Commuter Trains Collide in Connecticut

Reuters

Two Metro-North trains collided Friday evening, leaving at least 60 people injured, five of them critically. No deaths have been reported yet.

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 3, 2013

Who Is Robel Phillipos, the Cambridge Buddy of Dzhokhar Tsaernev?

Robel Phillipos was the third name we heard on May 1, when the FBI announced that they had arrested three more suspects connected to the Boston bombings last month. Phillipos's past and character isn't as much of a mystery to us as fellow suspects Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, but the question still remains, how did this former daycare worker turn into a suspect?

Comments | 7,587 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 3, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Nussaibah Younis on the Iraqi prime minister, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry on how to think about retirement, Marco Rubio on immigration reform, Jodi Jacobson on a "Gosnell Amendment," and Keguro Macharia on giving up.

Comments | 1,391 Views

By Philip Bump

May 3, 2013

Texas Fertilizer Plant Was the Target of 'Breaking Bad'-Style Meth Recipe Theft

In a plot more nefarious — and real — than Walt and Jessie's fictional run on methylamine, the plant that exploded two weeks ago was a frequent target of theft and sabotage. Not from farmers looking for free soil supplements, apparently, but from people looking to acquire one of the key ingredients for making methamphetamine.

Comments | 14,980 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

May 3, 2013

The Drudge Report Fell Hard for This Fake Bloomberg Pizza Revenge Story

For a few brief shining moments on Friday morning, The Drudge Report's splashy top story linked to a "news" report from The Daily Currant about New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that is not even close to being true.

Comments | 37,169 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 2, 2013

When Pesticides Catch on Fire

Wildfire season is off to a troubling start in Ventura County, California, where a wildfire raged all day Thursday and burned at least 10 square miles, including a very toxic pesticide plant.

Comments | 1,193 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 2, 2013

Before Boston, the Tsarnaev Brothers Planned a Fourth of July Attack

As more details of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's bedside interrogation leak out, we learned on Thursday night that the brothers originally planned a Fourth of July attack but built their bomb too quickly, leading them to consider another target.

Comments | 3,180 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 2, 2013

The Corrections on The New York Times' Williamsburg Trend Piece Are Delicious

Hope you're hungry for schadenfreude, because The New York Times's recent Thursday styles piece on "Will.i.amsburg" was not only laughable, it was incorrect. And somehow, so are the corrections.

Comments | 4,373 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 2, 2013

Ten Down, 40 to Go: Rhode Island Passes Gay Marriage Law

Rhode Island became the tenth state in the nation to legalize gay marriage on Thursday evening, when Governor Lincoln Chafee signed the recently passed bill into law. The final vote wasn't even close.

Comments | 1,581 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 2, 2013

Stat of the Day

3,026 More People Die from Suicide in America Each Year Than in Car Crashes

After an 11-year study, the CDC has come to a startling conclusion: more people now die in this country by their own hand than from car accidents. And an even more shocking discovery behind the jump — and perhaps a key to the way we think about suicide next — is how many of America's Baby Boomers are taking their own lives.

Comments | 2,981 Views

By Philip Bump

May 2, 2013

FBI Adds an African-American Woman from Queens to Most Wanted Terrorists List

For the first time, the FBI has added a woman to its "Most Wanted Terrorists" list. There are a number of caveats that temper that benchmark, including that Joanne Chesimard's crime is probably not the sort of terrorism that you might assume.

Comments | 2,385 Views

By Philip Bump

May 2, 2013

The Future of the Climate Debate Is in the Laboratories of Democracy

A key fight over efforts to curb climate change is happening in the relative anonymity of various state legislatures. Colorado just voted to increase its use of renewable energy. North Carolina voted to do the opposite. But only one side wins.

Comments

By Rebecca Greenfield

May 2, 2013

The Great East Coast Cicada Sex Invasion of 2013 Has Arrived

People of the Acela corridor: The time to prepare for four to six weeks of the little six-legged sexual power saws is over. People of America: The invasion is here. Prepare your backyards — and your ears.

Comments | 47,323 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 2, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Thursday Columns

Alex Pareene on Howard Kurtz's Jason Collins mistake, Matthew Yglesias on Medicaid in Oregon, Matthew K. Lewis on liberalism, Gary Marcus on replication in social psychology, and Daniel Henninger on Obama's permanent campaign.

Comments | 1,779 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 2, 2013

No, You're Not Too Fat to Ride New York City's New Bikes

If you weigh more than 260 lbs. you technically (the Department of Transportation won't "strictly" enforce this) aren't allowed to use one of New York City's nifty new shared bikes. Cue the outrage, cries of discrimination and, of course, a shameless New York Post picture of a very large man on a tiny bike. 

Comments | 2,569 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 1, 2013

The New York Times Just Published a Slideshow on How to Be a Will.i.amsburg Hipster

Oh no. It's happening again. The New York Times is discovering that Brooklyn is a popular place, and it's running trend pieces about how hipsters love the Williamsburg neighborhood therein. But this latest edition is more trollish than the others

Comments | 4,940 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

Highly Questionable Poll Suggests 29% of U.S. Sees Urgent Need for Rebellion

PublicMind Polls released a doozy on Wednesday afternoon. According to their research, Americans generally want new gun laws. Oh, and a quarter of us see a conspiracy in the Sandy Hook shootings and three-in-ten think armed rebellion is imminently necessary.

Comments | 2,371 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

North Dakota Has Way, Way, Way More Oil Than We Thought

The United States government drastically underestimated the amount of oil and natural gas in North Dakota and Montana. And its new estimates may still be too low.

Comments | 3,755 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

May 1, 2013

The Banality of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's LOL

The most ravenously picked apart teenage digital trail in the history of American terrorism got picked apart again Wednesday afternoon: If you unravel the criminal complaint against Tsarnaev's fellow 19-year-old friend, you'll find an instantly historic LOL. But LOL has lost its historical significance, and everybody needs to calm down with their investigative linguistics.

Comments | 11,462 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

How Tsarnaev's Friends Allegedly Hid Boston Bombing Evidence: The Timeline

According to the criminal complaints filed against the three new suspects in the Boston bombing case, here's how they became involved in the entire affair.

Comments | 7,707 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

New York's New Gun Laws May Crack Down on TV Violence

The people responsible for a large percentage of America's gun violence are worried that New York's strict new gun laws will severely affect them. Sounds good. Except that the people all work for Hollywood.

Comments | 988 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

Why the Tsarnaev Classmate Arrests Were Bound to Happen, and What's Next

Three of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's college classmates have apparently been arrested for aiding Tsarnaev after the bombings, and according to one veteran criminal defense lawyer, this is a common development. We spoke with Ron Kuby in an effort to learn how arrests like this happen — and how associates of alleged criminals might be implicated.

Comments | 7,282 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 1, 2013

Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev & Robel Phillipos: Meet the New Boston Suspects

It appears we've already been introduced to two of the three new suspects in the Boston bombing investigation: Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, young Kazakh men now coming under the public microscope. As the federal charges against all three continue to unfold, here's a running biography of the men who may have helped their accused terrorist classmate — not roommate — after the bombing, based on combined news reports, social media, and beyond.

Comments | 10,473 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

Chart of the Day

Here's How Much You Actually Pay for Gasoline

When you buy gasoline, as you know, you're paying for more than the gasoline itself. Twice a year, the government tracks how much people in each state are paying in tax — and the highest taxes may not be where you'd think.

Comments | 1,186 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 1, 2013

GM Is Editing a 'Chop Suey' Car Ad Based on How Much It's Offending You

The ad features a song including the lyric "ching ching, chop suey," plus other references that offended Asian viewers as well as dated depictions of the Middle East. Perhaps the strangest part of the scandal is that each of those references offended different markets in the rollout in a different way, leading to bifurcated self-censorship by one of the largest car companies on Earth.

Comments | 1,186 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 1, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Blake Zeff on the real Anthony Weiner, Thomas L. Friedman on mediocrity, Amy Davidson on the hunger strike at Guantanamo, Jonathan Chait on opinion journalism, and Helena Fitzgerald on teenagers' online lives.

Comments | 1,779 Views

Three Students Charged for Helping Boston Bombing Suspect

Three friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are accused of obstructing justice after the fact by destroying evidence from his apartment. Here's how a sudden development in the case unfolded Wednesday.

Comments | 34,780 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

Is Someone Calling South Carolina Voters to Smear Elizabeth Colbert Busch?

There are anecdotal reports that the Congressional race in South Carolina just took a nasty turn, with a pollster insinuating that Colbert Busch, among other things, had an abortion. South Carolina has a history of such smears — and such reports.

Comments | 2,562 Views

By Philip Bump

May 1, 2013

Americans Support the Death Penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — If It Gets That Far

Seven out of ten Americans support the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if he's found guilty of his role in the Boston marathon bombings. There are some reports, however, that the punishment may be negotiated away.

Comments | 788 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 1, 2013

This Is What Colorado's First Same-Sex Civil Unions Look Like

As of Wednesday morning, at midnight, same-sex couples in Colorado were finally allowed to get a civil union — and, more importantly, to get that union recognized by the state. These are just some of the hundreds of happy couples from Denver and beyond.

Comments | 788 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 30, 2013

Those Who Lost Limbs in the Boston Bombing Will Get (Mostly) Free Prosthetics

The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that it would provide prosthetics to the estimated 20 to 25 victims of the Boston bombings who lost limbs.

Comments | 5,852 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 30, 2013

Police Find Ricin in Wayne Newton Impersonator's Taekwondo Studio

Yes, this story gets weider: Police have found evidence indicating that the man arrested for sending ricin-tainted letters to D.C. attempted to create the poison. According to the AP, a dust mask found in Everett Dutschke's martial arts studio tested positive for the potent poison.

