Winter Solstice 2012: Facts on the Shortest Day of the Year

Today is the winter solstice and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It's all due to Earth's tilt, which ensures that the shortest day of every year falls around December 21.Some predicted that today would also mark Earth's doomsday, thanks to a longstanding rumor that the Maya calendar ends on December 21, 2012. But earlier this year, National Geographic grantee William...

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Amid Protest, NRA Calls for Armed Guards in Schools

The National Rifle Association stood its ground today in arguing that the answer to gun violence in schools is an armed security force that can protect students, while blaming the media and violent entertainment and video games for recent deadly shootings."The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre...

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An ambassador’s holiday card like no other

(Greetings from our man in Finland. ) There are traditional holiday cards and then there are non-traditional cards. There surely are none more non-traditional than the one sent out by our man in Finland, Ambassador Bruce Oreck.Oreck, a lawyer and son of famed vacuum cleaner manufacturer David Oreck, was a major Obama bundler and Democratic contributor before getting the appointment...

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Russia's Putin denies propping up Assad

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and stressed that Moscow was only seeking to avert a perpetual civil war."We are not concerned about (Bashar Assad's fate. We understand that the family has been in power for 40 years and there is a need for change," Putin told a major Moscow press briefing.But he made no call on Assad...

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Jaya writes to PM on Cauvery issue

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa today requested the Centre to expedite steps for notification of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said "the Counsels for all states, including Karnataka, brought to the notice of the Supreme Court (on December 5) the fact that the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes...

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Winter Weather Threatens Christmas Travel

A pre-Christmas blizzard that is battering at least eight states in the middle of the nation could trip up travelers headed home for Christmas in the coming days.Nearly 20 inches of snow have been reported in Colorado just west of Denver. Nebraska has reported 6-to-10 inches so far. Between 3 and 8 inches have accumulated in Iowa already and more is possible. Snow is falling...

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Obama would veto Boehner’s Plan B, White House says

President Obama urged congressional Republicans Wednesday to return to the bargaining table over the year-end fiscal cliff, saying the two sides are far too close to the big budget deal they’ve been seeking for the past two years to give up now. “Take the deal,” Obama said at a noon news conference, where he suggested that the primary obstacle to an agreement is GOP antipathy for the president...

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Football: Wilshere, four others sign new Arsenal deals

LONDON: Arsenal were given a major fillip on Wednesday when they announced that English midfielder Jack Wilshere and four other players have agreed new long-term contracts with the club.Wilshere joins fellow England internationals Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson and Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey in committing his future to the Emirates Stadium."We are delighted...

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Get to the heart of saving lives

Raja Ali, a former first-class cricketer, collapses on a pavement in Bhopal. He has a cardiac arrest and onlookers simply watch. That left-handed batsman Ali, was an important member of the Railways team that lifted the Ranji Trophy twice and Irani Trophy once did not matter as he lay writhing in pain a couple of months ago before departing from this world within minutes at a young age of 36. Eventually...

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Race Is On to Find Life Under Antarctic Ice

A hundred years ago, two teams of explorers set out to be the first people ever to reach the South Pole. The race between Roald Amundsen of Norway and Robert Falcon Scott of Britain became the stuff of triumph, tragedy, and legend. (See rare pictures of Scott's expedition.)Today, another Antarctic drama is underway that has a similar daring and intensity—but very different stakes.Three...

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