her back in. * Evidence weighed in the case of a man who believes a stroke made him gay. * Everyday objects
* Buffett's cancer diagnosis refuels conversation about succession for Berkshire Hathaway. * Investigation finds records of colonial crimes were destroyed during the waning years of the British empire. * In his Kremlin-owned TV debut, Julian Assange awkwardly interviews Hezbollah leader. * Stuck with each other, Mitt Romney and the Tea Party
Israel and Iran are swaying on the brink, if you listen to the international media. A peek inside the Israeli capital finds people acting blasé, but not making summer vacation plans just yet.
* Bizarre publicity stunts will appear in otherwise reasonable science articles as long as they draw attention. * Economics of the matzo market. * Now we know: The New York Times first published "asshole" while quoting Richard Nixon. * H.P. Lovecraft's commonplace book of fragments and ideas. * See also:
