Bridge Collapses in Washington State

via @hazhauler on Twitter

Late Thursday, a bridge over the Skagit River north of Seattle collapsed, taking at least two cars (and the people inside them) with it. 

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

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 29, 2013

How Jeff Flake Became the Most Unpopular Senator in America

It wasn't easy dethroning Mitch McConnell as America's least favorite Senator, but Flake has done that in just three short months, a new poll out Monday reveals — and his fall from rising-star grace is not quite the head-scratcher you might think.

Comments | 31,427 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 29, 2013

The EPA Just Shook Up the Debate Over Fracking

New estimates from the EPA indicate that methane leakage from natural gas production is substantially lower than previously believed. Or, translated to English: Natural gas may be a better solution to rampant global warming than anyone believed.

Comments | 4,126 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 29, 2013

Six Months After Sandy, the Government Hasn't Spent Nearly as Much as It Will

Since Hurricane Sandy made landfall six months ago tonight, the government and private insurers have paid out tens of billions of dollars. Where and how much support — well, those payouts have been widely varied, a review of government spending shows.

Comments | 589 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 29, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Monday Columns

Bill Keller on erasing your Internet history, John Tamny on the "Wall Street" metonym, Jonathan Cohn on Obamacare's implementation, Amir Ahmad Nasr on the web's influence on Muslims, Rebecca Mead on the feminism of Amanda Knox.

Comments | 2,554 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 29, 2013

One World Trade Center Is About to Become the Tallest Building in the West

Construction workers will soon add the final piece of the 408-foot high spire atop the new skyscraper at One World Trade Center

Comments | 10,402 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 28, 2013

Guess Who Found the Red-Bearded Exorcist Who 'Brainwashed' Tamerlan Tsarnaev

The New York Review of Books, typically a terrific place to catch up on some literary criticism, scooped everyone on Sunday night and tracked down Misha, the radical Islamist who supposedly "brainwashed" Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

Comments | 12,052 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 28, 2013

Is This Why Russian Intelligence Asked the F.B.I. About Tamerlan Tsarnaev?

A new report from the Associated Press sheds new light on everything we thought we knew about the Boston bombers parents and the Russian intelligence that tipped off the FBI. 

Comments | 5,688 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 27, 2013

Great News! Only Two More Days of Terrible Flight Delays

This really is spectacular news, because airports are the worst be design, but the Federal Aviation Administration isn't waiting for the President's signature on that bill to fix the sequester-caused furloughs that were making everything so much worse. Your airport experience will go back to its normal levels of awful starting on Sunday evening. 

Comments | 980 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 27, 2013

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Instagram May Not Tell Us Anything

The already flushed out social media profile of 19-year-old bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev expanded on Saturday morning when former friends revealed Dzhokhar's since-deleted Instagram account to CNN

Comments | 29,403 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 27, 2013

They Arrested the Other Weird Guy in the Already Too Weird Ricin Story

J. Everett Dutschke, the 41-year-old former bluesman and taekwondo instructor who feuded with the Elvis impersonating initial suspect, has been arrested for sending letter laced with ricin to the President and two other Mississippi politicians. 

Comments | 2,548 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 27, 2013

How the Trial of the American Citizen in North Korea May End

An American citizen will be put on trial for crimes against the state in North Korea in what surely isn't a facade in the ongoing bargaining between North Korea and the U.S. and what will surely be a fair and balanced trial based on real facts. 

Comments | 15,091 Views

By Sara Morrison

Apr 27, 2013

No, Bradley Manning is Not the Next SF Pride Parade Grand Marshal

San Francisco Pride Board president Lisa L. Williams has released a statement denying that Manning was ever close to becoming the Grand Marshal.

Comments | 1,370 Views

By Sara Morrison

Apr 26, 2013

Te'o is the New Tebow

The biggest story of last night's NFL draft wasn't who got picked in the first round, but who didn't. Specifically, Manti Te'o

Comments | 2,545 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 26, 2013

Did a Piece of a 9/11 Plane Just Turn Up in an Alley Near Ground Zero?

The New York Police Department set up one of the more eerie crime scenes at that most horrific of American crime scenes on Friday afternoon: They were clearing off an area of Lower Manhattan to inspect a piece of debris that might belong to one of the two Boeing jets flow in to the World Trade Center eleven and a half years ago.

Comments | 5,479 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 26, 2013

Since When Is Anyone Being Nice About the (Alleged) Boston Bombers?

You might have watched the first riveting week of the Boston bombing news coverage and thought people needed to calm down a little bit. But now, after a second week with few public answers and a brand-new federal prosecution, it turns out we've been too restrained, apparently.

Comments | 6,838 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 26, 2013

What Is Steubenville Still Hiding?

Nobody knows exactly what investigators were looking for when they raided Steubenville High School in Ohio this week. But as the grand jury kicks off next week looking for charges, all signs point to something big. And guess which Big Red football coach decided to speak out again?