Comments | 591 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 30, 2013

George Zimmerman Still Thinks He Can Convince a Jury He's Not Guilty

Zimmerman and his attorneys appeared in court to waive his right to seek an immunity hearing under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law — and keep the rest of their strategy close to the vest. His fate in the killing of Trayvon Martin will now be put in the hands of a jury beginning June 10, when one of the most emotional trials in recent American history will begin.

Comments | 1,577 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 30, 2013

Chart of the Day

The Atlantic Ocean Off the East Coast Was the Warmest Ever Recorded in 2012

During the second half of last year — the hottest recorded year in U.S. history — ocean temperatures off the East Coast also hit their highest temperatures in the 150 years measurements have been kept. It's not a comforting record.

Comments | 197 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 30, 2013

The Gosnell Trial Is Producing Lots of News Coverage, Little News

The trial of Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell has been sent to the jury for deliberations. The trial hasn't inspired a flurry of news articles, though — mostly because nothing much of interest is happening in the trial.

Comments | 591 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 30, 2013

Americans Know Almost Nothing About Obamacare

At his press conference Tuesday, President Obama said that most Americans are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act, even if they don't know it. He's definitely right about the not knowing it part.

Comments | 6,303 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 30, 2013

The Bagram Airfield Crash Now Has This Horrifying Video Evidence

We still don't know much about the seven people who died when a cargo plane crashed Monday at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, but dashboard camera footage surfaced Tuesday morning — and it provides more answers than you may even feel comfortable watching.

Comments | 126,600 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 30, 2013

NYPD's Defense for Stop-and-Frisks: We Wanted to Get Cops Out of Their Cars

Leaders of the New York Police Department offered an innovative-if-self-deprecating rationale for its practice of stop-and-frisks: ten percent of its officers are lazy and need incentives to get them out of their cars.

Comments | 197 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 30, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Josh Barro on the coming out of Jason Collins, Nicholas Jackson on fighting words, Jamelle Bouie on the GOP's civil rights history, Michelle Goldberg on the politics of late-term abortion, and David Brooks on how to write about politics.

Comments | 2,166 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 30, 2013

The Governor, His Wife, Their Cook, and the FBI

The FBI is now investigating whether or not Virginia governor Bob McDonnell violated any laws when he allowed a campaign donor to pay for catering at his daughter's wedding. That is perhaps the least weird part of the story.

Comments | 18,899 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 30, 2013

Americans Don't Want War with North Korea or Syria

A new CBS News/New York Timespoll suggests that most Americans aren't concerned about conflict with North Korea or Syria. However, the results also suggest that the reason Americans don't care about the conflict is because they aren't paying attention.

Comments | 1,181 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 30, 2013

The Strange Case of the Starbucks Juice Poison Plot

Very bad news: A woman in San Jose tried to poison customers at a Starbucks by swapping in juice bottles filled with nail polish remover and rubbing alcohol. Somewhat good news: She's not on a tainted OJ rampage, and nobody would really drink a "toxic" smelling bottle of juice at a Starbucks, would they?

Comments | 5,709 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 29, 2013

The Female DNA Found on the Boston Bomb Debris Is Probably Nothing

Now that the story's slowed down a bit, it was exciting to see a big new development hit the web on late Monday. Citing anonymous sources, The Wall Street Journareports that female DNA was found on debris from the Boston Marathon bomb.

Comments | 3,721 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 29, 2013

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Is One Attorney Degree of Separation from Lots of Famous Bombers and Terrorists

The team of public defenders now lined up to defend him are veteran defenders of a rogue's gallery of criminal A-listers: the underwear bomber, the remote plane bomber, Jared Loughner, Ted Kaczynski, and more. Facing off against the prosecutor of Aaron Swartz, the Tsarnaev team should guarantee a big case.

Comments | 7,079 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 29, 2013

Americans Tell Pew They Are Captivated by Political News, Google Disagrees

America lied to Pew Research. According to a new poll from the organization, the news stories we paid the most attention to over the last few months were the bombings in Boston and debates on Capitol Hill. According to Google, that's half right.

Comments | 590 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 29, 2013

Brawl at 24,000 Feet: Inside the Ice-Axe Wielding Fight on Mt. Everest's Summit

Three veteran mountaineers were almost killed on Mount Everest this weekend, but not by the thin air or crippling cold that tried to do them in — it was a mob angry of Sherpas, and it raises new questions about the overcrowding of the world's biggest mountain.

Comments | 9,829 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 29, 2013

Chart of the Day

So Much for 350: The Atmosphere's Carbon Dioxide Tops 400

For the first time, measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide taken at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii exceeded 400 parts-per-million on an hourly basis. It's a symbolic benchmark, but an important one, suggesting that efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions have not yet shown any significant effect.

Comments | 197 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 29, 2013

Five Best Green Stories

Breezy Point, Six Months Later

MSNBC on Queens after the hurricame, The Atlantic on the true impact of coal, MarketWatch on our readiness for climate change, The Guardian on the U.K.'s climate change curriculum, The Associated Press on fracking's impact on climate change

Comments | 786 Views

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