INDEPENDENCE, USA

Glenn Beck hopes to build utopian city-theme park hybrid

Glenn Beck screenshot

Conservative personality Glenn Beck last week announced grandiose plans to construct a self-sustaining “city-theme park hybrid” that would reflect traditional American values.

'MISGUIDED' EFFORT

ACLU blasts proposals to militarize schools with armed police guards

Kid in handcuffs (Shutterstock)

The American Civil Liberties Union has urged Vice President Joe Biden to reject proposals to avert gun violence by placing armed police guards in schools.

POLITICAL MALPRACTICE?

Environmental groups to blame for climate change inaction: report

Activists carry a banner during a rally in Doha on Dec. 1 to demand urgent action addressing climate change. Photo via AFP. - Copy

A Harvard academic has put the blame squarely for America’s failure to act on climate change on environmental groups.

POT SCIENCE

Analysis casts doubt on marijuana’s link to IQ decline

Marijuana via AFP

A longitudinal study that found teens who smoked marijuana had lower IQ scores in adulthood has been challenged by a researcher at the Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway.

TYRANNY!

Freshman Republican threatens to impeach Obama over gun control

via Facebook

Freshman Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) on Monday threatened to impeach President Barack Obama if he used an executive order to infringe American’s Second Amendment rights.

YOSEMITE SAM?

Georgia gun group giving away free AR-15 to oppose gun control

Armistead Arms AR-15 assault rifle commercial

A pro-Second Amendment group in Georgia has partnered with a gun shop in the state to give away a free AR-15 assault rifle.

Science

Scientists calculate ‘Star Wars’ hyperspace jump is impossible

Remember that dazzling moment in the “Star Wars” movies when the Millennium Falcon goes into…

EU releases all data used to clear genetically modified corn’s link to cancer

The EU’s food safety agency challenged its doubters on Monday, making available all the scientific…

Study: Children who eat lots of fast food more likely to develop asthma

Children who frequently eat fast food are far likelier to have severe asthma compared to…

DNA test reveals hair and eye color of unnamed Nazi prison victims

A new DNA test can restore at least part of the identity of long-dead people…

Tech News

First world atlas on renewable energy launched

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on Sunday launched the world’s first atlas on clean…

Activists and family blame suicide of Aaron Swartz on overzealous prosecution

Angry Internet activists mourned Sunday the loss of Aaron Swartz, a US programming prodigy who…

Media

Jodie Foster ‘comes out’ in opaque Golden Globes speech

Actress addresses sexuality directly saying she revealed she was gay ‘about a thousand years ago,…

Style mavens converge on Milan for ‘Men’s Fashion Week’

Dolce&Gabbana kicked off Milan menswear fashion week on Saturday with their winter-autumn 2014 collections, as…

World

Bentley launches 202 mph convertible

Luxury carmaker Bentley wants you comfortable in a Force 5 hurricane — the four-seat convertible that it launched Monday can…

Moulin Rouge president Jacki Clerico dies at age 83

Jacki Clerico, who headed the Paris cabaret Moulin Rouge for 50 years and revived its famed revues featuring plumed can-can…

Cuba scraps ‘exit visas,’ allowing Cubans to travel freely with just a passport

Havana scraps exit visas, but most Cubans won't be going abroad (via The Christian Science Monitor) Havana’s old town is…

Trial: Brother dismembered British actress after arguing about overflowing sink

A former star of the British soap “EastEnders” was beaten to death and dismembered by her brother after they argued…

Russia to require soldiers to wear socks by end of the year

Russia’s defence minister expressed horror on Monday that soldiers were still wrapping cloths around their feet instead of wearing socks,…

U.S. News

Bernanke urges Congress to lift debt ceiling

US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday urged Congress to raise the nation’s borrowing…

George H.W. Bush leaves hospital

Former US president George H.W. Bush was released from hospital on Monday following more than…

Driving under the influence of NyQuil banned in New Hampshire

If a cold has you feeling woozy and you take NyQuil or Sundafed to make…

Regulations force Coca-Cola ads to address obesity

Facing new regulations that target high-calorie soda drinks, US soft-drink giant Coca-Cola will unveil a…

Obama: Gun advocates ‘ginning up fear’ because it’s ‘good for business’

President Barack Obama on Monday explained that pro-gun groups were “ginning up fear” about the…

Obama says assault weapons ban makes sense

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Monday he thinks an assault weapons ban makes sense,…

Cops unleash Tasers as 200-person baby shower turns into brawl in Boston

Police in Stoughton, Massachusetts, in the Boston area, said they were completely surrounded by an…

Blackburn promises to ‘be very thoughtful’ while shutting down government

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Monday said that she would be willing force a “thoughtful”…