Comments | 6,456 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 26, 2013

Five Best Green Stories

How Electric Cars Make Money; Fear of a Carbon Trading Planet

The New York Times on how electrical cars are making money, Grist on the fear of carbon trading, The Wall Street Journal on the North Sea's natural gas, The New York Times on fraudulent discrimination payments for farmers, and The Irish Times on the economics of shale gas in the United Kingdom.

Comments | 978 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 26, 2013

Congress Saves America (and Itself) from Long Airport Lines

Operating with a laser-like focus and speed rarely seen in Washington these days, the House and Senate have now both passed a bill designed to fix the FAA's furlough problem, proving that Congess can fix problems quickly — as long as those problems directly impact Congresspeople.

Comments | 978 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 26, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Jamilah King on the cultural impact of stop-and-frisk, Jonathan Chait on revising George W. Bush's presidential legacy, Matt Buchanan on Twitter's problematic velocity, Alan Jacobs on the moral world of Girls, and Paul Krugman on the morality of austerity.

Comments | 978 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 26, 2013

Tsarnaev's Parents and Their Conspiracy Campaign Have Gone into Hiding

The father's heavily publicized trip to the United States in search of "justice and the truth" has been postponed abruptly, and the mother has apparently left her home — on the same day reports surfaced that she was placed on a terrorism watch list, too.

Comments | 6,055 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 26, 2013

Don't Call It 'Nerd Prom': A White House Correspondents' Dinner Guest Analysis

Tomorrow night, Washington media and the administration it covers sit down for what is informally called "nerd prom." This is as accurate a description as saying it's actually the press and the president who are the ones getting together.

Comments | 5,079 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 26, 2013

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Has Been Transfered to a Prison Hospital

The U.S. Marshals Service announced on Friday morning that the Boston Marathon bombing suspect has left the hospital where he has been for the last week, and transfered to a prison hospital on a nearby military base.

Comments | 11,525 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 25, 2013

iPhones, Girls, and One Smart Hostage: Inside the Tsarnaevs' Wild Carjacking

The Boston Globe managed to track down the carjacking victim from last Thursday's thrill ride that ended with one of the Boston bombing suspects dead and the other in custody.

Comments | 14,122 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 25, 2013

What Comes Next for West, Texas?

What will happen next to the town of West, Texas, after an explosion that decimated a fertilizer factory and killed 15?

Comments | 781 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 25, 2013

Dartmouth President on Rape Threats: Campus Is Like a 'Pressure Cooker'

When asked to explain why Dartmouth had to cancel a full day of class this week after threats based on rape, race, and sexual orientation, the university's interim president accidentally likened the state of the Ivy League school to the Boston bombers' weapon of choice. Thing is, apologizing for her ill-timed euphemism might be the least of Carol Folt's problems.

Comments | 3,125 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 25, 2013

The Drought-Stricken Midwest's Floods: Is This What Climate Change Looks Like?

The dramatic images resulting from this week's floods in the Midwest are, in a way, a welcome sight — six months ago, the region was wracked by drought. That extreme see-sawing is close to what some climate change models predict.

Comments | 1,367 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 25, 2013

'Bro' Bombers: How We Pop the Balloon of Terror with Words

Since we learned their names one week ago, some have called Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev terrorists, a labeling supported by the news that they hatched a plan to bomb New York — not just "party" there. Others have called them bros, and maybe — just maybe — that's a way of regaining some semblance of power.

Comments | 2,735 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 25, 2013

Bloomberg Says Boston Bombers May Have Eyed Times Square Next

Just like the man they carjacked last week said, the Boston Marathon suspects considered attacking a second: New York City.

Comments | 781 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 25, 2013

There Are Far Fewer Presidents Alive Today Than There Were in the 1830s

The opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library brought together all of the living presidents in his honor. Which prompted us to wonder: At what point were the most presidents alive at once?

Comments | 1,563 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 25, 2013

Five Best Green Stories

The Future of Oil; Canada's Keystone Power Play

The Atlantic on future sources of energy, National Geographic on energy scarcity in South Africa, The New York Times on Canada's power play in Washington, Quartz on solar power in California, and The Guardian on Reuters' climate change skepticism.

Comments | 977 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 25, 2013

Sunil Tripathi Is Dead, and the Media's False Boston ID Isn't Helping His Family

After a police scanner blip led journalists on social media to connect their 22-year-old son to the Boston Marathon bombings, a terrible month for a Pennsylvania family just reached the ultimate level of awful.

Comments | 9,344 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 25, 2013

Tsarnaev's Silence Is Not an Argument Against Reading Miranda Rights

According to second-hand reports from officials, Tsarnaev stopped speaking with investigators after being read his Miranda rights. But the reading of the rights is largely a procedural issue. Reminding the accused of their right to remain silent is essential.

Comments | 1,563 Views

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