Lawmakers want to know about Facebook's operations beyond the US
In the first of a set of hearings on Capitol Hill this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced a slew of questions about his company’s mishandling of user data, and its plans to prevent privacy...
View ArticleStudy examines how diseases really spread during air travel
We’ve all heard it before: With tight quarters and recirculated air, commercial airplane passengers are just asking to catch a cold or some other spreadable disease — especially if another passenger is...
View ArticleWhy California gets to write its own auto emissions standards: 5 questions...
Editor’s note: On April 2, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the Trump administration plans to revise tailpipe emissions standards negotiated by the Obama...
View ArticleThe social media generation casts a wary eye on Facebook founder's testimony
Millennials are the social media generation, but tech-savvy young adults weren't finding much to "like" about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's public testimony this week about his company's...
View ArticleBook creates buzz about native bees of North America
When it comes to bees, honeybees get all the attention. But as a new book will tell you, honeybees are just one fraction of the many types of bees buzzing outside the collective consciousness of most...
View ArticleIn England, robotic dog provides comfort to elder care residents
Among Ron Grantham's happiest memories are the days he spent fly-fishing with his beloved dog, Spot. Now those memories are being revived by visits from his new best friend, Biscuit — a robotic...
View ArticleResearchers explore the fascinating biomechanics and neuroscience of bats
They are associated with dark caves, bloodthirsty vampires and one of the most famous superheroes of all time. But for all we know about bats, a lot is unknown to the general public — from how they fly...
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Activists in Myanmar welcome Zuckerberg’s pledge to clamp down on hate...
Digital rights and civil society groups in Myanmar say they welcome a pledge by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to better address hate speech and other content inciting violence, but said the platform...
View ArticleIn the Caribbean, queen conches are living on the edge
The queen conch is a large marine mollusk with a beautiful shell that is prized for export. The gastropod inside the shell is featured on menus across the Caribbean. But the conch’s numbers are rapidly...
View ArticleCoastal Republicans oppose the new 'Drill, baby, drill'
After the Trump administration announced plans to expand offshore oil and gas drilling to nearly the entire US coastline, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke quickly followed up with another announcement...
View ArticleRare fossils could face trouble outside new Bears Ears National Monument...
The Trump administration's move to reduce the size of Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent jeopardizes future research and excavation in one of the densest fossil troves in the world, according...
View ArticleConditions in crowded camps worsening for Rohingya ahead of heavy rains
Conditions in crowded camps in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh have deteriorated for nearly 700,000 Rohingya as aid workers race to strengthen shelters ahead of monsoon season, the International Federation...
View ArticleRussian authorities want to ban Telegram in the country. But it's not going...
This week, Russian officials began implementing a planned ban on the popular messaging platform Telegram after the company refused to hand over access to its users’ encrypted messages. But it appears...
View ArticlePompeo nomination consolidates climate skepticism in Trump administration
Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the post of America’s top diplomat, will have a lot on his plate if he’s confirmed as the next Secretary of State.Syria. Russia. North Korea.Dealing...
View ArticleEscaped Icelandic computer thief boards flight with Icelandic PM
An Icelandic man arrested on suspicion of stealing about 600 computers used to mine the cryptocurrency Bitcoin escaped prison and fled the country on a commercial flight to Sweden, Icelandic state...
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Lights are out in Puerto Rico again. But for some, the power's been out since...
Puerto Rico's power company said it had restored power to more than 1.1 million homes and businesses by Thursday morning after a transmission line failure cut service to almost all of the island's 3.4...
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After the Cold War, US struggles with a glut of poisonous plutonium
In a sprawling plant near Amarillo, Texas, rows of workers perform by hand one of the most dangerous jobs in American industry. Contract workers at the US Department of Energy’s Pantex facility...
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The rivalry between two Mexican towns could be responsible for the loss of a...
The town of Santa María del Mar, Mexico, hasn’t had electricity for more than three years. At night a generator hums in the town plaza, powering a few pale streetlights. Santa María, population 800,...
View ArticleNorth Korea says will stop nuclear tests and scrap its test site
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Saturday his country would immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests because it had completed its goal of developing the weapons.Kim also said North Korea...
View ArticleCoal plant emissions damage infant DNA, a new study shows
A study from Columbia University has found notable differences in the DNA of neonatal babies born after a coal plant in China was shut down, compared with babies born in the same place while the plant...
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